December 18, 2017 | Local, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Innovative Solutions Canada is a $100-million program to fuel innovation and create middle-class jobs
December 14, 2017 – Ottawa
As the single-largest purchaser of Canadian goods and services, the Government of Canada will use procurement to help Canadian small businesses innovate and create employment opportunities for Canadians.
The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, together with the Honourable Bardish Chagger, Leader of the Government in the House of Commons and Minister of Small Business and Tourism, today announced the $100-million Innovative Solutions Canada program that invites Canadian small businesses to develop novel solutions to challenges proposed by federal departments and agencies.
Whether the challenge is developing a way to make armour more resistant to chemicals or improving wireless connectivity in connected vehicles, the federal department or agency will ask small businesses to innovate and propose a solution. The government will work with the winning business and act as its first customer, helping the companies take their idea to market and advance the next generation of solutions that can become viable commercial products.
Twenty federal departments and agencies will participate in the new program and identify problems spanning the military, economic and environmental sectors.
Innovative Solutions Canada is a key component of the Government of Canada's Innovation and Skills Plan, a multi-year strategy to create well-paying jobs for the middle class.
“Our government's new Innovative Solutions Canada program is a big winner on several fronts. We're being proactive and transforming our challenges into opportunities—opportunities for innovation, economic growth and small business success that will result in a vibrant innovation economy and more middle-class jobs for Canadians.”
– The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development
“We believe innovative Canadian small businesses are well positioned to help the government solve some of its more persistent challenges. Through Innovative Solutions Canada, we are asking entrepreneurs to develop new products and services that will help to solve these challenges, while also enabling these entrepreneurs as they work to expand to new markets and sell to new customers around the world. The benefits from this program are clear: the Government of Canada will be able to acquire new products and services that will improve our work, while hard-working small business owners will be able to grow their businesses and create more well-paying middle-class jobs.”
– The Honourable Bardish Chagger, Minister of Small Business and Tourism
“Our community of early-stage investors, incubators and accelerators provides much-needed coaching, connections and capital to Canada's early-stage companies seeking to grow and scale up. Many times, their ‘first customer' serves as critical validation that allows these companies to penetrate their markets locally and globally. The Innovative Solutions Canada program announced today will help Canadian companies gain early customer traction while also allowing Canadians to benefit from the adoption of homegrown innovative solutions.”
‑ Sandi Gilbert, Chair of the Board, National Angel Capital Organization (NACO Canada)
Program funding will come from the 20 departments and agencies participating in Innovative Solutions Canada. Each department will set aside 1 percent of its research and development expenditures for this initiative.
Innovative Solutions Canada is modelled on the U.S. Small Business Innovation Research program and is an essential component of the Government of Canada's efforts to help small businesses.
Innovative Solutions Canada will encourage submissions from businesses owned and led by women, Indigenous peoples, youth and other traditionally under-represented groups.
July 17, 2024 | Local, Land, Security
B.C. Premier David Eby backed Newfoundland and Labrador’s legal challenge of the federal equalization payment program, while Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew called on the federal government to meet NATO’s two per cent spending target “within the next four years.”
December 4, 2020 | Local, Aerospace
July 19, 2019 | Local, Naval
By Marco Vigliotti *The headline has been updated to clarify that a contract has not yet been awarded to Irving Shipbuilding. Shipyards in Quebec and B.C. have won contracts collectively worth $1 billion to repair aging warships, with another contract for a Nova Scotia facility to be completed shortly, the federal government announced today. It's part of the government's promised $7.5 billion investment in maintaining 12 Halifax-class frigates for the Royal Canadian Navy until they are retired in the early 2040s. The five-year, $500-million contracts for Quebec's Chantier Davie and Seaspan Victoria Shipyards Limited were officially announced during concurrent ceremonies at the facilities, both of which featured ministers from the area. Public Services and Procurement Minister Carla Qualthrough, who represents a Vancouver-area riding, made the announcement at Seaspan's facility in Victoria (the Liberals hold no seats in the region). Families, Children and Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos made the announcement at Davie's plant in Lévis, Que. He represents a riding across the St. Lawrence River in Quebec City. “This vital, long-term work demonstrates the government's continued commitment to supporting the women and men of the Royal Canadian Navy by providing them with the equipment they need to protect Canadian interests at home and abroad,” Qualthrough said in a statement. A similar deal with Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax is also in the works, according to Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC). The contracts guarantee at least three frigates to repair for each facility, with work expected to begin in 2020. In a statement, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said the shipbuilding announcement was nothing but “cynical electioneering.” “There are less than 100 days to the next election, and the Trudeau government is once again campaigning on the taxpayers' dime, trying to buy people's votes with their own money,” reads his statement. “While it is good to see shipbuilding work go to Davie, today's announcement is nothing but cynical electioneering from a government that will do anything and say anything to cling to power.” https://ipolitics.ca/2019/07/16/feds-award-over-1-billion-in-contracts-to-three-shipyards-to-repair-aging-frigates/