That makes four;Â Canada’s Digital Technology Supercluster officially launched Tuesday with the news that the federal government has granted the group it’s allocated funding.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada has signed the agreement with the group to invest $153 million as part of the Innovation Supercluster Initiative, to be matched dollar for dollar by the private sector.
Digital Technology Supercluster is the British Columbia-based supercluster that will focus on applying things like data analytics, quantum computing, virtual, mixed and augmented reality to help industries around natural resources, healthcare, as well as industrial and energy sectors.
“We are thrilled to officially launch Canada’s first-ever Digital Technology Supercluster and join forces with leaders from industries across the province and country,” Sue Paish, CEO of the Digital Technology Supercluster said in a press release. “Our leadership team and board of directors are looking forward to launching Canada into a digitally-driven future.”
The digital supercluster is the fourth of the five superclusters to be granted its funding. It was announced last week that Ontario-based Next Generation Manufacturing Supercluster, Prairie-based Protein Industries Canada Supercluster, and Atlantic Canada’s Ocean Supercluster received their funding.
The Digital Technology Supercluster announced in the release that the government funding also helped it secure an additional $200 million from its group of members.
The supercluster is made up of 29 members representing 33 organizations including Deloitte Canada, Microsoft Corp., Telus Corp., and the University of British Columbia. A total of 14 small and medium enterprises (SMEs), 13 large companies and six post-secondary institutions are involved in the supercluster.
“There are already several collaborative projects in development that will support the competitiveness of B.C.’s natural resource sector, improve health outcomes for Canadians, and secure new markets for industrial manufacturing,” stated the release.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada predicts that this supercluster will create more than 13,500 jobs and add more than $5 billion to the Canadian economy over the next 10 years.
