Southern Ontario Spotlight

Southern Ontario Spotlight

FedDev Ontario's focus on economic development

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Making headlines

Minister Tassi visits the Greater Toronto Area, Windsor and London

Minister Tassi visits the Greater Toronto Area, Windsor and London

FedDev Ontario Minister Filomena Tassi visited stakeholders across the region to highlight Budget 2023’s investments to make life more affordable for Canadians. This included a stop in Brampton where she visited the Asian Food Centre to highlight the new Grocery Rebate. In Windsor, Minister Tassi visited the University of Windsor to meet with students and speak to the government’s plan to provide enhanced financial assistance and improved Registered Education Savings Plans to help students cover the costs of tuition, housing and everyday essentials, making the transition from school to working life easier. She also attended the Downtown Windsor Business Revitalization Association for the unveiling of two new art installations, as well as visited businesses in Windsor’s Little Italy. In London, she met with employees at General Dynamics Land Systems Canada and Sodecia. The Minister highlighted Budget 2023’s commitment to supporting hardworking small business owners by reducing tax rates and credit card transaction fees, and providing low-cost strategic financing and targeted funding. The Minister then visited Hamilton-based Eaton, a global power safety company, to discuss the government’s plan to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and more affordable energy to millions of Canadian homes. Budget 2023 also outlines plans for a clean economy through investments in clean manufacturing and zero-emission technologies, and development of a new tourism growth strategy for Canada’s tourism sector that includes targeted funding to support communities, small businesses and not-for-profit organizations in developing local projects and events.

It also proposes a renewal of the Regional Economic Growth through Innovation funding stream with $50 million in funding shared across Canada’s regional development agencies and support for economic development in official language minority communities (OLMCs), Indigenous communities and businesses, plans which align with FedDev Ontario’s overall priorities in southern Ontario. The Agency is committed to supporting businesses and communities in the region to create good jobs and help usher in a new era of economic prosperity for Canadians.

Innovation Guelph’s i.d.e.a. Fund program celebrates completion of first cohort

Innovation Guelph’s i.d.e.a. Fund program celebrates completion of first cohort

The i.d.e.a. Fund, an accelerator program launched by Innovation Guelph in partnership with Haltech, Innovate Niagara, WEtech Alliance, Innovation Factory and TechAlliance of Southwestern Ontario, celebrated the completion of its first cohort of innovative companies. Launched in 2022, the i.d.e.a. Fund targets companies with a focus on agri-innovation, cleantech and advanced manufacturing in urban and rural communities. With this first cohort, close to 120 companies received non-repayable contributions of up to $30,000 toward the development of growth plans based around talent attraction, securing further investment, product development and testing, market value assessments, commercialization of intellectual property and market diversification.

On March 23, Innovation Guelph held a virtual event celebrating this first cohort, and Minister Tassi was in attendance to provide remarks and congratulate several of the successful companies on their accomplishments and innovative technologies. Representatives from InnoviaGEO, Nova Institute, DATEC, Hope Pet Foods, MoxyPatch and SkyGauge Robotics also spoke about their experiences in the program and their successes to date.

“Canadians are looking for clean alternatives – which makes the i.d.e.a. Fund so exciting. I understand that there was an overwhelming response to the program and I am thrilled to know that a second cohort is coming this April. This will open more doors for more businesses in the region.”

- The Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario

In 2022, FedDev Ontario announced a $10-million investment for Innovation Guelph and its partners to deliver the i.d.e.a. Fund, to help Canadian businesses focused on green technology and clean innovation succeed through access to capital and mentoring to commercialize innovative technologies.

Minister Tassi provides opening remarks at MaRS Discovery District’s Moonshots 2030 event

Minister Tassi provides opening remarks at MaRS Discovery District’s Moonshots 2030 event

Minister Tassi joined promising entrepreneurs and investors to deliver keynote remarks at the Moonshots 2030 event, hosted by MaRS Discovery District and the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO). Minister Tassi spoke to the importance of Canada’s innovation economy, and highlighted Budget 2023 measures and investments focused on building a clean economy, fighting climate change, and creating new opportunities for Canadian businesses and workers. The event provided Canadian innovators, entrepreneurs and forward-thinking investors with unique networking opportunities and gave attendees opportunities to share stories, challenges and wins, and discuss solutions to gaps.

In addition, Krista Jones, MaRS Discovery District’s Chief Delivery Officer, Ventures and Ecosystems, announced the launch of two new MaRS programs focused on addressing challenges faced by start-ups and companies looking to scale, supported through the Scale-Up Platform which is supported by FedDev Ontario. Series A Funding Sprint is an investor readiness program aimed at supporting ventures in successfully raising their seed or series A funding through advisory services from a dedicated Capital Advisor, capital insights reports from MaRS, and access to networking and promotional opportunities. The Growth Acceleration Program will target ventures that currently have significant momentum and are looking to rapidly scale their operations and teams. Services of the program include validation of overall business plans including market fit, value proposition and sales processes.

FedDev Ontario invested over $50 million in 2019 to bring together three top innovation hubs — Communitech, MaRS Discovery District and Invest Ottawa – to implement the Scale-Up Platform to help innovative companies grow more quickly and support the creation high-quality, skilled jobs.

FedDev Ontario partners with Space Place Canada for Canadian space economy event

FedDev Ontario partners with Space Place Canada for Canadian space economy event

On March 2, FedDev Ontario partnered with Space Place Canada to present an exclusive event highlighting developments and opportunities in Canada’s space sector. The hybrid event, Opportunities in Space for Industry + Professionals: Lunar Gateway, Canadarm3 and New Space, provided more than 240 participants with information about opportunities available to industry, academia, and individuals in Canada’s growing space sector.

Presentations from participating businesses and organizations included advice and information from leading Canadian voices in the space sector, including Brian Gallant, CEO of Space Canada and former Premier of New Brunswick; Dr. Robert Zee, Executive Director of the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies’ Space Flight Laboratory; and Dave Mann, Head of Talent Acquisition at MDA, which is building the robotics for the new international Lunar Gateway. Space Place Canada, a not-for-profit organization, highlighted its plan to bring a 21st century physical public planetarium to Toronto to support STEAM (STEM+ Arts), education and experiences in Canada. Representatives from FedDev Ontario’s Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) unit provided information about the Agency’s funding programs and business services related to the aerospace sector, as well as information about Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits policy established to promote significant business opportunities for Canadian industry through federal defence and security procurement projects. FedDev Ontario’s ITB team provides advice and support to a wide range of southern Ontario’s manufacturing, research, and academic industry sectors and helps broker relationships between companies—including small-and-medium enterprises—and defence contractors.

FedDev Ontario and Space Place Canada are currently planning a follow-up event for July 2023, highlighting opportunities at other leading Canadian space organizations.

A replay of the event can be found on Space Place Canada’s YouTube channel.

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Feddev Ontario recipient news and updates

COIL initiative supports over 100 circular economy firms in first year of operation
COIL initiative supports over 100 circular economy firms in first year of operation

COIL initiative supports over 100 circular economy firms in first year of operation

Circular economy refers to the practice of reusing plastic and other end-of-life materials in an economically beneficial manner, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the waste that gets sent to landfill sites. Launched in 2021, the Circular Opportunity Innovation Launchpad (COIL) accelerator is a joint venture between the City of Guelph, County of Wellington, Innovation Guelph and 10C that provides entrepreneurs, businesses, not-for-profit organizations and SMEs access to funding, membership, and “living lab” opportunities to test the impact and application of their transformative circular economy technologies or business models in real-world settings. To date, the COIL initiative has launched 11 program intakes, supporting more than 100 Ontario businesses.

In 2021, FedDev Ontario provided the City of Guelph and its partners with a $5-million investment to develop COIL and accelerate the growth of circular economy-focused companies in the region.

Invest WindsorEssex pursuing EV supply chain leads worth $2.5 billion
Invest WindsorEssex pursuing EV supply chain leads worth $2.5 billion

Invest WindsorEssex pursuing EV supply chain leads worth $2.5 billion

Stephen MacKenzie, President and CEO of Invest WindsorEssex (IWE), recently told CBC News that the region is on track to secure more than $2.5 billion in new investments by electric vehicle (EV) supply chain manufacturers. The region has become an attractive location for many companies looking to establish headquarters close to an EV manufacturing hub. The recent announcement of Volkswagen's battery manufacturing plant in nearby St. Thomas, as well as major EV plants existing just across the border in Michigan and Ohio, means the WindsorEssex region is poised to become a supply chain powerhouse in the coming years.

Invest WindsorEssex is a not-for-profit organization focused on advancing economic development and prosperity in the region. In 2021, FedDev Ontario provided IWE with a $7.5 million investment to establish Canada’s first world-class automobility accelerator supporting the development of secure, zero emissions vehicles technologies.

FedDev Ontario attends wrap-up events for two women-focused initiatives
FedDev Ontario attends wrap-up events for two women-focused initiatives

FedDev Ontario attends wrap-up events for two women-focused initiatives

Representatives from FedDev Ontario attended a wrap-up celebration event for the Canadian Film Centre’s Fifth Wave Initiative, an intersectional feminist business accelerator providing programming and services for women-owned/led businesses in southern Ontario’s digital media sector. With an investment of $3,995,000 from FedDev Ontario through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES) Ecosystem Fund, Fifth Wave has supported 105 women-led businesses since its inception in 2020. The event brought together program alumni and mentors primarily from the digital media sector to discuss topics such as strengthening diversification and growth in their sector, the integration of value-based thinking into their businesses and increasing access to expertise and networks for businesses at all levels of growth.

Officials also attended ventureLAB’s Future of Women in Tech event recognizing and celebrating women entrepreneurs in the tech sector, as well as celebrating the wrap-up of ventureLAB’s Tech Undivided, an initiative focused on providing support for women tech founders to grow and scale their business. The event featured a panel of senior women leaders in the tech sector and included discussions on the progress and challenges of making the sector more inclusive. Speakers included Melissa Chee, co-founder and CEO of ventureLAB, keynote speaker Erin Bury, CEO and Co-Founder of Willful, and Heather Crosbie, Advisor and Portfolio lead for Tech Undivided. Launched in 2019, Tech Undivided was supported through a $1.7 million investment from FedDev Ontario through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy Ecosystem Fund.

Kitchener software company Shinydocs raises $16.25 million in financing
Kitchener software company Shinydocs raises $16.25 million in financing

Kitchener software company Shinydocs raises $16.25 million in financing

Digital information management software company Shinydocs recently announced it has raised $16.25 million in financing to support the expansion of its sales and marketing teams to access new markets and growth opportunities. Shinydocs provides software solutions and services that utilize unique search engine capabilities to crawl internal file servers and document repositories and produce a detailed inventory and visualization of an organization’s information stored across diverse locations. Customers include large enterprises, federal and municipal governments, and firms in the oil and gas and financial sectors. This new funding will allow the company to further expand its reach into this underserved segment of the information management market.

In 2022, FedDev Ontario provided Shinydocs with a $4-million repayable contribution, through the Jobs and Growth Fund, to enhance Cognitive Suite, its digital storage solution that assists clients in finding key information and protecting against cybersecurity breaches and losses. The investment helped create 40 skilled jobs in Waterloo Region.

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Social media highlights

for her many great accomplishments during her five-year term, and wishing her continued success in future endeavours!

The hanging of a red dress is an artistic representation of the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people. As well as addressing this national crisis, it’s a powerful symbol to acknowledge that theyre still here in spirit and will never be forgotten.

Learn more about Jaime Black’s The REDress Project, visit jaimeblackartist.com

 

Yvonne Pilon on LinkedIn:

Yesterday's Southwestern Ontario Black Entrepreneurship Network (SWOBEN) Financing Your Business event at EPICentre UWindsor was a great success! With 13 exhibitors, close to 80 attendees, 7 information sessions, and more than 5 partners, the energy in the room was palpable. (Bravo Colin Grimmond ) It's been just over 4 months since SWOBEN launched in Windsor-Essex, and it's truly remarkable to see the community of entrepreneurs and companies that are being built, and the new partnerships that are being made.

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Upcoming Events

Event September 12

May 25-28

FCM Annual Conference and Trade Show (Toronto)

This event attracts more than 2,000 elected officials and FCM partners to share best practices on influencing the national municipal agenda.

Event September 12

June 8

Advanced Manufacturing Symposium: Ontario's Next Frontier (Toronto)

This half-day event will explore the opportunities available to improve the productivity and competitiveness of Toronto region’s manufacturing industry, including those related to technology adoption, green manufacturing, precision manufacturing, and management and transition of IP. Speakers include government officials, industry leaders, operations and supply consultants, law experts, and leading innovators. For attendees, the event aims to build knowledge and capacity in key areas.

Event September 12

June 13-15

Canada SynBio Conference (Toronto)

This event showcases the successes and opportunities of engineering biology across Canada, and will examine how Canada can advance its position as a leader in engineering biology.

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