Site Selection magazine has ranked the province of Ontario as Canada’s most competitive province in an annual review of best places for investment and business development. Ontario received top rankings for the efficacy of its regional economic development groups; and four Ontario municipalities: Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor and London, are ranked among the leading Canadian metro areas in corporate facility development.

Read more : Magazine ranks Ontario as most competitive province in Canada

Researchers Dr. Carl Douglas and Dr. Shawn Mansfield, both at UBC, are using genomics to enhance breeding and selection of poplar trees to improve their potential as a biofuel resource. The researchers are using genomics to study tree growth at the molecular level, to develop short-rotation, fast-growing trees that can grow in a variety of climates across Canada, and produce wood that can be more readily converted to biofuel while minimizing the ecological footprint. Genome BC has funded the POPCAN project as part of Genome Canada’s 2010 Large-Scale Applied Research Project Competition.

Read more : B.C. researchers study genetics of poplar tree for use in biofuels

French aeronautics group Latecoere, which specializes in three complementary fields of activity: aerostructures, wiring systems, and engineering and services, is pursuing its international development by setting up a new Canadian subsidiary in Greater Montréal. The company plans to hire 60 employees by 2014. This expansion of Latecoere Group outside of the European continent is being carried out through its subsidiary LATecis and will enable it to strengthen its relationship with its principal Canadian customer, Bombardier, for which it has already designed aerostructures. LATecis Canada will also be responsible for developing new business relationships with numerous companies present in Canada in the aeronautics, space, defence and transportation sectors.

Read more : Latecoere aeronautics group sets up operations in Greater Montréal

Montréal International (MI) received an Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council, presented during its 2011 Annual Conference, in North Carolina. This prize recognizes the quality of Montréal International’s new promotional brochure entitled Vying for Gold – Attractiveness Indicators for International Organizations 2010-2011 in the category of Special Purpose Brochure for communities with populations of greater than 500,000. The brochure draws a full picture of Montréal’s strengths and assets for International Organizations (IOs). This analysis of comparative data on location factors from neutral and objective statistical sources shows that, in terms of attracting IOs, Montréal is in a very favourable position in the world. The document includes a series of indicators, such as the international and national reputation, the human development, the investment and immigration, the linguistic diversity, the ease of establishing an organization, the costs, the value for money, the security and the quality of life, among others.

Read more : Montréal International receives an excellence award

St.Louis-based Bunge North America announced plans to increase the capacity at its canola processing plant in Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta. The proposed project would more than double Fort Saskatchewan’s current capacity of 850 metric tons a day. "Expanding and upgrading our capacity in Canada is a natural way to grow Bunge’s North American business as domestic and export demand for both canola oil and meal continues to increase," said Soren Schroder, president and CEO of Bunge North America.

Read more : Bunge plans expansion at Fort Saskatchewan canola processing plant

The New Brunswick government has officially launched a new Crown corporation intended to attract foreign investment and create jobs. Premier David Alward said the new corporation will focus on attracting foreign companies to relocate to New Brunswick or invest in the province, leaving the existing Business New Brunswick to concentrate on stirring investment within the province. Alward said with growing competition for global investment, the new agency must aggressively pursue businesses that will succeed in New Brunswick and create jobs. He said the goal is to increase the province’s gross domestic product by $293 million over the next three years, and performance reports will be made public.

Read more : New Brunswick launches foreign investment agency

Indian consulting and IT services provider, Mahindra Satyam, as part of its ongoing collaboration with the University of Waterloo, announced the opening of a research and innovation centre. The Smart Grid Research and Innovation Centre will provide students, teachers and IT professionals the tools to foster and evaluate innovative developments of next generation smart grid technology, the company said.

Read more : Mahindra Satyam opens research centre at University of Waterloo

Wisconsin-based Foth Companies, a consulting engineering, science and construction services firm, announced it has opened a new office near Toronto, and has begun doing business in Canada as Foth Canada Corporation. Foth’s decision to add a Toronto location stems from requests from current U.S. clients with mining projects in Canada.

Read more : Foth Companies announces expansion in Canada for mining engineering

A new $140 million state-of-the-art vaccine centre billed as the largest of its kind in North America is now open at University of Saskatchewan. The complex will research infectious diseases and vaccines to try to protect both human and animal health. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the Saskatoon-based InterVac is special because it’s one of only a handful of labs of its kind in North America, one that is big enough to study larger animals.

Read more : State-of-the-art vaccine centre opens in Saskatoon

A report by the Geological Survey of Canada found that the country has enormous geothermal energy resources that could supply the country with a renewable and clean source of power. The report notes Canada’s in-place geothermal power exceeds one million times the nation’s current electrical consumption. As few as 100 projects could meet a significant fraction of Canada’s base load energy needs, the report concludes. It also stresses that the high capacity factor of geothermal power makes geothermal energy particularly attractive as a renewable base load energy supply.

Read more : Report finds Canada has enormous potential for geothermal energy