Canada and Ontario Invest in Post-Secondary Infrastructure in Thunder Bay and Region

THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Oct. 13, 2016) - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

The Government of Canada values the role of post-secondary institutions as they help equip young Canadians with the education and training they need for future careers that will help them join a strong, healthy middle class. Today's $20.76-million investment in Confederation College and Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education and Training Institute will do just that by fostering the training needed for the well-paying middle-class jobs of today and tomorrow.

The funding was announced today by the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and by the Honourable Michael Gravelle, Ontario's Minister of Northern Development and Mines, and the Honourable Bill Mauro, Ontario's Minister of Municipal Affairs.

The Government of Canada's Innovation Agenda aims to make this country a global centre for innovation-one that creates jobs, drives growth across all industries and improves the lives of all Canadians. This investment exemplifies that vision in action.

Confederation College will receive $18 million for the construction of its new Technology Education and Collaboration Hub. The "TEC Hub" will include new workshop and lab space and will bring the college's apprenticeship, trades and technology programs together in one building. The Government of Canada and the Province of Ontario are each contributing $9 million. Confederation College and other partners will provide an additional $1.96 million.

Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education and Training Institute will receive $2.7 million in federal funding for its Pathways to Prosperous Future project. This project will enable the Institute, through its Trades Training Mobile Lab, to provide specialized training for First Nations people in 49 communities across the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. The funding will also be used to upgrade the trades labs at Dennis Franklin Cromarty High School, which will help provide more training opportunities for First Nations youth.

In total, universities and colleges throughout Ontario will receive more than $1.9 billion from the Government of Canada, the provincial government, the institutions themselves and private donors. Federal funding will be allocated through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, which will enhance and modernize research facilities on Canadian campuses and improve the environmental sustainability of these facilities.

As a result of these investments, students, professors and researchers will work in state-of-the-art facilities that advance the country's best research. They will collaborate in specially designed spaces that support lifelong learning and skills training. They will work in close proximity with partners to turn discoveries into products or services. In the process, they will train for-and invent-the high-value jobs of the future. And their discoveries will plant the seeds for the next generation of innovators.

That is how the Strategic Investment Fund will jump-start a virtuous circle of innovation, creating the right conditions for long-term growth that will yield benefits for generations to come.

Ontario is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province's history-about $160 billion over 12 years-which is supporting 110,000 jobs every year across the province with projects such as hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit. Since 2015, the Province has announced support for more than 475 projects that will keep people and goods moving, connect communities and improve quality of life. To learn more about infrastructure projects in your community, go to Ontario.ca/BuildON.

Quotes

"This once-in-a-generation investment by the Government of Canada is a historic down payment on the government's vision to position Canada as a global centre for innovation. That means making Canada a world leader in turning ideas into solutions, science into technologies, skills into middle-class jobs and start-up companies into global successes. This investment will create conditions that are conducive to innovation and long-term growth, which will in turn keep the Canadian economy globally competitive."

- The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

"Confederation College is undertaking exceptional and innovative work in Thunder Bay and across Northern Ontario. This investment will assist the college in modernizing its campus so that its students are able to thrive, learn and grow in state-of-the-art facilities."

- The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Status of Women

"These investments demonstrate our government's commitment to innovative technology-based learning in Northern Ontario. By investing in education and students, we are investing in the future. I look forward to seeing the success that these projects will bring to our region."

- Don Rusnak, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay-Rainy River

"Our government is proud to provide further support to Confederation College's new Technology Education and Collaboration Hub with an additional $2 million through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation. The province's investment will allow students here in the North to attain the skills and training required to build the highly skilled workforce needed to support good jobs and grow the northern economy."

- The Honourable Michael Gravelle, Ontario's Minister of Northern Development and Mines, Chair of the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation

"Our government is proud to support this important project, which will give Confederation College students access to renewed and upgraded facilities that provide space for a Technology Education and Collaboration Hub. The project will benefit students, alumni and the manufacturing, technology and resource sectors by providing them access to workshop clusters and collaborative spaces for e-learning. We know that providing access to high-quality education and training facilities is critical to building the highly skilled workforce we need to support good jobs and economic growth for today and tomorrow, and this investment will help us to do it."

- The Honourable Bill Mauro, Ontario's Minister of Municipal Affairs

"We extend our deepest gratitude to the federal and provincial governments for their support of our Technology, Education and Collaboration Hub through the Strategic Investment Fund. The TEC Hub will contribute to the development of a skilled, employment-ready technology and trades workforce for northwestern Ontario. Through the TEC Hub, Confederation College will be poised to play an integral role in the future of the manufacturing, technology and resource sectors for our region. The Hub will create opportunities for manufacturing and technology program expansion, provide improved access to post-secondary education through pathways for skilled trades programming, and encourage innovation and collaboration among community partners."

- Jim Madder, President, Confederation College

"We are excited by the huge potential a mobile trades trailer lab transportable by truck will have for specialized and trades training for Indigenous learners living in communities of the Nishnawbe Aski Nation. This will allow us to deliver plumbing, mechanical and electrical training to Indigenous learners, which will enable them to meet the needs of communities that normally have to rely on fly-in tradespeople at huge expense. This will position Indigenous peoples for well-paying jobs."

- Rosie S. Mosquito, Executive Director, Oshki-Pimache-O-Win Education and Training Institute

Quick facts

• The Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario are providing more than $950 million for research infrastructure at institutions across Ontario.
• The Government of Canada's recently launched Innovation Agenda is designed to ensure Canada is globally competitive in promoting research, translating ideas into new products and services, accelerating business growth and propelling entrepreneurs from the start-up phase to international success.
• The targeted, short-term investments under the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund will promote economic activity across Canada and help Canada's universities and colleges develop highly skilled workers, act as engines of discovery, and collaborate on innovations that help Canadian companies compete and grow internationally.
• The Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund supports the Government of Canada's climate change objectives by encouraging sustainable and green infrastructure projects.

Associated links

- Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund website

- Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund backgrounder

- Innovation Agenda backgrounder

- BuildON

Follow Minister Bains on social media.

Twitter: @MinisterISED