Government of Canada announces $25 million in new funding for FedNor and a new strategy to diversify Northern Ontario’s economy

Targeted strategy will create new jobs and business opportunities that build on the region’s competitive advantages and innovation potential

April 19, 2017 – North Bay, Ontario – Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Northern Ontarians will benefit from new jobs and business opportunities that diversify and strengthen the region’s economy as a result of increased funding worth $25 million over five years.

This new funding, allocated through the regional development agency known as FedNor, was announced today by the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

This increased funding will support communities, businesses and First Nations in the region. It will be invested in projects with the greatest potential to create new jobs and business opportunities for the middle class and those working hard to join it.

Minister Bains also announced the launch of the Prosperity and Growth Strategy for Northern Ontario, a targeted approach to economic development through innovation. This strategy will focus on ways to build on Northern Ontario’s unique strengths and competitive advantages in mining, resources and agriculture, among other sectors.

The strategy will identify ways for these sectors to seize new opportunities in emerging industries, such as clean technology, and develop new businesses that will create the well-paying jobs of today and tomorrow for Northern Ontarians.

This regional strategy for Northern Ontario is part of the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan, an ambitious effort to make Canada a world-leading centre for innovation, create more well-paying jobs and grow the middle class. A goal of this plan is to encourage innovation and attract global investment in every region of the country. Another goal is to provide Canadians—wherever they live and work—with the support they need to continuously learn and enhance their skill set, equipping them for the jobs of the future.

The Prosperity and Growth Strategy for Northern Ontario will serve as an innovation and skills plan for this region. Every region of the country will eventually have its own version of this strategy to reflect the unique strengths and opportunities of that region.

As part of this new approach to economic development through innovation, each of the country’s six regional development agencies, including FedNor, will be accountable for delivering meaningful results for the communities they serve. Over the next five years, these agencies will invest a total of $1.5 billion to strengthen innovation capacity in every region of the country by:

• supporting small and medium-sized businesses that want to adopt new technologies and boost their innovation capacity;

• nominating 50 firms across the country to participate in a federal program that will help them grow nationally and internationally;

• investing $100 million annually across the country in clean technology; and

• supporting a total of 250 Indigenous projects as they develop and diversify their economies.

This regional approach will ensure that the jobs, opportunities and prosperity that come with innovation benefit all Canadians.

NT5