Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne responds to a question during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Nov. 3, 2020.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Ottawa will announce $55.1-million in grants for clean-tech companies Thursday morning as it bets on the sector to help Canada’s economy rebound from the pandemic.
The funding will come from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a government-funded foundation first launched in 2001 to boost the country’s competitiveness in making sustainable technologies.
The new grants come in addition to the announcement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in December that Ottawa would funnel $750-million into the foundation over the next five years, Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne’s office told The Globe and Mail.
“We are securing Canada’s leadership in the large and growing global clean technology market, and ensuring a more sustainable future for all Canadians,” the minister said in an e-mailed statement late Thursday. His office said that more than 195,000 Canadians already work in the clean-tech sector, which is forecast to be worth $2.5-trillion globally next year.
The foundation’s funding is geared to helping early stage companies develop clean technologies and bring them to market. The recipients of the non-repayable grants focus on carbon-emission reduction, sustainable agriculture and minimizing the environmental impact of mining operations.
Among the recipients of Thursday’s grants are the Mississauga battery-recycling company Li-Cycle Corp., Regina herbicide-reduction company Precision.ai Inc. and Calgary’s Titanium Corp. , which diverts some chemicals from oil sands tailings for reuse.
Mr. Champagne will announce the funding Thursday morning alongside Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and parliamentary secretary Will Amos.
After Mr. Champagne took over the innovation portfolio from Navdeep Bains in January, his mandate letter from Mr. Trudeau included numerous references to clean technology as an opportunity to help Canada’s postpandemic economic recovery – including to “to ensure that Canada is the most competitive jurisdiction in the world for clean technology companies.”
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