Government of Canada announces investment to support innovation in northern Alberta
Backgrounder
September 5, 2019 – Edmonton, Alberta – Western Economic Diversification Canada
The Business Scale-up and Productivity (BSP) program supports businesses at various stages of development to be more productive and competitive in both domestic and global markets. By providing interest- free, repayable funding to help qualified companies grow and expand, Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD) is delivering on the Budget 2019 commitment to grow the western Canadian economy.
The Regional Innovation Ecosystems (RIE) program aims to create, grow, and nurture inclusive, interconnected systems that support business needs and foster an entrepreneurial environment conducive to innovation, growth, and competitiveness. Through RIE, we are making targeted investments in not-for-profit organizations that support businesses in priority sectors and in underrepresented groups.
The Western Diversification Program makes strategic investments in initiatives led by not-for-profit organizations that enhance and strengthen the economy of Western Canada. Through this program, the Government of Canada is supporting development, diversification, and job creation.
All funded projects indicated below are subject to negotiation of contribution agreements.
BSP program funding
| Organization | Project Description | Location | Funding |
| Applied Quantum Materials Inc. | Edmonton | Increase silicon nanomaterials production for defense, security and construction markets. | $200,000 |
| Barriertek Inc. | Leduc | Expand manufacturing capacity of fire-retardant construction materials for residential and commercial buildings. | $1,950,000 |
| Clinisys EMR | Edmonton | Open new markets in Canada and the United States for a new cloud-based electronic medical records and data analytics software system, which makes use of artificial intelligence to improve patient care. | $907,875 |
| Davey Textile Solutions Inc. | Edmonton | Make improvements to a facility that will increase manufacturing productivity of reflective safety trim for the textile industry. | $742,000 |
| EC Labs Inc. | Edmonton | Launch a new, luxury, high-performance hair care line for the North American, Chinese and Japanese markets. | $350,000 |
| Levven Electronics Ltd. | Edmonton | Increase manufacturing capacity to handle sales volume increase of smart building products. | $660,000 |
| NanoSpeed Diagnostics Inc. & 1715940 Alberta Ltd. | Edmonton | Establish a manufacturing facility for rapid tests and commercialize a test for ferritin. | $804,812 |
| Pleasant Solutions Inc. | Edmonton | Increase sales and promotion of high-security offerings, including Pleasant Password Server, a solution for organizations to manage passwords and sensitive information, to international markets. | $2,450,000 |
| Quantiam Technologies Inc. | Edmonton | Expand production of nanomaterial and processing technology that reduces wear, corrosion, and buildup of coke residue on metal alloy surfaces. | $2,369,541 |
| Sonar Software Inc. | DeBolt | Commercialize the next generation of billing software for internet service providers. | $3,000,000 |
| Umay Care Holdings Inc. | Edmonton | Purchase equipment and launch a device, which manages digital eyestrain, in North American and European markets. | $276,353 |
| Willowglen Systems Ltd. | Edmonton | Market and globally commercialize new automation technology that improves environmental stewardship and efficiency of mission-critical industrial infrastructure such as pipelines and metro systems. | $4,539,168 |
| Total: | $18,249,749 | ||
RIE program funding
| Organization | Location | Project Description | Investment |
| Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute (Amii) | Edmonton | Demonstrate technologies from Alberta stakeholders that establish viable uses for artificial intelligence and machine learning in health and data analytics. | $2,750,000 |
| BioAlberta | Edmonton | Support producers of natural health products and functional foods in Alberta to innovate and grow their businesses. | $200,000 |
| BioAlberta | Edmonton | Assist small and medium-size enterprises in Alberta’s life sciences sector to scale up, grow, and market their products internationally. | $60,000 |
| C-FER Technologies Inc. | Edmonton | Purchase equipment for local companies to use for calibrating and testing high-load equipment products exceeding 1 million pounds. | $225,000 |
| Edmonton Economic Development (Startup Edmonton) | Edmonton | Deliver a Youth Entrepreneurship Program to build post-secondary students’ entrepreneurial skills and empower youth founders to launch a tech-enabled business through program support, workspace, and mentorship opportunities. | $250,000 |
| NorQuest College, Bow Valley College, Concordia University of Edmonton, and Athabasca University | Edmonton | Develop and enhance programming to increase the number of students, skilled workers, and companies trained in artificial intelligence and data analytics. | $1,150,000 |
| University of Alberta | Edmonton | Test and validate renewable jet fuels, which are produced from lipid-to-hydrocarbon technology that converts agricultural waste fats and low-grade oils into fuels and other chemicals. | $1,565,730 |
| University of Alberta | Edmonton | Deliver international advanced manufacturing event and hackathon in May 2019. | $50,000 |
| Total: | $6,250,730 | ||
WDP funding
| Organization | Location | Project Description | Investment |
| Alberta Centre for Advanced MNT Products (ACAMP) | Edmonton | Purchase equipment that will help companies develop, test, and commercialize new technologies for autonomous systems. | $1,500,000 |
| United Nations Association in Canada | Edmonton | Deliver “New Diplomacy of Natural Resources” forums throughout Western Canada that bring together young Canadian scholars and leading experts from the private sector, government, environmental, and Indigenous organizations to engage in productive discussions about the sustainable and inclusive development of Western Canada’s natural resources. | $120,670 |
| University of Alberta | Edmonton | Develop an advanced manufacturing system for automated repairs of heavy machine components. | $1,060,000 |
| Total: | $2,680,670 | ||
Related ProductsContactsDonna Kinley Stay ConnectedFollow the department on Twitter: @WD_Canada, @ISED_CA |
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