**GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO NEWS RELEASE**

Ontario is creating jobs and boosting economic growth and prosperity for Northerners through recent investments from the province’s Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).

In 2017-18, the province invested more than $188 million through the NOHFC into more than 950 projects in 145 communities across the North, leveraging more than $964 million in direct economic activity and helping to create or sustain 4,727 jobs in Northern Ontario.

Recent NOHFC investments include:

  • Canadore College in North Bay received $3 million to build their health sciences and healthcare complex.
  • Health Sciences North in Sudbury received $315,000 for their Northeastern Ontario Cancer Therapeutics Initiative, supporting critical cancer research.
  • AirSuite in Thunder Bay received over $380,000 to develop flight systems for fixed wing and helicopter operators for improved safety.

For thirty years, the NOHFC has strengthened communities in Northern Ontario by investing strategically in communities, businesses and organizations.

Strengthening the North is part of the government’s plan to support care, create opportunity and make life more affordable during this period of rapid economic change. The plan includes free prescription drugs for everyone under 25, and 65 or over, through the biggest expansion of medicare in a generation, free tuition for hundreds of thousands of students, a higher minimum wage and better working conditions, and free preschool child care from 2 ½ to kindergarten.

QUICK FACTS

  • Established in 1988 the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) has a mandate to promote and stimulate economic development initiatives by providing financial assistance to projects that stabilize, diversify and foster the economic growth and diversification of the region.
  • Since 2013, the province has invested more than $654 million through the NOHFC in over 4,000 projects, leveraging more than $2.3 billion in direct economic activity and creating or sustaining over 15,200 jobs in Northern Ontario.

Through the 2018 budget, Ontario is continuing to promote growth in Northern Ontario by increasing the annual NOHFC budget allocation by $85 million over the next three years.

QUOTES

“There is not a community across Northern Ontario that hasn’t been impacted by the important investments made through the NOHFC. Our government is delivering on our promise to support good paying jobs, economic growth and prosperity across our North, making this part of the province a great place to live, work and play for generations to come.”
— Michael Gravelle, Minister of Northern Development and Mines, MPP Thunder Bay-Superior North and Chair of the NOHFC

 

“Our government’s commitment to the North has meant that millions of dollars have been invested in our community, and thousands of jobs have been created and retained through the NOHFC. These latest investments will help to support projects in Sudbury and across Northern Ontario, and showcase our support for our thriving Northern economy, and the businesses that make it great.”
— Glenn Thibeault, MPP for Sudbury