Alberta Innovates will have to end, amalgamate some programs, CEO says

Janet French · CBC News

· Posted: May 23, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Alberta Innovates will backmost innovation successful energy, environment, health, aerospace and associated technologies — but immoderate enactment programs volition end, according to the Crown corporation's newly imperishable CEO.

CEO Mike Mahon said the company, which offers funding, services and expertise to boost probe and innovation, will person to consolidate and destruct immoderate of its work, arsenic it faces a 30-per cent provincial backing chopped adjacent year and is equipped with a reappraisal of its programs.

"In the satellite of innovation, we each admit that things determination rapidly," Mahon told CBC News on Wednesday. "Things that mightiness person been priorities 5 oregon 7 years agone truly are nary longer priorities successful the aforesaid way."

Most organizational changes will come successful the adjacent four-to-six months, helium said.

But Opposition NDP innovation and exertion professional Nathan Ip said now is the worst imaginable clip for the authorities to trim backing disposable to the province's inventors and entrepreneurs.

"There's a consciousness of uncertainty here," Ip said. "That's yet the incorrect connection to nonstop to the innovation assemblage astatine this time."

The Alberta Innovates committee announced earlier this week that Mahon, the erstwhile president of the University of Lethbridge, volition go its imperishable CEO arsenic of June 1. Mahon held the role connected an interim ground since June 2024, erstwhile committee members appointed by Technology and Innovation Minister Nate Glubish fired the erstwhile CEO, Laura Kilcrease.

Glubish has said helium replaced the erstwhile committee due to the fact that it failed to reappraisal each the organization's programs to his satisfaction.

Alberta Innovates is facing a $53-million operating backing chopped starting successful 2026, astir one-fifth of its astir $250-million yearly budget.

Mahon said his erstwhile enactment arsenic a assemblage president prepared him for his existent position. While president of the U of L, the institution faced a 25-per cent chopped successful provincial funding.

Alberta Innovates volition look for different sources of funding, including the national government, backstage assemblage and planetary partners, Mahon said.

"We person to beryllium nimble capable to beryllium capable to respond to those [funding] changes," helium said.

He wouldn't specify which programs will be phased out, saying the Alberta authorities is inactive reviewing the agency's concern program for approval.

Innovators acrophobic astir assistance for startups

Ip said layoffs are inevitable with such a important planned fund reduction.

Job reductions person already begun. Alberta Innovates, an enactment of 600 people, earlier confirmed astatine slightest 8 radical astatine the enforcement level have left since January.

Alberta Innovates has not provided a people fig of full-time equivalent jobs it hopes to scope successful restructuring.

There is worth successful reviewing the organization's programs and focuses, Ip said. But cutting a cardinal enactment bureau for entrepreneurs — when maturation successful exertion and innovation is exploding — is shortsighted.

"It's introduced anxiousness amongst folks, and those are the kinds of things that are radioactive to business," helium said.

News of the fund cuts acrophobic some entrepreneurs who attended the Alberta Innovates Inventures league successful Calgary this week.

Meagan Leslie, CEO of NanoTess, which makes a merchandise that accelerates coiled healing, is particularly disquieted astir however cuts could impact the assistance disposable for startups successful their infancy. She said Alberta Innovates helped her institution get going and unafraid merchandise support from Health Canada.

"If determination is simply a deficiency of funding, determination tends to beryllium a deficiency of accidental — whether that means programs, oregon conscionable wide amounts of startups that tin beryllium supported," Leslie said.

Economic conditions are prompting governments crossed Canada to pare backmost backing for innovation, creating another hurdle to which startups volition person to adjust, according to William Fraser, contracts and regulatory head for tech institution ENA Solution.

"It'll beryllium much connected the businesses themselves to beryllium themselves," Fraser said. "I don't privation to say, 'trial by fire,' but they person to beryllium the legitimacy of their product, their service, their industry."

Mahon, the caput of Alberta Innovates, said more details astir the company's changes are expected erstwhile it releases caller strategical and concern plans, which could beryllium successful a mates of months.