Alberta Innovates

Last updated
Alberta Innovates
AbbreviationAI
Formation1921 — Original establishment of the Research Council of Alberta (RCA) [1]
2016 — Establishment of the Latest iteration of Alberta Innovates [2]
TypeProvincial Research Council
PurposeGovernment-funded research and development corporation
Headquarters Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Region served
Alberta
Official language
English
Website https://albertainnovates.ca/
Formerly called
Research Council of Alberta (RCA)

Alberta Innovates (AI) is a Canadian provincial crown corporation created and funded by the Government of Alberta, responsible for promoting innovation in the province. [3] Its appointed board of directors is accountable through provincial legislation and policy to the minister responsible. [3]

Contents

AI was created from a variety of predecessor research and development organizations including the Alberta Research Council, the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and the Alberta Energy Research Institute. [1] [2] [4]

History

Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta (SIRCA)

In the early 1900s, Henry Marshall Tory, the first president of the University of Alberta, lobbied the Alberta government to create an organization to promote research and development (R&D) in the province. [5]

In 1921, the government created the Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta (SIRCA). SIRCA was the first provincial R&D organization in Canada. [1] SIRCA's mandate was to "inventory and promote development of natural resources.". Advocacy by University of Alberta president Henry Marshall Tory helped prompt the council’s creation. [4]

Notably, Tory recruited a chemist, Karl Clark, as the first full-time research professor to lead SIRCA's road-building research division. Clark's research focused on the potential to use bitumen as a paving material and eventually lead to the development of the Alberta oil sands. [6] [7] The City of Edmonton honored Clark as an Edmontonian of the Century for his process to separate oil from oilsands which is still in use today and for the impact it made to Edmonton who benefits from northern projects. [8]

During this period, SIRCA also completed the first geological survey of Alberta. [9]

Research Council of Alberta (RCA)

In 1930, the organization was reconstituted as the Research Council of Alberta through provincial legislations. [4] [1] During the Great Depression, the province temporarily cut all funding for the organization and was governed by the University of Alberta [4]

Alberta Research Council (ARC)

In 1981, the RCA was renamed again to the Alberta Research Council (ARC) and expanded its research focus beyond Alberta's oil sands. The organization also opened a new state-of-the-art research facility and headquarters in Edmonton. [1]

Alberta Innovates (AI)

In January 2010, the provincial government merged ARC and other research and development organizations including the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research and the Alberta Energy Research Institute to form a set of Alberta Innovates (AI) companies. [10] [11] [12]

On November 1, 2016, AI consolidated the four corporations into one singular Alberta Innovates company with two subsidiaries: C-FER Technologies and InnoTech Alberta. [3] [11] [13]

In 2021, Alberta Innovates marked its 100-year centennial.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Alberta Research Council". Provincial Archives of Alberta. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  2. 1 2 "Alberta Innovates". Provincial Archives of Alberta. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 Alberta Innovates: Processes to Report on Value Generation (PDF) (Report). Office of the Auditor General of Alberta. November 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 McNicholl, Martin K.; Millar, Deborah (6 February 2006). "Alberta Research Council". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  5. ↑ Phillipson, Donald J.c. (16 December 2007). "Henry Marshall Tory". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  6. ↑ "The Hot Water Separation Process". Alberta's Energy Heritage. Government of Alberta. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  7. ↑ Roberts, Shane (2018). Separating the Sands: Karl Clark and Early Oil Sands Research in Alberta (Thesis). University of Western Ontario. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  8. ↑ "Clark, Dr. Karl A." ASTech Awards Archives. Alberta Science and Technology Leadership (ASTech) Foundation. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  9. ↑ Hein, Francis J. (2019). "Historical Overview of the Alberta Oil Sands and Bitumen Industry". Search and Discovery Article #70392. American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG). Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  10. ↑ "Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR)". Education and Research Archive, University of Alberta. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Alberta Innovates consolidates into single vehicle for research and commercialization". Research Money. May 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  12. ↑ "The Scientific and Industrial Research Council of Alberta - Oil Sands - Alberta's Energy Heritage". www.history.alberta.ca. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  13. ↑ "Alberta Innovates to be consolidated". Canadian Biomass Magazine. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
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