On August 19. the Ottawa Board of Trade brought together government, post-secondary and business leaders for a timely discussion on how Ontario can better connect research, talent and industry to drive economic growth.
The second annual post-secondary education panel featured Ontario Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security Nolan Quinn, alongside leaders from Ontario’s post-secondary and business communities. The discussion explored Ontario’s post-secondary funding strategy, research commercialization, workforce development and the partnerships needed to turn Ottawa’s considerable innovation strengths into economic outcomes.
A clear message emerged: Ontario is very good at generating research and talent. The opportunity now is to get better at commercializing that research and scaling successful partnerships.
A significant investment in post-secondary education
Minister Quinn highlighted Ontario’s recently announced $6.4-billion stabilization investment in post-secondary education over four years, including $1.7 billion to support 70,000 new seats.
The province has also committed $750 million toward 20,000 new STEM seats, responding to evolving labour-market needs. As part of the process, institutions were required to work with their local Chamber of Commerce to identify regional workforce priorities — directly connecting post-secondary capacity with the needs of local economies.
The panel also emphasized the importance of work-integrated learning, including co-ops, internships and Mitacs-supported placements, as a critical bridge between education and employment. Industry participation in these programs can help students gain practical experience while giving businesses access to emerging talent.
Turning research into economic impact
Research commercialization was a central theme throughout the discussion.
Minister Quinn acknowledged that while Ontario has historically excelled at research, too much innovation has failed to make the transition from the lab to the marketplace. The province has invested $2.2 billion in research and commercialization since 2018, including $113 million for IPON, and is now requiring post-secondary institutions to develop commercialization plans.
New commercialization metrics are also being developed to help government, institutions and industry better understand outcomes and make informed decisions about future investments.
The scale of Ontario’s research activity is significant. Ontario universities conduct approximately $4.1 billion in research annually, with more than 700 invention disclosures, support for more than 2,800 startups and spin-offs, and more than 3,000 private-sector agreements generating $386 million in the past year.
The challenge, panelists agreed, is scaling that success.
Ottawa has a strong foundation and an opportunity to lead
Ottawa was highlighted as an example of what is possible when institutions, industry and economic development organizations work together.
The region benefits from strong relationships between Algonquin College, La Cité, Carleton University, the University of Ottawa, industry and organizations such as Invest Ottawa and the Ottawa Board of Trade. Examples discussed included long-term partnerships with companies such as Ciena and Nokia, the Bachelor of Information Technology program jointly delivered by Algonquin and Carleton, and applied research partnerships addressing real-world industry challenges.
Panelists described this culture of collaboration as a competitive advantage for Ottawa – but challenged the region to move from individual success stories toward scaling collaboration across the ecosystem.
That means bringing colleges, universities and businesses together around major opportunities rather than pursuing them independently. It also means leveraging Ottawa’s strengths in areas such as digital technologies, cybersecurity, defence, quantum and health and life sciences to pursue larger investment and procurement opportunities.
Keeping Canadian talent, IP and investment here
Another important theme was the need to retain more of the economic value created by Canadian research and innovation.
Panelists pointed to challenges around access to domestic capital, competition for talent and the acquisition of Canadian technology companies by larger international firms. Ideas discussed included strengthening domestic venture capital, exploring tax incentives that encourage IP retention, and creating more opportunities for Canadian companies to become early customers of Canadian innovation.
Government procurement was also identified as a powerful tool. When Canadian companies can demonstrate that their own government or domestic businesses are customers, it can provide credibility that helps them compete internationally.
For Ottawa, this creates an opportunity to think beyond simply developing talent and technology – and focus on building an ecosystem where businesses can grow, scale and stay.
From collaboration to action
The discussion reinforced that Ottawa already has many of the ingredients needed for a globally competitive innovation economy: world-class institutions, talented people, innovative companies and a strong culture of collaboration.
The opportunity now is to connect those assets more deliberately – across classrooms, research labs and businesses – and create the conditions for more ideas to become companies, more companies to scale, and more talent to build their careers in Ottawa.
The Ottawa Board of Trade will continue to bring government, business and community leaders together to identify barriers, advocate for solutions and advance the conditions Ottawa businesses need to succeed.