Guelph's Linamar granted up to $100M from government to help create 1,500 jobs
The federal and Ontario governments announced they will invest up to $100 million in a Guelph-based company to create jobs and advance its manufacturing technology, on a busy Monday that has four cabinet ministers visiting Waterloo and surrounding regions.
Federal Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains announced the joint investment in automotive parts maker Linamar Corporation.
The federal government will provide a grant of $49 million to the company, and Ontario will provide a conditional grant of up to $50 million.
The funding will help create 1,500 new Canadian jobs and maintain more than 8,000.
Minister Bains made the announcement alongside Ontario Minister of Economic Development Brad Duguid and Lloyd Longfield, Member of Parliament for Guelph.
This is the first project announced under the Strategic Innovation Fund, a federal program that supports research and development in Canada. The fund will allocate $1.26 billion over five years through a combination of grants and loans.
This is the second investment in Linamar in three years.
In 2015, the automotive company was granted over $100 million from the federal and Ontario governments.
$30-million for transportation
Shortly after, the province unveiled a $30 million Community Transportation Grant Program in Cambridge.
Provincial Minister of Transportation Steven Del Duca made the announcement at Cambridge City Hall with local MPP Kathryn McGarry.
Del Duca said on Twitter the funding will help provide intercommunity bus service across Ontario and connect areas that are under-served by transit.
In <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cambridge?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cambridge</a> this morning to announce the $40M Community Transportation Grant. This funding will help provide intercommunity bus service across the province and connect areas that are currently underserved by transit. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BuildON?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BuildON</a> <a href="https://t.co/0tGPNlcG7u">pic.twitter.com/0tGPNlcG7u</a>
—@StevenDelDucaThe program will allow municipalities to partner with community organizations, such as health, community and transit agencies, to coordinate local transportation services and provide more rides to more places.
An additional $10 million will be available to Indigenous communities, Indigenous-led organizations and not-for-profit organizations starting in the summer of 2018.
The deadline to apply for the grant program is February 28, 2018.
$784 million for schools
Finally, the province said it will allocate $784-million in 2018 to build and renovate schools across Ontario, including a new public school in Kitchener.
Ontario Education Minister Mitzie Hunter announced the province is investing more than $16 million to help build a new school in southwest Kitchener that will accommodate 600 students. The project will create a total of 88 new licensed child care spaces and five child-care rooms.
Hunter made the announcement at Jean Steckle Public School in Kitchener, and was joined by Daiene Vernile, MPP for Kitchener Centre.
The funding will support construction of 38 other new schools around the province and renovations and additions to 40 more facilities.
Ontario has previously said it will spend $1.6-billion over the next five years to create 45,000 new licensed child care spaces in schools and other public spaces.