Ontario goes to polls as S&T-heavy

Passage of the Ontario Budget will depend on the success of the minority Liberal government in a pending election as the annual fiscal plan was rejected by both opposition parties. If passed, 11 key sectors (see chart) will be the focus of a new $2.5-billion, 10 year Jobs and Prosperity Fund (JPF) — just one of several research and innovation measures aimed at boosting Ontario's knowledge-based and established economies.

The 424-page Budget document — delivered May 1st by Finance minister Charles Sousa — projects a FY 14-15 deficit of $12.5 billion (up from an estimated $11.3 billion in FY13-14) with a balancing of the books still targeted for FY17-18.

The combined budgets for the ministries of Economic Development, Trade and Employment and Research and Innovation are slated to increase from $871.5 million in FY13-14 to $1,011.9 million in FY14-15.

Research and innovation remain front and centre in the government's priorities, with no announced cuts and several new or extended initiatives spread across the province. These include:

• $30 million venture capital seed fund for the life sciences in conjunction with industry and hospital foundations;

• $25 million over five years in new funding for the Institute for Quantum Computing;

• a $250-million top-up to the Ontario Research Fund to leverage federal investments in research infrastructure;

• $40 million annually from the Jobs and Prosperity Fund for investment in agri-food and agri-products processing;

• $20 million over four years to support a new Innovation Procurement Framework; and,

• $5 million to establish a Trillium Advanced Manufacturing Network to be located at Western Univ's Ivey Business School.

The JPF — announced several days before the Budget was tabled — is intended to attract and retain key industries in the province and is the second time Ontario has created such a fund.

"With the new fund, the province will have the flexibility to offer strategic incentives, where necessary, to secure key anchor investments in Ontario's interest, help support growth, and create well-paid jobs at home," states the Budget documents.

The JPF's first iteration recently invested in two firms to expand their presence and R&D activities. Cisco Systems Inc received $220 million to support a $4-billion, 10-year investment in its operations in Kanata and Toronto (R$, March 13/14) that will create more than 5,000 jobs over the next 10 years.

Waterloo-based Open Text Corp received $120 million as part of a seven-year agreement to invest $2 billion in various locations around the province and add 1,200 jobs, nearly doubling its provincial workforce.

In addition to the new seed VC fund, the life sciences sector is also the focus of the new Innovation Procurement Framework. It is intended to "identify barriers to innovation and provide guidance on early market engagement and innovation procurement models to further accelerate life sciences and health care technology".

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