The funding aims to help small- and medium-sized firms in British Columbia expand their operations in Canada. The money will go to support everything from developing hydrogen fuel-delivery technology at Hydrogen Technology & Energy Corporation in Vancouver—where the announcement took place—to optimizing the manufacturing of waterpark parts and systems at Waterplay in Kelowna. The investment will help create some 800 jobs throughout B.C., according to the release. (The Logic)

Talking point: With over half (11) of the 17 companies being based in Vancouver, the province’s most populous city will see a majority of the benefits stemming from the funding. The investment is part of the federal government’s commitment made in Budget 2018 to help grow Western Canada’s economy. According to a 2016 government report, the region typically sees fewer venture capital investments than Ontario and Quebec. That gap provides greater incentive for small- and medium-sized businesses to engage in government-funding programs such as the Business Scale-up and Productivity program, through which these most recent investments were made.