Merck completed a $33.2 million expansion of its Pointe Claire facility in Quebec that will increase the plant’s international competitiveness and preserve local jobs, according to the Montreal Gazette. A warehouse was built at the site and the company has installed manufacturing equipment at the plant which will enable it to make 14 new products. The facility is one of the locations in Merck’s global network outside of the U.S. to have received QSP-2 certification from the U.S. FDA, which permits Canadian products to be exported to the U.S.

Read more : Merck completes $33.2M expansion of Pointe Claire plant

Genome Alberta announced that it is leading a group of funding partners on two large-scale genomics projects which will help improve Canada’s livestock sector. These projects build on Genome Alberta’s Applied Livestock Genomics Program which was launched in Dec. 2010. The work will lead to new strategies for disease control in addition to new drugs, improved vaccines, and a safer food chain by reducing the use of antibiotics. Funders for the projects include Genome Canada, Genome Alberta, the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency, PigGen Canada, Genome Prairie, an international consortium led by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Western Economic Development, and a number of international agencies and organizations.

Read more : Canadian, international institutions partner to invest in livestock genomics research

EDF EN Canada, a subsidiary of France-based EDF Energies Nouvelles, announced it has obtained the “Decret” from the Government of Quebec authorizing the construction and operation of the 150 MW Massif du Sud wind project. With an investment of close to $350 million, the project will create about 200 jobs during the construction phase, and 8 to 10 permanent operation and maintenance jobs. The project, located in the municipalities of Saint-Luc-de-Bellechasse and Saint-Magloire in the MRC des Etchemins and in the municipalities of Notre-Dame-Auxiliatrice-de-Buckland and Saint-Philémon in the MRC de Bellechasse, will generate green energy to power the equivalent of over 30,000 Quebec homes.

Read more : EDF EN to build Quebec wind project with $350M investment

Calif.-based Adobe Systems announced its acquisition of Vancouver-based developer, Nitobi Software, creator of PhoneGap. PhoneGap is a tool that allows developers to code once and author native apps in multiple mobile environments. Paul Gubbay, vice president of product development for design, web and interactive at Adobe calls PhoneGap a natural fit. Dave Johnson, CTO of Vancouver based-Nitobi Software, agrees, despite the fact that Nitobi went about it in a different way, making PhoneGap open source and allowing the community to contribute.

Read more : Adobe acquires Vanc.-based Nitobi, makers of PhoneGap

Q1 Labs, a firm that started as a University of New Brunswick student’s work project, was acquired by IBM. Q1 Labs joins Radian6 as the second deal involving one of the province’s tech startups. Radian6 was sold to Salesforce.com in March for $276 million plus $50 million in stock. Q1 Labs has two R&D offices in New Brunswick, one in Fredericton and the other in Saint John, as well as one in Ireland. Q1 Labs CEO Brendan Hannigan, who will head up the newly formed IBM security systems division, said his firm caught IBM’s eye because of the hard work done in New Brunswick.

Read more : IBM buys N.B. startup