UVic Gets Government of Canada Funding

University of Victoria’s (UVic) Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) has secured a five year $46.6 million investment from the Canadian government—through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

“This is terrific news for ONC and for the future of ocean science globally,” said Jamie Cassels UVic president. “We’re very grateful to the Government of Canada for its continuing commitment to the pioneering work of this national facility. These funds will support ONC’s ongoing transformation of ocean science and its applications to public policy, economic development, environmental stewardship and public education—for the benefit of Canada and the world.”

The new funding is awarded to UVic through CFI’s Major Science Initiatives program, which supports a portion of the operating and maintenance costs of selected science facilities across Canada.

These facilities serve communities of researchers nationally and internationally, support leading-edge R&D, and promote the transfer of knowledge for the benefit of society, UVic explained.

ONC pioneers ocean observatories that stream live data 24/7 to researchers across Canada and around the world to study everything from ocean change and fish abundance, to plate tectonics and tsunamis, deep-sea ecosystems and ocean engineering.

The long-term observations being collected by ONC instruments have wide-ranging policy applications in areas such as ocean and climate change, earthquakes and tsunamis, pollution, port security and shipping, hazard mitigation, renewable resource assessment, sovereignty and security, and ocean management.

“With the longest coastline in the world, Canada has made an unprecedented investment over the past 16 years in building these critical ocean observing systems,” says Kate Moran, ONC’s president and CEO. “The ocean is our planetary life support system, and human pressures are impacting the ocean at an ever-increasing pace. Understanding this change is vital to protecting and managing the ocean to ensure a sustainable future.”

ONC is funded by CFI, the Government of Canada, the Government of British Columbia, CANARIE and IBM Canada.