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Young points to the University of Alberta as a leader in artificial intelligence and a great opportunity for growing companies to seek partnerships.

“There’s a world-class university right across the river from the downtown (tech) market that has some of the best research on the planet,” Young said in an interview with Postmedia. “I think it’s amazing that we’ve got these educational institutions that are able to provide research and development for the various tenants within the tech ecosystem.”

The study findings were a welcome sight to Innovate Edmonton vice-president Cheryll Watson, which she sees as a reflection of years of hard work and investment in the city.

“This is a long game and so these companies now that are emerging as the backbone of what we believe is a strong innovation ecosystem require support and investment … in their very early days,” which Watson said is the focus of Innovate Edmonton, a branch of the Edmonton Economic Development Corporation.

Even more than the amount of talent being produced by the city’s post-secondary institutions, Watson said the big improvement is in how many people are deciding to stay and work in Edmonton.

“This emerging talent wants to stay in Edmonton and what we’re really proud to be able to do with our work is highlight emerging tech companies, and show the opportunity to be employed locally,” she said.

The UCP government’s first budget eliminated several tax credits supporting small businesses, a move expected to result in $400 million in savings by 2022-23. One such an incentive, the Alberta Investor Tax Credit, provided a 30 per cent tax credit to companies who invested in new technologies.

But even with the funding reductions, Watson said the early dialogue with the new government has been promising and showed an eagerness to support the growing industry.

“For every government, every budget has both challenges and opportunities and we recognize that this budget was definitely disappointing for many of our tech entrepreneurs, but we’re encouraged by this government’s eagerness to work with us, to open up the door and sit down and talk with us,” she said.

duscook@postmedia.com

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