Backgrounder
Northlight Innovation
- Northlight Innovation is a 24,000 square foot facility located in Downtown Whitehorse managed and operated by local non-profit Yukonstruct.
- CanNor has committed up to $922,253 to the Northlight Innovation project for this current fiscal year. This is in addition to a previous CanNor contribution of $1,500,000 towards the first phase of Northlight Innovation in the 2017–18 fiscal year.
- Funding will go towards the completion of Northlight Innovation. This facility sees the merging together of Makespace, which provides access to manufacturing equipment and offers educational workshops to potential innovators, and Cospace, which provides a shared-workspace and collaborative environment for Yukon's entrepreneurs and innovators.
- Yukonstruct is also launching a new space called Launchspace to foster business development and innovation in the North. This includes conferences, programs and an incubator that helps early-stage entrepreneurs in the Yukon take their ideas to the next level.
- Yukonstruct shares the space with Yukon College's Communities, Innovation and Development division, Yukon Development Corporation, Startup Whitehorse, Canada Yukon Business Network Services, Yukon Women in Trades and Technology (YWITT) and other tenants from both private and public sectors.
- CanNor funding for the first phase of this project created 4 contract positions in planning and development and 99 construction contract positions.
- New funding from CanNor has supported the creation of 3 new jobs, 2 additional short-term contract positions, 1 ongoing contract position and will help maintain 3 positions that were already in existence.
- CanNor's contribution was delivered through the Strategic Investments in Northern Economic Development program (SINED), supporting projects that increase northern economic growth and diversification, foster innovation and capacity development, and create jobs for Northerners.
