Backgrounder


Knowledge Infrastructure Program

September 24, 2009

Canada and Ontario are making infrastructure investments of $1.5 billion in capital projects at colleges and universities across Ontario.

Through the federal Knowledge Infrastructure Program and the 2009 Ontario budget, both governments are moving quickly to help modernize facilities and boost long-term research and skills training capacity at provincial colleges and universities.

This funding is part of $780 million in capital funding the Ontario government is allocating to colleges and universities this year through the 2009 budget.

The Knowledge Infrastructure Program is a two-year, $2-billion economic stimulus measure to support infrastructure enhancement at post-secondary institutions across Canada. The federal government is providing nearly $800 million to post-secondary institutions in Ontario under this program.

Projects were awarded support based on their ability to quickly and effectively generate economic activity and support job creation, as well as their ability to enhance research capacity, attract new students and provide a better educational experience.

The program will also have a positive effect on the environment by reducing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and improving waste management.

Through the 2009 Ontario Budget “Confronting the Challenge: Building Our Economic Future,” the province is investing $32.5 billion in infrastructure for the province of Ontario over the next two years, including a $5 billion contribution from the federal government, that will support more than 300,000 jobs and strengthen Ontario's economy.

Canada's Economic Action Plan sets out to stimulate the Canadian economy over the next two years and to improve our long-term competitiveness through $12 billion in new infrastructure investment across Canada, which includes the $2-billion Knowledge Infrastructure Program. This new support is the next substantive investment in the Government of Canada's multi-year Science and Technology Strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage.

These infrastructure investments for Ontario's post-secondary institutions will create more than 36,000 new spaces for students across the province.

For more information about the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, including program criteria, application instructions and a list of the approved projects to date, please visit www.ic.gc.ca/knowledge-infrastructure.

For information about how the Government of Ontario is helping to build and revitalize infrastructure across the province, please visit: http://www.mei.gov.on.ca/en/infrastructure.

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