By Vic Fedeli, Ontario Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade
Ontario, Canada has a long history of bringing scientific, medical and technological breakthroughs to life. From the discovery of insulin, stem cells and the pacemaker, Ontario has always been at the forefront of medical innovation, with no signs of slowing down.
Over the last two and a half years, Ontario has attracted more than $3 billion in investments from life sciences companies. Global giants continue to come to the province to collaborate with some of the best in the fields of biotech, medtech, pharmaceuticals and beyond.
We recently welcomed a multi-million-dollar investment from Moderna Inc. to expand vaccine manufacturing and provide people in Ontario with faster, more reliable access to life-saving vaccines. Moderna is partnering with Novocol Pharma to add new manufacturing capabilities in their Cambridge facility that will complete the final steps of preparing and packaging respiratory mRNA vaccines for distribution in Ontario and throughout Canada.
AstraZeneca has also announced plans to expand the AstraZeneca Research & Development Hub in Mississauga. As part of this expansion, the company plans to create a new Alexion, AstraZeneca Rare Disease Development Hub.
These investments continue to strengthen Ontario’s growing life sciences sector, boosting our economy and creating more opportunities for businesses and more good-paying jobs for workers.
A Strategy for Today and Tomorrow
Ontario is home to the largest life sciences cluster in Canada with 70,100 workers and nearly 1,900 firms paving the way. Supported by world-class universities and colleges that produce one of the most highly sought-after workforces in the world, the sector will only continue to grow.
In 2022, we launched Taking Life Sciences to the Next Level, the province’s first life sciences strategy in over a decade. This strategy will ensure that Ontario continues to excel in the development, commercialization, production and early adoption of innovative life sciences technologies and therapeutics.
Our strategy sets out a clear vision to establish Ontario as a leading global biomanufacturing and life sciences hub. We are laying a strong foundation for new investments and have plan to grow the province’s life sciences sector to 85,000 high-skilled jobs by 2030, an expected increase of 25 percent from 2020.
By lowering taxes and cutting red tape, Ontario has reduced the cost of doing business by $8 billion annually. Our business-first approach improves the bottom line for innovators and entrepreneurs, helping them to invest in and expand their operations.
As part of our strategy, we also launched a $15 million Life Sciences Innovation Fund to help life sciences entrepreneurs and innovators bring their ideas and prototypes from the lab to the market. This new, early-stage fund is an important tool that will increase the province’s competitiveness and help companies advance made-in-Ontario solutions.
Investing in Ontario, Canada
With a world-class workforce, competitive business environment and state-of-the-art research and development facilities, Ontario has everything life sciences companies need to succeed. These strengths and more are all part of the reason global giants like Moderna, AstraZeneca, Sanofi, OmniaBio, Johnson & Johnson and Roche have chosen to grow their business in Ontario.
If you’re interested in learning more about investing in Ontario and joining us on a journey of life sciences discovery, we encourage you to visit investontario.ca.
