CANADA AND ONTARIO INVEST IN BALSILLIE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN GLOBAL POLICY

May 25, 2009

WATERLOO — John Milloy, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities and Peter Braid, Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Waterloo, today announced an investment of $50 million for the Balsillie Centre of Excellence in Global Policy, part of the Centre for International Governance and Innovation (CIGI) in Waterloo.

The Ontario and federal governments are each providing $25 million for the new Balsillie Centre.  The federal investment is part of the Knowledge Infrastructure Program. The centre will provide programs through and in various Canadian universities but will be located in Waterloo beside the CIGI campus.   CIGI is a think-tank specializing in international governance, and works with scholars and decision-makers around the world to promote governance reform.

This investment is part of Ontario’s 2009 Budget commitment to invest in Ontario’s colleges and universities over two years and the federal government’s two-year, $2 billion plan to repair and expand research and educational facilities at colleges and universities across Canada.  These joint investments are to help provide economic stimulus and promote employment by creating construction jobs as well as employment for engineers, architects, other tradespeople and technicians. They are also helping to improve teaching facilities and generate the advanced technological infrastructure needed to keep Ontario’s colleges and universities at the forefront of scientific advancement.

“Investing in the skills and knowledge of Ontarians is a cornerstone of our government’s plan to strengthen the economy,” said Milloy.  “By investing at the Balsillie Centre today, the Ontario government is supporting new construction and renovation projects which will create construction jobs in the short-term and provide more opportunities for our students to develop the skills they need for the jobs of the future.” 

"This investment in the Balsillie Centre of Excellence in Global Policy will help develop a new generation of Canadian and international leaders, while providing significant short-term economic stimulus to Kitchener–Waterloo," said Braid. "Through Canada's Economic Action Plan, our government is supporting learning and innovation, creating jobs to speed our economic recovery, and improving the quality of life for all Canadians."

“We are grateful for the support we have received today, and from the very beginning, of both the federal and provincial governments,” said John English, executive director of CIGI. “These grants will enable CIGI to create a unique centre of excellence that will serve as a vehicle of partnership among CIGI, global research institutions and the academic and policy communities in Canada. Networking, capacity-building and knowledge sharing are central to CIGI’s work and our mandate.”

“This is another positive step for the vision which we started to build with CIGI in 2002,” said Jim Balsillie, CIGI Founder and Chair. “Today’s support from both the Government of Canada and Government of Ontario is further proof that the most pressing issues of our time require investment and long-term commitment to build capacity in international affairs.“

Demonstrating their commitment to stimulating the economy and creating jobs, both the Governments of Canada and Ontario are moving forward with a number of large-scale infrastructure programs to assist Ontarians when they need it most.

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.

Through the 2009 Ontario Provincial Budget – Confronting the Challenge: Building Our Economic Future – the province is investing $32.5 billion in infrastructure for 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. These investments build on the Ontario government’s five-year, $30 billion ReNew Ontario infrastructure investment plan, which was completed in 2008-09, one year ahead of schedule.


LEARN MORE

Learn how the Government of Canada is investing in Ontario infrastructure. 

Learn how the Government of Ontario is helping to build and revitalize infrastructure across the province.

To learn more about Canada’s Economic Action Plan, visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.

Learn more about provincial solutions for Ontario