Of the funding—from Western Economic Diversification Canada (WD)—$27 million will go toward 23 projects in Northern Alberta and $38 million will fund 27 projects in Southern Alberta. Another $3.2 million is earmarked for six projects in Northern B.C. that are focused on improving Indigenous participation in the economy and the workforce. (The Logic)

Talking point: The announcement follows the Alberta government’s decision to pause funding for innovation programs including those that support companies in the tech and artificial intelligence spaces. The recent WD funding offers some relief to organizations whose provincial funding is now up in the air. For example, Ottawa pledged $2.75 million for the Alberta Machine Intelligence Institute, an AI research centre that was expecting $27 million from the province before the funding halt. Thursday’s WD announcement follows a string of funding packages from Ottawa for tech sectors in numerous provinces in advance of October’s federal election. Last week, the government announced $53.5 million for Southern Ontario organizations. Two weeks earlier, it pledged $39 million for 17 small- and mid-sized tech companies in B.C. and, on Wednesday, WD announced $3.7 million for programs helping entrepreneurs in the province start or scale companies.