Canada's New Government launches a competition to fund Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research

Edmonton, June 26, 2007 – The Honourable Maxime Bernier, Minister of Industry, and the Honourable Rona Ambrose, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Western Economic Diversification, today announced the launch of a national competition to fund new Centres of Excellence for Commercialization and Research (CECR).

The competition will determine which organizations obtain a share of the $165 million set aside in the last federal budget for the CECR program. The successful organizations will develop Centres of Excellence in four distinct areas:

• Environmental science and technologies;
• Natural resources and energy;
• Health and related life sciences and technologies; and
• Information and communications technologies.

“The Canadian scientific community is already among the leaders in many areas of research, and it needs a greater number of world-class centres of research and commercialization,” said Minister Bernier at a breakfast meeting hosted by the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce. “I am happy today to announce that Canada's New Government is delivering on its budget commitment by launching this competition. We need the academic, private, public and not-for-profit sectors to join forces and do more to improve the Canadian global economic competitiveness.”

Minister Ambrose said, “Every region of the country has unique strengths to offer and is well-positioned to bid for new centres. Through them, a region can build up and diversify its economic base while contributing to the growth of Canada as a whole.”

“Edmonton is a hotbed of research and innovation, recognized nationally and internationally in the areas of energy, health sciences, information and communications technology, and the environment,” said Martin Salloum, President and CEO of the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce. “We are pleased to partner with the Government of Canada in hosting an announcement of this significance, the results of which will further our vision of creating the best possible environment for business.”

The Centres of Excellence program is a key element of the Entrepreneurial Advantage component of Canada's new Science and Technology Strategy. The Strategy can be summed up in two words: excellence and commercialization. Its ultimate goal is for more people with cutting-edge knowledge to bring their ideas to market with the help of entrepreneurs.

Not-for-profit corporations created by universities, colleges, not-for-profit research organizations, firms and other interested non-government parties are eligible to receive funds.

Centres wishing to obtain funding must begin by sending letters of intent, by August 20, 2007, that describe, among other things, the expected research and/or commercialization benefits for the proposed project.

Dr. Suzanne Fortier, Chair of the Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE) Steering Committee and President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada welcomed the government initiative.

“Today's announcement demonstrates the government's commitment to supporting an environment in which ideas can grow into research, and research can grow into business opportunities. The ideas are out there. The entrepreneurs are out there. We just have to bring the two together and ‘wow' the world,” she said.

Interested centres should visit the NCE website to find out more about the application process: www.nce.gc.ca.

To view the minister's announcement by webcast, go to: http://events.startcast.com/events/163/B0002.

Additional information can be found in the attached backgrounder.

For more details, please contact:

Isabelle Fontaine
Office of the Honourable Maxime Bernier
Minister of Industry
613-995-9001

Media Relations
Industry Canada
613-943-2502

Pierre Floréa
Office of the Honourable Rona Ambrose
613-943-1831

Marie-Reine Cluniat
NCE Communications
Cell : 613-447-1609