The summer of 2017 brought unprecedented wildfires to BC’s Cariboo region. Hundreds of ground and aerial firefighters were brought in to battle the blazes.

Diagnosed with a congenital heart defect (CHD) at age nine, Mitacs researcher Angelica Blais knows what it’s like to feel like you have to sit on the sidelines.

Digital book sales in Canada account for just under 20 percent of the billion dollar market, and close to half of readers say they’ve read at least one e-publication in the last year. For Toronto-based Rakuten Kobo Inc., an e-book retailer that sells to 190 countries worldwide, staying ahead of the game in the digital market is top of mind.

“I don’t think I realized I was an entrepreneur at first,” says Jeremy Koenig, founder of Halifax-based genomics start-up, Athletigen. “But then as I got more experience, I started to realize how my background in research could be an asset to me in founding a company — so I did just that.”

Kibooco CEO Molly Schneeberg described Mitacs as a “matchmaker” that provides small businesses like hers access to matching funds, knowledge and networks that aren’t otherwise within reach.

The new Quartier des spectacles at the centre of Montréal offers a potential which the company Réalisations-Montréal hopes to help fulfill. “We are in the business of ideas which apply to show business, entertainment and resorts”, explains Realisations.net president Roger Parent.