Automotive Innovation Gets a Big Boost From the Ontario Government

HAMILTON, Ontario - The Ontario government is attracting high-value jobs and new investment by supporting Hamilton researchers who are exploring leading-edge auto manufacturing technology, announced Premier and Minister of Research and Innovation Dalton McGuinty.

“Prosperity in the 21st century is all about investing in the skills, knowledge and creativity of our people,” said Premier McGuinty. “By enabling world-class research to be done right here in Ontario, our government is doing its part to attract top researchers, create better jobs and spark new economic investment.”

The government is providing over $15 million to support the Hamilton Initiative for Automotive Manufacturing Innovation, led by David Wilkinson at McMaster University.

The investment will help develop new technologies for producing lighter-weight, more cost-competitive cars. This will help strengthen Ontario’s future as a leading auto and auto parts manufacturer, and create highly skilled jobs. The funding will leverage matching investments from 26 partners in industry and other fields.

This is the first in a series of investments through the Ontario Research Fund’s Research Excellence program. Under the first round of investments, the government is providing $115 million to support research across the province.

The Ontario Research Fund promotes scientific excellence by supporting research that can be developed into innovative goods and services that will boost Ontario’s economy.

Investing in research and development is the latest example of how the McGuinty government is working on the side of businesses and families to strengthen Ontario’s economy.

Other initiatives include:

Introducing the $160-million Ideas to Market strategy to grow new start-ups and drive innovative discoveries from the lab to the marketplace;
Helping to generate over $7 billion in automotive investments that retain and create thousands of high-value jobs;
Creating the Small Business Agency of Ontario to help reduce regulatory burdens on small business and improve government and business interaction.
“We’re laying the foundation for generations of research talent to come,” said Premier McGuinty. “By investing in our people and their ideas, we’ll continue creating the culture of innovation that will make Ontario a global leader in the knowledge economy.”