Most notable tech innovations that have emerged from Ontario

One of the coolest things about tech innovations is that they tend to come from communities that develop around the industry. Everyone is familiar with Silicon Valley in Northern California. Other major tech hubs include the greater Seattle area (thanks to Microsoft, Nintendo, Boeing and Amazon), Geneva, Switzerland (the home of CERN) and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong greater bay area (the tech and research hub of Asia).

Canada has several tech hubs built around major cities across the country. The Technology Triangle of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, is the biggest of these. It’s the home of BlackBerry, Open Text, Kik Messenger, Desire2Learn, Google, the Communitech Hub startup incubator and an entire video game studio ecosystem. Markham and Ottawa also have tech hubs where brands that include IBM, Shopify, Mitel, Sony and Motorola are based. 

It’s obvious that Ontario is a tech-friendly province and has created an environment that encourages innovation to flourish. In this article, we’ll look at some of the most notable tech innovations that have emerged from Ontario. 

Online casinos

Ontario tech firms have been helping to improve the online casino experience for players. There are many small game developers located in the province that are consistently creating new and better games, particularly slot machine games. The selection of Ontario slots keeps growing as game studios and casinos track player interest and produce new games in response. 

Ontario’s online casino brands have also been among the leaders in bringing AI to the online casino industry. In some cases, they are working on ways to use AI to detect fraud, keeping games fair for players and online casinos accessible. They are also using AI algorithms to analyze player habits. This can be used to enhance the player experience or to improve targeted advertising. 

There are, of course, concerns that AI can create targeted ads that will push problem gamblers further into the habit. On the other hand, AI tools are being developed to monitor player behavior and intervene before a fun habit can become a serious issue. 

Smart cities

Everyone today is familiar with smart devices to some extent. Smart watches track our movements, sleep patterns and overall health. Smart TVs connect to the internet and allow us to stream content and use viewing apps. Smart vacuums clean without our help, Alexa and Echo let us do hands-off tasks, and smart security systems monitor our homes. 

Smart cities take these concepts to the next level and Ontario is at the heart of developing smart cities. Toronto, Mississauga and Kitchener are all dedicating resources towards becoming smart cities. The key features being developed are an infrastructure built around technology, and the public and private sectors working together to use data to create systems that work with the population and environment. 

OVIN – Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network 

The Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) is a government sponsored project working with vehicle manufacturers and researchers to bring cars into the future. Their focus is on developing the next generations of electric, connected and autonomous vehicles.

One of their biggest projects currently in progress is called Project Arrow — it’s an attempt to build the first zero emissions vehicle entirely created and developed in Canada. Project Arrow’s first car was put together in 2023. Over the course of the project, 25 technological innovations were developed and while the project cost $20 million, it had a financial benefit of $500 million. 

Project Arrow 2.0 is now in the early stages of development. It wants to take the successes of Project Arrow 1.0 and expand them into wider contexts. Some of the focuses will be on addressing supply chain disruption and the cybersecurity risks that autonomous vehicles could face. 

Tracking innovation with the Ontario Centre of Innovation

The contributions that Canada has made to the world might surprise most people. It was Canadian ingenuity and creativity that brought the world everything from peanut butter and instant mashed potatoes to IMAX film, the first digital camouflage pattern and multiple vaccines. Even egg cartons were first invented in Canada!

Today, the Ontario Centre of Innovation is an important part of the innovation process in the province. It partners with companies and supports research and development work across multiple industries. If you’re interested in tracking its progress and seeing where future inventions are likely to come from, its website has a detailed map of every grant it has been given, and the progress being made. It paints an exciting picture of development and the region’s potential.