The Short Report - January 18, 2023: An advisory council to support Canada's national quantum strategy; boosting crop research in Saskatchewan, TMU's new leadership & innovation lab, and more.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau and Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit have announced funding of $17.6 million for crop-related research in 2023. The investment, through Saskatchewan's Agriculture Development Fund, includes $10 million for 49 research projects and $7 million in operational support for the Crop Development Centre at the University of Saskatchewan. Funded projects will include an analysis of the carbon intensity of current crop production methods and adaptation potential for the future (principal investigator Lorne Grieger, Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute) and the feasibility of agricultural biomass power generation in Saskatchewan (principal investigator Bishnu Acharya, University of Saskatchewan). A number of industry partners including the Alberta Wheat Commission, the Prairie Oat Growers Association, and Manitoba Canola Growers contributed an additional $4.6 million in support of this year's research projects.  Government of Saskatchewan Full list of projects 

The  Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario is investing more than $14 million in eight Greater Toronto Area companies to scale-up digital and manufacturing solutions, accelerate green operations, support data in healthcare settings, and improve monitoring and tracking software. The companies include Cognota Inc., which will receive nearly $2 million through the Jobs and Growth Fund, to grow its learning software and smart cleaning solutions, and Mero Technologies, which will receive $1.5 million through the Jobs and Growth Fund, to accelerate commercialization of its smart cleaning platform. Other funding recipients include Able Innovations, BeWhere, BlueDot, Earth Boring, Pentavere Research Group, and Schlesinger Group.  Fed  Dev Ontario

Prairies Economic Development Canada is investing nearly $10 million in Alberta's hydrogen sector. Funding is provided through the Regional Innovation Ecosystems program and includes $3 million to Edmonton’s C-FER Technologies to upgrade its testing facility for hydrogen fuel infrastructure, equipment, and technologies; $3 million to The Alberta Motor Transport Association and the University of Alberta, to increase access to hydrogen fuel and showcase the benefits of hydrogen technology for heavy vehicles; and nearly $3.75 million to Edmonton Global to strengthen the regional hydrogen supply chain and expand investment initiatives. PrairiesCan

Computer scientists at the University of Waterloo are leading a $1.5-million multi-partner, three-year project to secure mobile networks, and improve security and defence, using 5G mobile network technology. The group is funded by the Department of National Defence, through its Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security program, and includes academic and industry partners from École de technologie supérieure in Montréal, University of Regina, BlackBerry, NoviFlow, and Rockport Networks, with support from Rogers Communications Canada. UWaterloo

The Grain Farmers of Ontario have gifted $2 million to the University of Guelph to support field crop research, with a new professorship in field crop pathology, at the university's Ridgetown Campus. UGuelph

Meanwhile, three University of Guelph researchers have been awarded more than $1.4 million in project grant funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, for studies that will address antimicrobial resistance and understand chronic pain. Dr. Cezar Khursigara receives nearly $658,000 to study the protein interactions controlling cell division in pathogenic microbes, which will help develop novel antimicrobials to prevent bacterial infection. Dr. Matthew Sorbara receives more than $646,000, to explore how beneficial microbes living in the gastrointestinal tract protect against antibiotic-resistant infection, which may lead to treatments that restore and boost gut health by reintroducing beneficial microbes, and Dr. Giannina Descalzi receives $100,000 to investigate functional and molecular changes in the brain as acute pain becomes chronic pain, leading to improved treatment for humans and animals. UGuelph

Nipissing University has become a Knowledge & Development Partner of Bioenterprise Canada to help provide agri-food and food-tech entrepreneurs in northern Ontario with access to mentorship, partnership, and funding support. Nipissing U.

POLICY STATEMENTS & REPORTS

Canada's three federal research agencies — the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada — have released a Tri-Council policy statement on ethical conduct for research involving humans, which introduces changes to the policy's second edition, launched in 2010. Panel on Research Ethics

A business innovation and growth support report from Statistics Canada shows that in 2020, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) accounted for almost 96 percent of all enterprises obtaining federal support from various innovation and growth support programs. SMEs also received close to three-quarters of the total amount distributed from these programs. Stats Can defines SMEs as those with fewer than 100 employees, and notes that in 2020 they benefitted from increased government assistance to help with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stats Can

VC FUNDING & INVESTMENTS

Nanoprecise Sci Corp (Edmonton), which provides solutions for monitoring industrial equipment used in manufacturing, has raised more than $13 million in Series B funding. The round was led by Export Development Canada and included participation from Honeywell Ventures  and EC Mergers & Acquisitions (both of New York) and NSK (Japan). Nanoprecise recently entered a strategic distribution partnership agreement with Manila-based Controltrade, to offer automated predictive maintenance solutions to manufacturers in the Philippines. Nanoprecise 

ReelData (Halifax) has closed nearly $11 million in a Series A funding round, led by Buoyant Ventures (Chicago), with additional investment from S2G Ventures (Chicago) and The Nest Family Office (Belgium).  The company uses AI-backed technology to create climate-resilient salmon and other fin/shellfish production methods, which can be located to reduce the majority of environmental impacts and emissions embedded in existing methods of seafood production. ReelData Buoyant Ventures

Sustainable agriculture startup Terramera (Vancouver) has launched a subsidiary focused on commercializing its soil analysis and enrichment platform, thanks to a more than $8-million investment from climate technology VC firm At One Ventures (San Francisco). Terramera says it will be the first technology to enable farmers and agronomists to self-test nutrient levels. Terramera

Aerospace startup Magnestar (Toronto) has raised more than $1 million in a pre-seed round, which will allow it to start developing a platform to help satellite operators predict and avoid potential radiofrequency interference. 1862 Capital, the Business Development Bank of Canada, BoxOne Ventures, and Entrepreneur First participated in the round. Payload Space

Simon Fraser University is the first university in Canada to invest with Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB), which has an impact mandate to finance organizations and enterprises focused on social, economic, and environmental change.  SFU has deposited $10 million in the bank’s Impact GIC to finance housing, green energy and social projects across Canada. SFU

THE GRAPEVINE

Dr. Raymond Laflamme and Dr. Stephanie Simmons have been named co-chairs of the advisory council that is part of Canada's National Quantum Strategy, which was launched at the Perimeter Institute last week by Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry  François-Philippe Champagne. Laflamme is the founding director of the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo and Simmons is Canada research chair in Silicon Quantum Technologies at Simon Fraser University and founder and chief quantum officer of Photonic (Vancouver). Canada's quantum research strategy is backed by an investment of $360 million, which was committed in Budget 2021. ISED Government Backgrounder

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The Brookfield Institute for Innovation + Entrepreneurship (BII+E) and The Leadership Lab, both housed at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU),  are merging. The new institute, as yet unnamed, will focus on three preliminary areas: the innovation economy (including how to adopt and govern new technologies); lifelong learning (ensuring education and workplace training prepare Canadians to be future-ready workers); and a thriving democracy (by developing leaders engaged in civic challenges and safeguarding democratic systems from threats). Meanwhile, Leadership Lab executive director Karim Bardeesy will become the new executive director at the Brookfield Institute, replacing founding executive director Sean Mullin. Bardeesy will also be leading TMU's newly integrated institute. Brookfield Institute

Marine ecologist Dr. Mary O’Connor was appointed director of the Biodiversity Research Centre at the University of British Columbia, effective January 1, 2023. O'Connor previously served as the Centre’s associate director. UBC

Dr. Michael Carter, Dr. Natalie Enright Jerger, and  Dr. Xinyu Liu have been recognized by the Engineering Institute of Canada (EIC) for distinguished contributions to engineering. Carter received the Julian C. Smith Medal for “achievement in the development of Canada,” while Enright and Liu have been elected EIC fellows for “excellence in engineering and services to the profession and to society.” U of T

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