Harper Government Helps Colleges Support Business Innovation

QUÉBEC CITY, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - April 16, 2013) - The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology), today announced a significant investment in Canada's colleges and polytechnics through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The announcement was part of the Minister of State's keynote address at the Association of Canadian Community Colleges' Applied Research Symposium.

"Our government has committed to helping Canadian colleges collaborate with business and take promising ideas from the lab to the marketplace," said Minister of State Goodyear. "In addition to today's CFI announcement, Economic Action Plan 2013 announced a number of measures to strengthen Canada's advanced research capacity. These investments will help make our community colleges world-class sources of research."

The $12.5-million investment from the CFI's College-Industry Innovation Fund (CIIF) will support 17 applied research projects at colleges, cégeps and polytechnics. The funding will help colleges across the country form partnerships with 89 companies.

Minister of State Goodyear also highlighted several new Economic Action Plan 2013 measures. Among them was an additional $12 million per year to support the College and Community Innovation Program that supports projects at the community and regional level by helping colleges work with local businesses. Economic Action Plan 2013 also extended eligibility for industrial research awards to students in colleges and polytechnics.

"Canadian colleges are an important player in our national innovation ecosystem," said Dr. Gilles Patry, President and CEO of the CFI. "The CIIF ensures that colleges have the state-of-the-art research infrastructure they need to conduct top level applied research."

Since 2006, the Harper Government has provided more than $9 billion in new funding for initiatives to support science, technology and the growth of innovative firms. Economic Action Plan 2013 builds on this strong foundation, helping to position Canada for sustainable, long-term economic prosperity and a higher quality of life for Canadians.

For more information on the Government of Canada's science and technology initiatives, visit the Science and Technology for Canadians website (science.gc.ca).

About the Canada Foundation for Innovation

The CFI gives researchers the tools they need to think big and innovate. By investing in state-of-the-art facilities and equipment in Canada's universities, colleges, research hospitals and not-for-profit research institutions, the CFI is helping to attract and retain the world's top talent, to train the next generation of researchers, to support private sector innovation and to create high-quality jobs that strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for all Canadians. For more information, visit Innovation.ca.

The CFI's College-Industry Innovation Fund recognizes the role that applied research plays in supporting Canadian business. The CFI supports the spectrum of research activities, from fundamental discovery-driven research to applied research, along with private sector innovation.