Anne Spence: Innovation Opportunities in Atlantic Canada

We have 16 world-class universities and outstanding community colleges here in Atlantic Canada. Our quality of life is second to none. This region is home to hundreds of welcoming communities, abundant natural resources, an exceptionally strong entrepreneurial spirit – and governments that recognize these innate strengths and invest strategically to support them.

There is no shortage of opportunity here, so it makes sense that we have become a magnet for bright minds and innovative ideas.

To seize on this momentum and capture the prosperity on the horizon for Atlantic Canada, to emerge as the innovation leaders both nationally and internationally we know we can be, we need to make this region the most productive in the country.

That’s our mission at Mitacs: to drive productivity, economic growth, and quality of life for Canadians by harnessing the power of innovative talent and R&D for organizations in every industry and sector across Atlantic Canada and beyond.

We connect organizations doing critical and cutting-edge work – from health system transformation to clean energy production to cybersecurity – with the highly skilled post-secondary talent, research experts, and financial capital they need to make their impact.

Organizations like Osprey Inspiration, a not-for-profit on a mission to help Atlantic Canadians make the leap from renting to owning their homes, or the Halifax Port Authority, where researchers are working to determine how this vital international trade hub is impacting local marine ecosystems.

In the last year alone, Mitacs enabled over 450 Atlantic Canadian private sector and not-for-profit organizations to advance crucial innovations, whether in implementing new technologies, reaching new markets, or conducting new R&D. And the outcomes speak for themselves: Statistics Canada research shows that, in Atlantic Canada, companies that worked with Mitacs saw their total employment increase by 6.5%, labour productivity rise by 8.6%, and total sales grow by 14.1%, compared to those that did not.

Mitacs is committed to continuing to support talent, productivity, R&D, and innovation in Atlantic Canada. Our team of Business Development Advisors across the region is standing by to help.