GATINEAU, Quebec, July 26, 2012 – The Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for Status of Women, is pleased to announce that the Government of Canada will partner with Canadian entrepreneurs to buy and test 20 new innovations through the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program.
“Our Government’s top priority is the economy and we understand that helping Canadian businesses expand and succeed directly benefits Canadian workers and families by creating jobs and prosperity,” said Minister Ambrose. “By supporting new Canadian innovations, we are helping these businesses take one step closer to success in domestic and international markets.”
Successful businesses will see their new innovative products and services put to use within government departments, and will benefit from valuable, real-world feedback from users.
“We are proud to partner with Canadian businesses to get new products and services from the lab to the marketplace,” said Minister Ambrose. “A kick-start like this can help create homegrown success stories across the country.”
Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) will work to match new innovations with the right departments to test them. This will facilitate moving Canadian innovations into domestic and international markets, while at the same time helping the Government of Canada serve Canadians in the most cost-effective manner possible.
Launched in 2010, the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program has already shown encouraging results, connecting Canadian companies with federal departments and agencies that have a need for new products and services. By selling to the federal government, businesses can demonstrate the value of their products and services, and potentially generate future sales to non-federal customers.
To build on the early success of this program, Economic Action Plan 2012 allocated an additional $95 million over three years, starting in 2013–14, and $40 million per year thereafter to make the Canadian Innovation Commercialization Program permanent. The program will include an added military procurement component.
For the complete list of the successful innovations, please refer to the backgrounder.
