A new report by the Council of Ontario Universities states that the province’s universities have attracted more than $1B in private-sector investment between 2023–24 and 2025–26. COU drew on a survey of member universities and reports to the Government of Ontario Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security to assess the investments. In addition to investment in universities, the report also found that startups and spinoff companies coming from universities secured more than $15B in investment in this time period, with 2,840 such companies coming out of universities in 2024–25 alone. Commenting on the report, McMaster University President Susan Tighe urged universities to better promote this value that they provide to local economies.
