Canada - McGuinty Government supports Green Energy Innovation

The Ontario government is supporting leading-edge research that will increase renewable energy, create high-skill jobs and attract new investment to the province, Premier and Minister of Research and Innovation Dalton McGuinty announced today.

"We're investing in the skills, education and creativity of our people to build more prosperity for Ontario families," said Premier McGuinty. "By enabling world-class research to be done right here in Ontario, we're doing our part to advance new technologies and build a cleaner, greener and healthier province."

Premier McGuinty made the announcement at the inaugural Premier's Innovation Awards ceremony held at the MaRS Discovery District.

The government is providing $3.4 million to support a wind energy conversion project, led by Dr. Reza Iravani at the University of Toronto. The project will develop more efficient ways to convert wind energy into renewable electricity that can be supplied to the power grid. As a result, Ontario will be able to rely on cleaner, more reliable and affordable power for the future.

The funding will leverage a matching investment from the private sector. This announcement is part of a series of investments under the Ontario Research Fund's Research Excellence program. Under its first round of investments, the government will contribute $115 million to support research at universities, institutes and hospitals across Ontario.

Today's ceremony at the MaRS Discovery District honoured winners in the Premier's Catalyst, Discovery and Summit awards programs. Award winners were recognized for their achievements in everything from life-saving medical research to innovations that are revolutionizing business and industry.

"MaRS is particularly honoured to be involved with the Premier's Summit Awards for Medical Research," said MaRS CEO Dr. Ilse Treurnicht, "This unprecedented new investment in the work of our truly exceptional scientists will make a difference in the health of Canadians and others around the world. We are all proud that that these remarkable scientists live and work in Ontario."

Investing in research and innovation is the latest example of how the McGuinty government is working on the side of families and businesses to strengthen and help green Ontario's economy. Other initiatives include:

- Investing over $5.9 million in the Ontario BioCar Initiative, a research project to turn Ontario's harvest — such as wheat, corn, soybeans and forest biomass — into viable materials for the auto industry
- Introducing the $160 million Ideas to Market strategy to grow new start-ups and drive innovative discoveries rapidly from the lab to the marketplace
- Investing almost $527 million in the Ontario Research Fund to support research and help transform knowledge into products and services that improve people's lives and create jobs. Funding through this program allows Ontario research institutions to support leading-edge research, and attract and retain the world's best research talent.

"Ontario is home to some of the best and brightest researchers and entrepreneurs in the world, and we're proud to support and celebrate their extraordinary accomplishments," said Premier McGuinty. "By investing in our people, we can turn homegrown ideas into homegrown jobs and build a stronger, greener economy."