MP Hehr announced new CanCode investment

Partnership with MindFuel will see more than 124,000 Canadian students and their teachers have the opportunity to learn digital skills 

CALGARY, July 19, 2019 /CNW/ - Canada needs a workforce savvy in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), capable of competing in the digital economy. That's why, to prepare the next generation of Canadian workers to succeed in the increasingly digital economy, the Government of Canada is supporting millions of young Canadians who want to improve their digital skills.

During a visit to St. Mary's University in Calgary yesterday, the Honourable Kent Hehr, Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, announced $2 million in funding for MindFuel as part of the second phase of the Government of Canada's CanCode program.

CanCode gives students from kindergarten to Grade 12 the opportunity to learn digital skills, like coding, data analytics and digital content development, including artificial intelligence. The program also helps Canadian teachers acquire the know-how to incorporate new digital skills and technologies into their classrooms, and it encourages young women, Indigenous peoples and other under-represented groups to pursue careers in STEM. In its first phase, CanCode provided 1.9 million training opportunities to students and teachers across Canada.

With this funding, MindFuel will offer coding and digital skills training to over 124,000 students from kindergarten to Grade 12. In addition, MindFuel will provide over 4,600 teachers across the country with the opportunity to gain skills to teach coding in their classrooms or to perfect those skills. MindFuel is a national organization that delivers workshops and resources to students and teachers. This organization is a new partner with CanCode and is an established player in the digital literacy sector.

CanCode aligns with Canada's Digital Charter, a made-in-Canada, principles-based approach to building trust in the digital world. The first principle of the Charter is focused on ensuring that all Canadians have equal opportunity to participate in the digital world and the necessary tools to do so, including access, connectivity, literacy and skills.

Quotes

"Technology impacts our everyday lives. Learning digital skills and coding, as well as how technology serves us, will open so many doors to our young people. Giving all children the opportunity to become tech-savvy and learn coding will further strengthen our success as a country."
? The Honourable Kent Hehr, Member of Parliament for Calgary Centre

"Young Canadians will drive our economic success for years to come. By investing in resources to teach them digital skills and making higher education more affordable, our government is helping them transition successfully from classrooms to research labs, shop floors or boardrooms."
? The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development

"For 30 years, MindFuel has delivered engaging STEM-learning resources that spark curiosity and help students learn valuable skills in areas such as design thinking, nanotechnology, entrepreneurialism, robotics, synthetic biology, energy and the environment, and more. The confirmation of CanCode funding means that we can continue our efforts to engage and inspire future leaders from groups that have been traditionally under-represented in STEM fields, including girls, youth with disabilities, Indigenous youth, youth in rural and remote areas, youth-at-risk, economically disadvantaged youth, and others with limited access to quality STEM-learning programming."
? Cassy Weber, CEO, MindFuel (registered charity - Science Alberta Foundation)

Quick facts

• Budget 2019 has invested $60 million in CanCode. This investment is in addition to the $50 million from Budget 2017, for a total of $110 million.
• To date, over 1.9 million students and 61,000 teachers have participated in CanCode activities. With the new funding announced in Budget 2019, CanCode aims to provide an additional 2 million Canadian students and teachers with training by March 2021.
• CanCode has a student stream and a teacher stream. CanCode recipients deliver digital skills learning opportunities for students from kindergarten to Grade 12 and/or training programs and workshops for teachers.
• MindFuel will target 5% of students to receive in-the-field instruction focused on at-risk youth and youth with disabilities in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Nova Scotia. MindFuel's approaches support under-represented student populations, including Indigenous, youth with disabilities, rural, newly immigrated, English as an additional language and economically disadvantaged.
• CanCode is designed to complement educational curricula and to promote, encourage and spark awareness of and interest in coding and digital skills more broadly. The long-term goal is to make Canada a leading innovation economy with a diverse and inclusive workforce.

Associated links

• CanCode

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