Ontario universities brought in more than $1-billion in private-sector investment over the past three years, according to a new report.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Universities in Ontario attracted more than $1-billion in private-sector investment over the past three years and supported more than 2,800 startups and spinoff companies in just one of those years, according to a new report from the Council of Ontario Universities.
The new research, set to be published Monday, marks the first time the COU has put a dollar figure on collaborations between the province’s public research universities and private companies.
“We knew universities were very significant players in attracting capital for research and innovation, but what was striking was the breadth and depth of it,” said Steve Orsini, president of the COU, which represents universities across Canada’s most populous province.
The council is releasing the report as Prime Minister Mark Carney kicks off a two-day international investment summit on Monday in Toronto, an event designed to shore up Canada’s economy as it fights a trade war started by U.S. President Donald Trump. Summit organizers hope the conference will attract $500-billion worth of new investments over five years in marquee projects ranging from mines to port expansions to pipelines.
Although universities aren’t participating in the summit, the COU decided to use the moment to quantify the postsecondary education sector’s record of attracting private capital. Major projects on offer at the summit will need engineers, geologists, scientists, artificial-intelligence developers and other experts trained at universities, Mr. Orsini said.
“These big investments need to be supported by a very strong ecosystem,” he added. “So a lot of our research enterprises are supporting those projects.”
The COU compiled the report by surveying member universities this month, and by drawing on reports to the provincial Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security.
That effort led the council to conclude that Ontario universities attracted $1.02-billion in private-sector investment between 2023-24 and 2025-26. The sector established more than 7,500 corporate partnerships in the same period, the research found.
The report also said that 2,840 new startups and spinoff companies came out of universities in a single year, 2024-25. University startups and spinoffs secured more than $15-billion in investments from 2023-24 to 2025-26.
Susan Tighe, the president and vice-chancellor of McMaster University, said it is “extremely important” that universities tout their partnerships with industry.
“I think universities, generally speaking, have not done a good job in stating what kinds of contributions we’re having to the local economy,” she said. More than 400 companies have been spun out from her Hamilton institution alone, Prof. Tighe said.
The nearby University of Waterloo just cracked the top 10 in Pitchbook’s international rankings of the best schools for entrepreneurs. Pitchbook, a market tracking company, counts the number of alumni entrepreneurs whose businesses have raised venture capital money in the past 10 years to produce its list.
Waterloo placed seventh globally in the 2026 rankings, released last week – the first time a Canadian school made the top 10. Eight Canadian schools made the top 100, including the University of Toronto at number 17 and McGill at 23.