Ontario chipping in $16 million toward 5G jobs

Chinese telecom giant Huawei gets funds to create 250 jobs focussed on the next wave of smartphone technology

Thestar.com
March 8, 2016
By Rob Ferguson

The Canadian arm of Chinese telecom giant Huawei is getting up to $16 million from Ontario taxpayers to help create 250 new jobs developing the next wave of 5G smartphone technology.

Premier Kathleen Wynne said Tuesday that the deal - which had its roots in her 2014 trade mission to China - further cements a strategic partnership with the firm which has research and development facilities in the province.

Huawei Technologies is investing $303 million in the project, establishing new research laboratories in Markham and Waterloo and expanding its research facility in Ottawa.

Ontario’s contribution is “laying the foundation for sustainable growth for years to come” and building the province’s reputation as a leader in the knowledge economy, Wynne said at the company’s office in Markham.

The $16 million is from the province’s $2.7 billion “jobs and prosperity fund” aimed at bolstering innovation and boosting Ontario’s exports.

The 5G technology, which is expected to come to market over the next few years, would have 1,000 times the capacity of existing 4G networks.

Huawei has more than two dozen research and development centres in a number of countries.

“Our Canadian research team is helping to drive pioneering projects around the world,” said Ken Hu, deputy chair of Huawei, which received a $6.5 million grant from Ontario in 2010 to create 164 new jobs with a company investment of $67 million.