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Alberta

Financial boost will engage Red Deer Polytechnic with partners working on medical device innovations

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Red Deer Polytechnic’s CIM-TAC receives national funding

Two years after being designated a Technology Access Centre through a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Red Deer Polytechnic’s Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing (CIM-TAC) is celebrating new funding. The national funding – and the equipment it supports – were highlighted at the CIM-TAC Open House, hosted yesterday at the industrial research facility.

“The Open House provided an opportunity for stakeholders and community members to come to CIM-TAC and gain a better understanding of the first-class innovation and opportunities that are available here,” says Jim Brinkhurst, Interim President of Red Deer Polytechnic. “The prestigious grant funding that the CIM-TAC has received over recent years allows us to grow the knowledge, expertise and equipment available to support research and innovation – in central Alberta and beyond.”

NSERC announced in April that the CIM-TAC would receive $300,000 over two years in an Applied Research and Technology Partnership (ARTP) grant to promote the growth of innovations in health care assistive devices in Alberta. CIM-TAC’s business and industry clients will be able to accelerate commercialization of their devices through the addition of engineers and technologists with specialties in mechanics, mechatronics and robotics, as well as students in engineering, business, and health sciences to assist on projects.

“The TAC grant in 2020 allowed us to increase our capabilities to include design engineering and material experts,” says Dr. Tonya Wolfe, CIM-TAC Manager. “The additional staff we’ll be able to take on with the ARTP grant will give us an integrated team of specialists capable of accelerating new product development for our industry clients. Additionally, we will be able to provide a new focus area for central Alberta’s existing manufacturing base, many of whom have already expressed a desire to find areas for new opportunities as the traditional economy of our region changes.”

The majority of medical devices used in our healthcare system are imported. By encouraging the growth of innovations in health care assistive devices in the region, it will enable Alberta’s manufacturers to diversify into this market through the adoption and integration of digital manufacturing, which is key to meeting the changing realities of Alberta’s economy.

“With our enhanced capacity, CIM-TAC is able to provide Alberta’s assistive health care companies an integrated one-stop applied research shop to accelerate the commercialization of their homegrown innovations,” says Wolfe. “Our expertise includes design for manufacturing, validation, and manufacturing optimization – all intended to support SMEs at every stage of the innovation cycle as they focus on improving their manufactured products and processes.”

Darryl Short of Karma Medical Products (KARMED) gave a keynote address at the Open House event about his collaboration with the CIM-TAC in the development of a system for hand and upper extremity therapy. The product assists patients in gaining flexibility, strength, and functional independence. CIM-TAC worked with KARMED on prototyping and in the scale up stage.

“Through our recent funding and the opportunities it provides, Red Deer Polytechnic’s CIM-TAC is positioned to collaborate with innovators and industry to meet an important need across our province,” says Brinkhurst. “We look forward to working with our partners and stakeholders to achieve positive short-term and long-term goals that will benefit Albertans.

About the Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing (CIM-TAC):

While its Technology Access Centre designation was awarded in 2020, the CIM opened in 2009 as one of the key facilities of RDP’s Four Centres. Since then, they have collaborated with hundreds of small and medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs to create solutions to numerous real-world manufacturing challenges. In 2021, the CIM-TAC had more than 500 engagements with business and industry clients interested in applied research and advanced manufacturing. Out of these, 28 new products and processes were developed, and 41 existing products were improved.

 

Alberta

Working to avoid future US tariffs, Alberta signs onto U.S. energy pact

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Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu of the Governors’ Coalition for Energy Security

Premier Danielle Smith has joined the Governors’ Coalition for Energy Security to further support advocacy of Alberta’s energy and environmental interests with key U.S. states.

The coalition was established in September 2024 by U.S. State governors Jeff Landry (Louisiana) and Chris Sununu (New Hampshire) with the aim of ensuring energy security, lower energy costs, increased reliability, sustainable economic development and sensible management of energy resources and the environment. With 12 U.S. states already signatories to the coalition, Alberta is the first non-U.S. state to enter into this agreement.

By expanding energy ties with the U.S. and promoting cross-border energy trade and participation, Alberta is helping to build upon its North American Energy strategy. Alberta already accounts for 56 per cent of all oil imports to the U.S. – twice as much as Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Iraq combined – which is helping to drive job creation and prosperity on both sides of the border. Natural gas also plays an important role in North America’s energy mix. Alberta is the largest producer of natural gas in Canada and remains positioned to support the U.S. in filling their domestic supply gaps.

“I am honoured to join the Governors’ Coalition for Energy Security and would like to extend my sincere thanks to governors Landry and Sununu for the invitation. Alberta plays a vital role in North American energy security, serving as the largest supplier of crude oil and natural gas to the United States. With 200 billion barrels of recoverable oil, 200 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, significant natural gas liquids and ample pore space for carbon capture, Alberta’s contribution is set to grow even further as we look to work with the Trump Administration and other U.S. partners to increase our pipeline capacity to our greatest friend and ally, the United States. We are proud to collaborate with this coalition of allied states in advancing energy security, reliability and affordability for Americans and Canadians.”

Danielle Smith, Premier

“Our mission as an organization has not changed but Alberta’s welcome arrival to our group sparked a conversation about what our core mission is, and that is ensuring energy security in all its forms. Our members all share the common goal of enhancing and protecting energy options for our people and businesses, which leads to lower energy costs, increased reliability, sustainable economic development and wise management of energy resources and the environment. I welcome Premier Smith and the insights she will bring as the leader from a fellow energy-producing province, that like my state, is under a federal system of government where national imperatives are not always aligned with state or provincial interests.”

Jeff Landry, governor of Louisiana

Alberta is a global leader in emissions reduction technology and clean energy solutions. The province has captured about 14 million tonnes of carbon dioxide through carbon capture, utilization and storage technology, and has the ability to support the U.S. in developing new infrastructure and supply chains for future energy markets in the areas of hydrogen, renewables, small modular reactors and others.

Alberta is also unlocking its untapped geological potential to help meet the increasing demand for minerals – many of which are used worldwide to manufacture batteries, cell phones, energy storage cells and other products. This includes the province’s lithium sector where Alberta’s government is supporting several innovative projects to develop new ways to extract and concentrate lithium faster and with higher recovery rates that are less capital and energy intensive and have a smaller land-use footprint.

As part of this coalition, Alberta looks forward to sharing best practices with states that already have expertise in these areas.

Quick facts

  • The U.S. is Alberta’s largest trading partner, with C$188 billion in bilateral trade in 2023.
  • In 2023, energy products accounted for approximately C$133.6 billion, or more than 80 per cent of Alberta’s exports to the U.S.
  • The Governors’ Coalition for Energy Security’s 12 signatory states include Louisiana, New Hampshire, Indiana (Governor Eric Holcomb), Alabama (Governor Kay Ivey), Georgia (Governor Brian Kemp), Tennessee (Governor Bill Lee), South Dakota (Governor Kristi Noem), Mississippi (Governor Tate Reeves), Arkansas (Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders), Oklahoma (Governor Kevin Stitt), Wyoming (Governor Mark Gordon) and Virginia (Governor Glenn Youngkin).

 

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Alberta

New red tape reporting website will help ramp up housing construction in Alberta

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Helping builders by putting an end to housing delays

Alberta’s new Stop Housing Delays online portal will allow developers, municipalities and other housing partners to report red tape and unnecessary home-building delays.

Alberta’s government is focused on ensuring Albertans have access to the housing they need, and that means working to streamline processes, cut red tape and reduce delays that are slowing housing construction down. As part of this work, government has launched a new online portal to help in these efforts.

The Stop Housing Delays online portal is now available for developers and municipal authorities to help identify areas that are preventing fast and efficient residential construction. This portal will help government identify and address barriers to building homes across the province.

“The Stop Housing Delays portal will allow Alberta’s government to hear directly from developers, municipalities and other partners on where delays are happening in the construction process. This will help identify and remove barriers, ultimately getting homes built faster and continuing Alberta’s record home-building pace.”

Jason Nixon, Minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services

“Alberta’s government will continue to work with municipalities and find solutions to speed up the home-building process. The Stop Housing Delays portal will give us another tool to inform those discussions and identify areas where we can improve the pace of home building.”

Ric McIver, Minister of Municipal Affairs

Once developers, municipalities or industry partners have submitted their issue using the online form, government will collect and assess the information provided. Alberta’s government will be taking a collaborative, cross-ministry approach to ensure the appropriate departments are working together to find solutions where possible. Solutions may range from minor changes to policy reform.

Alberta’s government continues to support builders and encourage new residential housing construction by reducing red tape, incentivizing housing construction and supporting innovative strategies to build homes faster than ever.

“This webpage is an excellent opportunity to gather knowledge and further eliminate red tape. Government has been persistent in our approach of cutting red tape and removing roadblocks, and this will help to speed up residential construction. I look forward to hearing from developers and our other partners on how we can help get projects moving and Albertans in homes.”

Dale Nally, Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction

Alberta continues to see strong housing starts and increases while other provinces across Canada are seeing a reduction in housing starts. The first half of 2024 saw 9,903 apartment unit starts in the province. This marks the highest amount in any half year in Alberta’s history, breaking the previous record of 9,750 set in 1977. Albertans will benefit from 33,577 new housing starts from January through September 2024, up 35 per cent from the same period last year. Alberta’s government remains focused on working with industry and non-profit partners to ensure that the province’s growing population has access to the housing it needs.

“This portal is a valuable tool for industry to highlight gaps, barriers and delays that may need to be prioritized and addressed by either local or provincial governments. Real solutions can only emerge through transparency, open communication and collaboration. This is an important step toward identifying the unique challenges each region and municipality faces in delivering attainable housing.”

Scott Fash, chief executive officer, BILD Alberta Association

Quick Facts

  • Housing starts for January – September 2024 compared with January – September 2023
    • Provincewide: 33,577 compared with 24,904 (up 35 per cent)
    • Edmonton: 13,359 compared with 9,099 (up 47 per cent)
    • Calgary: 17,414 compared with 14,141 (up 23 per cent)
    • Lethbridge: 599 compared with 148 (up 305 per cent)
    • Red Deer: 314 compared with 146 (up 115 per cent)
  • Data shows Alberta had 10,699 purpose-built rentals, making up 32 per cent of all housing starts.
  • Since 2019, Alberta’s government has invested almost $850 million to build more than 5,100 units and close to 900 shelter spaces. This includes projects we have committed to, that are in progress and that are complete.
  • Together with its partners, Alberta’s government is supporting $9 billion in investments into affordable housing to support 25,000 additional low-income households by 2031.

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