As a result, employment is now at an all time high and Canada is making its presence felt on the world stage in many fields that offer enormous potential for future growth. Noteworthy among these are sectors such as telecommunications, aerospace, e-commerce, and pharmaceuticals and life sciences.
A driving factor behind this phenomenon has been the presence of a number of highly regarded research-intensive universities in communities all across Canada.
In medium-sized cities, these institutions play an especially important role in helping to facilitate growth. In many cases they have made a concerted effort to work in partnership with the private sector, and the results that have been produced by these collaborative relationships have often been impressive.
The role of universities in helping to power the growth of the Canadian high-tech industry has been confirmed by independent studies. The consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, for example, has looked at this issue in some detail. Among its key findings and conclusions:
* For every $1 invested by a Canadian university in capital and operating expenditures, the province in which it is located can expect to realize an increase of $1.50 in its gross provincial product.
* For each person-year of employment directly created by university expenditures, the total employment impact within the university’s home province would be about two person years.
* For every $500 million spent by Canadian universities, governments at various levels can eventually expect to collect taxes valued at more than $225 million.
It’s clear that many of Canada’s second-tier cities owe their economic growth to a marriage between brainpower and entrepreneurial spirit.
Quebec City, Quebec
Quebec City, the capital of Canada’s second most populous province, is home to Laval University. Laval is recognized as a world leader in many different fields of science, and one area in which the university is making an important impact is functional foods and nutraceuticals.
Functional foods are new types of food products that have been scientifically modified to enhance their nutritional value.
Researchers in the Faculty of Science and Agriculture at Laval are presently involved in work that is at the forefront of new developments in this field.
Laval opened a $17.3 million Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals Research Institute in 2001.
The institute, which created 40 research positions in addition to those already present at the university, has helped advance Laval’s work in fields such as plant physiology, dairy technology and animal reproduction.
It will give Quebec City an important edge in seeking to carve out a role for itself in Canada’s growing functional foods industry, which is expected to blossom from $1 billion this year to $3 billion by 2010.
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario
An hour’s drive west of Toronto, brings you to the Kitchener-Waterloo region. Though it can’t match Toronto in terms of population or financial clout, Kitchener-Waterloo has definitely established itself as being a hotbed of technological innovation.
The region is the epicenter of what has become known as “Canada’s Technology Triangle,” and is home to about 400 high-tech companies that collectively generated some $6 billion in revenue in 2000.
A major driver of innovation and growth in the region is the University of Waterloo, a school that is considered by many to be Canada’s most innovative institution of higher learning.
Adding further strength to the region’s capabilities is the presence of more than 120 different research institutes, including the Institute for Photonic Innovations, Communications and Information Technology Ontario (CITO) and the Research Centre for Management of New Technology at nearby Wilfrid Laurier University.
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Located at Canada’s midpoint in the relatively small province of Manitoba, Winnipeg for decades was the place through which Western Canada’s farmers shipped their produce to the global marketplace.
During the past 15 years, the city has become a thriving manufacturing center that serves the Midwest trade corridor to Mexico. Winnipeg is also home to the University of Manitoba, which has become vitally important in the province’s economy.
In recent years, the University of Manitoba has focused considerable effort upon building bridges into the Winnipeg business community, and upon supporting collaborative research projects intended to facilitate economic growth within Manitoba.
In 1999, the university took these activities a step further when it created SMARTpark, a facility intended to bring together researchers from the academic community and the private sector.
Scientists conduct work in fields such as advanced materials and manufacturing technologies, information technology, telecommunications and life sciences.
University research has spawned Cangene Corp.,which was one of the first biotechnology companies in Canada, specializing in biopharmaceuticals and advanced plasma products.
During the past 20 years, Cangene has grown to become a $90 million business that employs nearly 600 people in Canada and the United States. Cangene has continued to maintain a close relationship with the University of Manitoba, and the company has been involved in numerous collaborative research projects with the university.
Michael Kennedy is a freelance business writer based in Toronto
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