MONTREAL — As Toronto and Vancouver struggle to keep housing affordable for anyone but the wealthy, Montreal says its new, first-on-the-continent development model will help it succeed where other big cities have failed.

Montreal led big Canadian cities in 2018 with economic growth of almost 3 per cent, while its real estate market outperformed Toronto and Vancouver’s for the first time since 1998.

WeWork is partnering with the cities of Kitchener, Montreal, Ottawa, and Waterloo, and companies affiliated with their respective innovation hubs, to expand the Startup Passport program. The Startup Passport looks to offer city-based entrepreneurs a network of sites to work and meet at WeWork’s various locations.

The program, which initially launched in Toronto last summer, was available to MaRS Discovery District, the DMZ at Ryerson University, the University of Toronto Entrepreneurship, and York University. Now, the program is available to other innovation hubs in Ontario and Quebec, including Communitech, Montreal International, and Invest Ottawa.

NDO/VNA – Ho Chi Minh City wishes to learn from the Dutch city of Eindhoven’s experience in smart city development and cooperation models between the state and businesses, schools, and research institutes, especially in smart city building and operation, an official from HCM City said on May 21, as part of his visit to the Netherlands.

Nguyen Thien Nhan, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, told Vice Mayor of Eindhoven, Stijn Steenbakkers, that this is the first visit to the Dutch city by a Ho Chi Minh City delegation.

Recently, TELUS Corporation TU announced that it is going to invest $53 million in its wireless and wireline networks in Greater Montreal this year. The move is in accordance with the Canadian telecommunications company’s five-year billion-dollar pledge in Quebec. It is aimed at helping Montreal to become one of the smartest cities in Canada, while paving the way for the impending 5G technology across the region.

Markedly, these investments are part of a 20-year partnership between TELUS and the Old Port of Montréal Corporation, announced in 2017, to provide the location with a number of cutting-edge technologies and a free high-speed Wi-Fi zone. The company also stated that it would deploy Centralized Radio Access Network technology to enhance the performance of its Long Term Evolution-Advanced wireless network.

In February, the Sunshine Coast was recognised by the global Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) as one to the Top7 Intelligent Communities of 2019.

Achieving this award from a pool of hundreds of entries, the Sunshine Coast was the only Australian city named in this year’s Top7 and shares the global spotlight with communities from Canada, Taiwan and the United States of America, including Chicago.

Co-Founder of the ICF, Mr John Jung visited the Sunshine Coast this week as part of the judging process for the 2019 Intelligent Community of the Year.

A newly developed app is hoping to ease the transition of newcomers into Canada.

“What we can help with is finding the community, and that’s what our app is designed to do. It helps newcomers communicate,” said Ben McFarlane of SyntecX Global.

The Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) will has partnered with the University of Waterloo, the University of Western Ontario, private industry and government to develop new hydrogen fuel cell technology for transit and automobile applications. 

The CUTRIC will lead the project, dubbed The Development of Low-Cost, High Performing and Durable Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cells Project, as well as fund 25 percent of its cost. CUTRIC places the total cost of Phase I at C$1,898,432 (US$1,427,772.74). The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) will co-fund the project.

Toronto’s film and television industry got a welcome boost this month with the announcement Netflix that was leasing two studio spaces in the city’s central waterfront area.

Netflix has multi-year leases for four sound studios and office space at both Cinespace Studios and Pinewood Toronto Studios. Netflix said the deals will provide jobs up to 1,850 Canadians per year.

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center continues to expand its ambulatory care network with a new, large outpatient care center planned for Dublin.

Pending approval by university trustees this week, Ohio State will continue the process to acquire 34 acres of land owned by the city of Dublin near State Route 161, State Route 33 and Shier Rings Road. Dublin City Council will hear the first reading on this proposed land purchase during its March 11 meeting.