Two Ottawa companies will receive $1.45 million from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario, Ottawa Centre MP Catherine McKenna announced Friday, and the money is expected to create 63 new jobs in the Ottawa area.
Gymtrack will receive just over $800,000 to help bring its fitness tracking system to market. Clearwater Clinical will get $650,000 to improve its mobile endoscopy tool and increase its sales and marketing teams.
Gymtrack co-founder and CEO Lee Silverstone said federal funding has helped his company build a strong team.
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“The funding has also allowed us to both surpass our milestones and decrease the time needed to reach them. We are ecstatic that our platform is helping people lead healthier lives and proud that we are doing it here in Ontario,” he said in a statement.
Clearwater CEO Michael Weider said the funding will be a big boost for his firm.
“This growth will help us expand into new markets and medical specialties,” he said in a statement.
Ms. McKenna said the government looks forward to seeing the firms’ technologies “reach new markets here and around the world.”
The news that 63 new jobs could be coming to the capital comes the same day Statistics Canada said Ottawa’s unemployment rose to 6.8 per cent and the city’s information and communication technology sector shed 1,800 jobs.
The federal agency said the tech sector now employs 38,700, a far cry from the latest survey conducted by Invest Ottawa, which determined there were 68,000 people working in the city’s technology industries.
Unlike StatCan’s figures, the Invest Ottawa numbers went beyond information and communications technology, including sectors such as cleantech and life sciences.
