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Canada And Nova Scotia Invest In Infrastructure At Acadia University

The funding was announced by the Honourable Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, and by the Honourable Kelly Regan, Nova Scotia Minister of Labour and Advanced Education.

The Government of Canada’s Innovation Agenda aims to make this country a global centre for innovation—one that creates jobs, drives growth across all industries and improves the lives of all Canadians. This investment exemplifies that vision in action and will help create the well-paying middle-class jobs of tomorrow.

The funding will be used to renovate and upgrade Huggins Science Hall and Elliott Hall, two older buildings that are part of Acadia University’s Science Complex. The upgrades will promote intensified research and commercialization activities at the Science Complex, while also improving the buildings’ energy use and efficiency. The project will also see a small structure adjoining the buildings converted into an innovation pavilion, with space for laboratories and support services for industrial liaison, commercialization and co-op education.

Of the $15.98-million investment, $10.48 million will come from the Government of Canada and $5.5 million from the Province of Nova Scotia. Acadia University and private donors will contribute an additional $6.27 million for a total investment of $22.25 million.

In total, the Government of Canada, the provincial government, the institutions themselves and private donors are investing $130 million in universities and colleges throughout Nova Scotia. Federal funding will be allocated through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, which will enhance and modernize research facilities on Canadian campuses and improve the environmental sustainability of these facilities.

As a result of these investments, students, professors and researchers will work in state-of-the-art facilities that advance the country’s best research. They will collaborate in specially designed spaces that support lifelong learning and skills training. They will work in close proximity with partners to turn discoveries into products or services. In the process, they will train for—and create—the high-value, middle-class jobs of the future. And their discoveries will plant the seeds for the next generation of innovators.

That is how the Strategic Investment Fund will jump-start a virtuous circle of innovation, creating the right conditions for long-term growth that will yield benefits for generations to come.

On July 4, 2016, the Government of Canada and the governments of the four Atlantic provinces launched the Atlantic Growth Strategy, which involves targeted actions to stimulate Atlantic Canada’s economy, including supporting key infrastructure projects that contribute to long-term growth and position the region to capitalize on emerging opportunities. Today’s announcement builds on this commitment.