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Ottawa is spending $10.7-million to support a private-sector high-tech research initiative in southwestern Ontario.

The federal government says the funding will help establish what's being called a “Corridor for Advancing Canadian Digital Media” with hubs in Kitchener and Stratford.

The funding builds on more than $50-million provided corporate partners in the Waterloo region, which is home to several of Canada's most advanced and successful technology companies.

The corridor will include a Digital Media Convergence Centre in Kitchener and a research institute at Stratford campus of the University of Waterloo.

“The Waterloo region has the critical mass of expertise, leading tech companies and educational institutions that can drive this global revolution in the years to come,” stated Tom Jenkins, executive chairman and chief strategy officer of software company Open Text Corp., one of the high-tech players in the region.

“But we have to move quickly to build on this foundation and create the right conditions for this sector to bloom.”

The hope is that the funding will attract investment while encouraging the creation of new companies and jobs in Canada's high-tech industry.

“This new centre will help Canadian researchers and entrepreneurs get more of their innovations from the lab to the marketplace,” stated Gary Goodyear, minister of state for science and technology.

The region is also home to Research In Motion, maker of the BlackBerry smart phones, which is one of the corporate partners of the digital media initiative.

Other technology companies that are providing either cash or resources include Christie Digital – a private company that acquired Electrohome Projection Systems a decade ago, Agfa Healthcare, and satellite technology developer Com Dev of Cambridge, Ont.

The University of Waterloo is also one of Canada's top engineering and technology schools.