Dalhousie University will receive $5.7 million in funding for its Canada Research Chairs along with additional research money from the federal government.
Navdeep Bains, Canada’s minister of innovation, science and economic development, and Scott Brison, president of the Treasury Board, made the announcement at the university on Tuesday.
The government says six new research chairs will explore new technology that will ultimately help improve the country’s infrastructure.
“We really want to see some of these neat ideas commercialized. We really want to see these neat ideas really become part of our innovation culture in Canada,” said Bains.
In total, Nova Scotia universities are receiving $11 million in research funding from the government.
The new and renewed chairs include 13 in Nova Scotia, four in New Brunswick, and four in Newfoundland and Labrador.
“Our government gets it and we will continue to invest in world class research across Canada and certainly in Atlantic Canada,” said Brison.
Also announced was an additional $8.3 million would be given to Dalhousie to help cover the costs of research in fields including environmental studies and climate science.
According to a government press release, there are more than 1,700 Canada Research Chairs.
With files from Steve Silva, Global News
EDITOR’S NOTE: The original version of this story said the $5.7 million in federal funding would go to six new research chairs at the Dalhousie University. The government has since clarified its initial statement to reflect that the money is going toward all of the university’s 50 research chairs.