On March 21, 2013, Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty, delivered the 2013 federal budget, which is entitled: Jobs, Growth, and Long-Term Prosperity. The Economic Action Plan is focused on jobs and the economy, and contains several measures that take aim at strengthening Canada’s lagging productivity.
Of particular note are the measures around innovation and entrepreneurship, including additional support for the government’s Venture Capital Action Plan. Under this initiative, $100 million will be provided to the Business Development Bank of Canada to invest in firms that graduate from business accelerators, such as the Accelerator Centre and the Communitech Hub. And a further $60 million will be invested over five years to help “outstanding and high-potential incubator and accelerator organizations expand their services to entrepreneurs.”
This support of business incubators and accelerators is part of the budget’s focus on strengthening Canada’s entrepreneurial culture, which also announces the launch of new Entrepreneurship Awards to recognize excellence, and provides young entrepreneurs with $18 million in support over two years through the Canadian Youth Business Foundation – which is a partner in Communitech HYPERDRIVE.
Additional highlights of interest to the Waterloo Region tech sector include:
Support for Business
- Investing $20 million over two years to the Canada Revenue Agency to improve the predictability and enhance enforcement of the Scientific Research and Experimental Development tax incentive program (SR&ED)
- Investing $121 million over two years to invest in the strategic focus of the National Research Council
- Providing $325 million over eight years to Sustainable Development Technology Canada to support the development and demonstration of new clean technologies
- Announcing a new pilot program to be delivered through the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program(NRC-IRAP) to enable small and medium-sized enterprises to commercialize their products and move them to market
- Expanding and extend for one year the temporary Hiring Credit for Small Business
- Extending Export Development Canada’s domestic activities in order to provide capacity in the domestic credit market to meet the needs of Canadian exporters, in a manner that complements private sector lenders
Talent & Skills Development
- Creation of the Canada Job Grant, which will connect skills training with employers. The Grant will be introduced by negotiating renewal of the $500-million-per-year Labour Market Agreements with the provinces and territories in 2014–15
- $70 million over three years to support 5,000 more paid internships for recent post-secondary graduates
- Reallocating $4 million over three years to work with provinces and territories to increase opportunities for apprentices
- Support for groups that are underrepresented in the job market such as persons with disabilities, youth, Aboriginal peoples and newcomers by:
- Promoting education in high-demand fields such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM) and the skilled trades
- Improvement of foreign credential recognition processes, enhancing the integration of internationally trained individuals into the job market
Economic Development
- $920 million to renew the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) for five years, starting on April 1, 2014, including $200 million for a new Advanced Manufacturing Fund in Ontario
- $14 billion for a new Building Canada Fund to support major economic projects that have a national, regional and local significance
- $1.25 billion for a renewed P3 Canada Fund to support infrastructure projects
- Funding of close to $1 billion over five years for the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative, the creation of an Aerospace Technology Development Program, with funding of $110 million over four years starting in 2014–15 and $55 million annually thereafter, and consultations on establishing a National Aerospace Research and Technology Network