Waterloo, Ontario
The Government of Canada is committed to supporting businesses and the organizations that support them as they drive sustainable growth and innovation and shape a resilient and prosperous future for southern Ontario's economy.
Today, the Honourable Ruby Sahota, Minister of Democratic Institutions and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), visited the Waterloo Accelerator (Accelerator Centre) to learn about how the organization is enhancing the AC:Studio program to help more clean tech companies bring products and solutions to market. Minister Sahota was joined by the Honourable Bardish Chagger, Member of Parliament for Waterloo; Bryan May, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Small Business and to the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario and Member of Parliament for Cambridge; Valerie Bradford, Member of Parliament for Kitchener South-Hespeler; and Tim Louis, Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Conestoga.
While there, Minister Sahota announced nearly $9 million for two organizations in the Waterloo Region to support Canadian solutions in clean technology and advanced manufacturing. This includes over $3.9 million for the Accelerator Centre to launch new Sustainable Development cohorts of AC:Studio. Launching later this year following the successful pilot cohort of the program, the enhanced AC:Studio program will provide over 45 high-potential startups with funding, mentorship and operational support as they focus on reducing carbon emissions, driving energy efficiency and advancing clean growth.
Minister Sahota also announced $5 million for the University of Waterloo to create the Consortium for Sustainable Scale-up in Metal Additive Manufacturing (CSS-MAM), building on the success of the Multi-Scale Additive Manufacturing lab. This new hub will focus on bringing Canadian businesses together to drive innovation and growth opportunities in Ontario's advanced manufacturing sector. It will support over 85 businesses, while preparing our future workforce with critical skills. In collaboration with the MSAM lab, it will foster Canadian solutions to reduce the environmental impact of the advanced manufacturing sector, focusing on waste and CO2 reduction, digital manufacturing and the development of local supply chain clusters.
These investments underscore the Government of Canada's ongoing commitment to supporting our businesses and entrepreneurs as they foster sustainable, homegrown innovation while contributing to the growth of southern Ontario and Canada's economy.
