The federal government announced $1,073,130 in funding for Science North last week, through the CanCode program to expand digital skills education for students and teachers across northern Ontario.
The funding was announced on Wednesday by Sudbury MP Viviane Lapointe and Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré.
The investment will support Science North in delivering bilingual programming to more than 30,000 students, including 5,000 Indigenous students, focusing on topics such as managing disinformation, artificial intelligence or AI, coding, and cybersecurity. The initiative will also provide professional development for teachers, helping them integrate emerging technologies into Ontario’s science and technology curriculum and its new technology curriculum.
Since 2017, Science North has engaged over 184,900 students – many from rural and remote First Nations communities – in coding, robotics and other digital skills. The new funding aims to build on this success by offering in-person school outreach, e-workshops along with onsite programs for students and the public.
“This funding will help expand opportunities for students to develop critical digital skills in AI, coding, and cybersecurity,” said Lapointe, in a news release.
“By equipping the next generation with these essential skills, we are strengthening our local economy, fostering innovation, and preparing our youth for the jobs of the future.”
Serré echoed the sentiment, emphasizing the importance of digital skills training for the future workforce.
“This additional CanCode funding will ensure that students across northern Ontario have access to cutting-edge learning opportunities,” he said.
Science North CEO, Ashley Larose, expressed gratitude for the federal government’s continued support.
“This funding will allow us to reach over 30,000 students through engaging, bilingual programming that explores AI, cybersecurity, and coding,” she said.
“We are empowering the next generation with the knowledge and confidence to thrive in a technology-driven world.”
Since its launch in 2017, the CanCode program has provided over 9 million digital skills training opportunities to Canadian students and 450,000 training opportunities for teachers. The federal government said it has invested a total of $229.2 million in the program to date.
For more information, visit the CanCode website.
