Our History

Mitel Corporation, the parent company of Mitel Telecom, is founded in the Kanata North Technology Park by two young British engineers, Michael Cowpland and Terence Matthews, with the vision of applying microelectronic technology to the telephone industry.

The earliest reference to Ottawa as “Silicon Valley North” is found in the Ottawa Citizen newspaper (Nov 21, 1980)

Newbridge Networks is founded by Welsh-Canadian entrepreneur Sir Terry Matthews to create data and voice networking products.

The Newbridge Affiliates program, considered an innovative market-driven corporate venture program, is launched. It resulted in at least 20 companies employing over 1,500 people and generating combined revenues greater than $200 million.

The Brookstret Hotel, Ottawa’s premier hotel, dining, conference, & wedding destination opens in the heart of the tech park.

In 2013, the KNBA is founded with the mission to represent and advocate for the best interests of the member companies located in the area.

Ciena announces the establishment of a new corporate campus in the Kanata North Technology Park including an advanced technology lab.

BlackBerry QNX uses the public track for the first-ever AV test using live city infrastructure in North America. Witnesses saw the car stop at a traffic light for a pedestrian crossing.

Economic Impact Analysis reveals that the Kanata North technology park contributes $13 billion in GDP annually (up 66% in the last three years from the previous economic impact assessment).

The University of Ottawa opens campus in tech park to foster mutally-beneficial, long-term partnerships and collaborations between uOttawa and the Kanata North community. The campus provides a unique environment to support research and innovation while enabling access to the critically needed talent to Canada’s largest technology park.

The Kanata North Business Association hosts grand opening for Hub350, the gateway to Canada’s largest technology park. The newly renovated 12,000-square-foot space, formely Mitel, is a brand new ecosystem for industry, academic and finance partners to co-exist and collaborate in the heart of the Kanata North Technology Park.

Carleton University opens a purpose-built innovation space within Hub350. The space features collaboration and meeting rooms, a café and garden terrace where faculty, staff and students can engage with more than 540 companies in the tech park, many of which already work with the university on research projects and/or hire co-op students.

The Kanata North Business Association and Hub350 partners with L-SPARK, a leading technology and business accelerator, to create the Living Lab Accelerator with the aim of accelerating customer adoption and real-world deployment of 5G and next generation technology solutions that support the Kanata North community’s live, work, play, learn and innovate lifestyles.

Nokia Canada and the federal, provincial and city governments announce plans to turn the company’s Kanata North headquarters into a research and development centre, a mixed-use corporate, residential and commercial hub built using sustainable technologies.

The annual Discover Technata career fair breaks records with registrants looking to jump-start their careers in Canada’s largest technology park.