The City of Edmonton is giving $5 million to 17 organizations in a new program called the Edge Fund, aimed at supporting tech and innovation and diversifying the local economy.
Grants range from $100,000 to $750,000 in two streams: “Scale and grow” for larger projects and the “Start” stream for smaller amounts.
Zero Point Cryogenics, established in 2017 with expertise from the University of Alberta, is receiving $723,020 to scale up production of dilution refrigerators, used in quantum computing applications.
Chris Cassin, CEO of Zero Point, said they’ll use the funding to hire local and international talent with a background in instrumentation or electrical engineering technology.
“The reason we chose Edmonton is, first of all we have a deep history of quantum and low temperature physics at the University of Alberta,” Cassin said in an interview with CBC News Wednesday.
“A lot of the skills required for us to build our systems are very similar to the skills that exist in the oil and gas industry.”
They already work closely with NAIT to hire students for co-op terms and hope to retain them when they graduate, Cassin added.
Their product, ultimately speeding up computer processing and calculations, is used by academic institutions, governments, military and computing companies, Cassin said.
Cassin, grateful for the city’s contribution, noted that the city of Calgary started a $100 million fund in 2018 called the Opportunity Calgary Investment Fund.
“If we want to attract and retain companies and grow as a city and move to potentially cleaner technologies, we need to attract and innovate,” Cassin said.
DiveThru, a mental health therapy agency that started as an app, is receiving $750,000 to open two more brick and mortar locations in Edmonton.
“These contributions really go a long way to allowing companies to establish themselves,” founder Sophie Gray told CBC News Wednesday.
“I think the City of Edmonton, the province as a whole, is really trying to invest in the small companies, into companies using technology.”
Gray said they’re still a young company, having opened the first location just south of Whyte Avenue in Feb. 2023.
“I think they want to see more of these companies growing and establishing themselves. And I think overall in the big picture, it’s a it’s a win-win for everyone.”
Start up stream
A number of companies are receiving $100,000 in the start stream, including OligomicsTx Inc. to develop and test a drug delivery technology that treats facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), a rare muscle-wasting condition.
Swift Charge receives $100,000 to manufacture and test the company’s electric vehicle (EV) fast-charger commercial prototype.
ZerOne Hockeyologyreceives $100,000 to upgrade the company’s digital infrastructure as a hockey development and training centre. It’s also a sport, rehabilitation and wellness centre for athletes, opening in July at the West Edmonton Mall.
ZerOne is collaborating with the University of Alberta’s Craig Chapman, a professor of kinesiology and neuroscience. Chapman is also the CEO of Gama — Gaze And Movement Analysis, a spinoff company at the U of A.
“We can do a lot with $100,000,” Chapman said, pointing to equipment in the lab that includes cameras, video screens and computers.
“I think it shows you where intelligent investment can reap really big benefit if it’s targeted at the right people at the right time.”
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the fund is expected to spur more investment and local economy.
“These projects have the potential to create economic growth in some of the city’s key sectors and make our entire region more prosperous,” Sohi said in a press release.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VICTORIA – British Columbia is forecasting a record budget deficit and a rising debt of almost $129 billion less than two weeks before the start of a provincial election campaign where economic stability and future progress are expected to be major issues.
Finance Minister Katrine Conroy, who has announced her retirement and will not seek re-election in the Oct. 19 vote, said Tuesday her final budget update as minister predicts a deficit of $8.9 billion, up $1.1 billion from a forecast she made earlier this year.
Conroy said she acknowledges “challenges” facing B.C., including three consecutive deficit budgets, but expected improved economic growth where the province will start to “turn a corner.”
The $8.9 billion deficit forecast for 2024-2025 is followed by annual deficit projections of $6.7 billion and $6.1 billion in 2026-2027, Conroy said at a news conference outlining the government’s first quarterly financial update.
Conroy said lower corporate income tax and natural resource revenues and the increased cost of fighting wildfires have had some of the largest impacts on the budget.
“I want to acknowledge the economic uncertainties,” she said. “While global inflation is showing signs of easing and we’ve seen cuts to the Bank of Canada interest rates, we know that the challenges are not over.”
Conroy said wildfire response costs are expected to total $886 million this year, more than $650 million higher than originally forecast.
Corporate income tax revenue is forecast to be $638 million lower as a result of federal government updates and natural resource revenues are down $299 million due to lower prices for natural gas, lumber and electricity, she said.
Debt-servicing costs are also forecast to be $344 million higher due to the larger debt balance, the current interest rate and accelerated borrowing to ensure services and capital projects are maintained through the province’s election period, said Conroy.
B.C.’s economic growth is expected to strengthen over the next three years, but the timing of a return to a balanced budget will fall to another minister, said Conroy, who was addressing what likely would be her last news conference as Minister of Finance.
The election is expected to be called on Sept. 21, with the vote set for Oct. 19.
“While we are a strong province, people are facing challenges,” she said. “We have never shied away from taking those challenges head on, because we want to keep British Columbians secure and help them build good lives now and for the long term. With the investments we’re making and the actions we’re taking to support people and build a stronger economy, we’ve started to turn a corner.”
Premier David Eby said before the fiscal forecast was released Tuesday that the New Democrat government remains committed to providing services and supports for people in British Columbia and cuts are not on his agenda.
Eby said people have been hurt by high interest costs and the province is facing budget pressures connected to low resource prices, high wildfire costs and struggling global economies.
The premier said that now is not the time to reduce supports and services for people.
Last month’s year-end report for the 2023-2024 budget saw the province post a budget deficit of $5.035 billion, down from the previous forecast of $5.9 billion.
Eby said he expects government financial priorities to become a major issue during the upcoming election, with the NDP pledging to continue to fund services and the B.C. Conservatives looking to make cuts.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the debt would be going up to more than $129 billion. In fact, it will be almost $129 billion.
NANAIMO, B.C. – Former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney says he’ll be advising the Liberal party to flip some the challenges posed by an increasingly divided and dangerous world into an economic opportunity for Canada.
But he won’t say what his specific advice will be on economic issues that are politically divisive in Canada, like the carbon tax.
He presented his vision for the Liberals’ economic policy at the party’s caucus retreat in Nanaimo, B.C. today, after he agreed to help the party prepare for the next election as chair of a Liberal task force on economic growth.
Carney has been touted as a possible leadership contender to replace Justin Trudeau, who has said he has tried to coax Carney into politics for years.
Carney says if the prime minister asks him to do something he will do it to the best of his ability, but won’t elaborate on whether the new adviser role could lead to him adding his name to a ballot in the next election.
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says she has been taking advice from Carney for years, and that his new position won’t infringe on her role.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
