University of Toronto set for $98m investment to boost talent for employers

The Canadian government and Ontario is set to invest a $98 million investment in the University of Toronto in a bid to help improve the pool of talent available to employers.

This joint federal-provincial investment was announced by the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development; the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science; the Honourable Deb Matthews, Ontario Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development; and Mr. Han Dong, Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development.

The Government of Canada's Innovation Agenda aims to make this country a global centre for innovation—one that creates jobs, drives growth across all industries and improves the lives of all Canadians. This investment is a prime example of that vision in action.

The funding will support the Lab Innovation for Toronto (LIFT) project, which will renew 546 labs across the university's three campuses. Of the $98-million investment, $83.7 million will come from the federal government and $14.3 million from the Province of Ontario. The University of Toronto will contribute an additional $91.8 million for a total investment of $189.8 million.

In total, universities and colleges throughout Ontario will receive more than $1.9 billion from the Government of Canada, the provincial government, the institutions themselves and private donors. The funding will be allocated through the Post-Secondary Institutions Strategic Investment Fund, which will enhance and modernize research facilities on Canadian campuses and improve the environmental sustainability of these facilities.

As a result of these investments, students, professors and researchers will work in state-of-the-art facilities that advance the country's best research. They will collaborate in specially designed spaces that support lifelong learning and skills training. They will work in close proximity with partners to turn discoveries into products or services. In the process, they will train for—and invent—the high-value jobs of the future. And their discoveries will plant the seeds for the next generation of innovators.

That is how the Strategic Investment Fund will jump-start a virtuous circle of innovation, creating the right conditions for long-term growth that will yield benefits for generations to come.

Ontario is making the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province's history—about $160 billion over 12 years—which is supporting 110,000 jobs every year across the province with projects such as hospitals, schools, roads, bridges and transit. Since 2015, the Province has announced support for more than 475 projects that will keep people and goods moving, connect communities and improve quality of life. 

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