Today Royal Galipeau, Member of Parliament for Ottawa – Orléans and Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole House, on behalf of the Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for the National Research Council of Canada (NRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), announced the winners of a special $15-million nanotechnology research funding competition. Five projects will be funded over three years. BDC assessed the commercial potential of the proposed projects and will help the researchers move their technologies toward commercialization.
"Canada already has considerable expertise in the field of nanotechnology, and the government is ensuring that our country takes its place among the most innovative nations of the world. It is precisely this kind of effort that was envisioned by the government's Science and Technology Strategy announced last year by Prime Minister Stephen Harper," said Mr. Galipeau. "This investment will help researchers turn ideas into innovations that will protect our environment, improve our health, enhance communications and successfully address other issues for the benefit of all Canadians."
The five winning teams combine the expertise of NRC researchers from several disciplines with collaborators from 14 academic institutions: Concordia University, École Polytechnique de Montréal, McGill University, Queen's University, Simon Fraser University, Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke, University of Alberta and Concordia University College of Alberta, University of British Columbia, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, University of Victoria and University of Waterloo. Each research team has also secured industry support.
"By supporting research excellence and encouraging the commercialization of ideas, the Government of Canada is helping researchers develop leading-edge technologies that will improve Canada's productivity, create high-quality jobs for Canadians and allow us to compete with the best in the world," said Mr. Galipeau.
Budget 2008 provides an additional $650 million over the next three years to secure Canada's leadership in the global marketplace through research and innovation. In fact, the last three budgets combined have added more than $2.3 billion in new funding for science and technology.
