The federal government has announced nearly $100 million in Strategic Response Fund contributions to support two major life sciences projects in Burnaby — one led by a B.C.-headquartered medical device company, and one by a global firm expanding its Canadian operations.
Kardium, a privately held medical device company founded in 2007, is receiving up to $31.25 million toward a $125 million project to build a manufacturing facility in Burnaby. The funding will help Kardium expand production of its Globe Pulsed Field System — an integrated mapping and ablation device designed to treat atrial fibrillation, the most common type of cardiac arrhythmia. The device received Health Canada approval in July 2026 and U.S. FDA approval in September 2025. The project will scale Kardium's cleanroom capacity from 500 units a year to 30,000, and is expected to create and maintain 1,000 highly skilled jobs in B.C.
"Kardium is proud to be developing and manufacturing our innovative medical technology here in British Columbia," said Kevin Chaplin, CEO of Kardium. "The Government of Canada's investment is an important step in our continued growth and will help us expand our manufacturing capabilities as we bring our technology to more physicians and patients around the world."
Evonik Canada is receiving up to $68 million toward a project valued at over $150 million to build a Nucleic Acid Competence Centre in B.C. Evonik's life sciences operations have been based in the Burnaby area since 2016, building on B.C.'s history in lipid-based drug delivery systems dating back to the 1990s. The new facility will increase the company's capacity for developing and manufacturing the next generation of mRNA vaccines and therapies. The expansion is expected to create and maintain 260 jobs and attract additional global investment in Canada's life sciences sector.
"The new manufacturing facility will expand our ability to help customers bring life-changing lipid-based therapies to patients faster and at a larger scale," said Guido Skudlarek, head of Evonik's health care business line.
The announcement was made in Vancouver by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, alongside federal and provincial counterparts. Both investments are drawn from the Strategic Response Fund, which supports large-scale projects designed to build economic resilience and strengthen domestic supply chains.