Toronto, ON — January 28, 2026 — The Ontario government is investing $4.5 million through the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) to launch the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) Innovation Corridor, transforming a 40 km stretch of the QEW highway between Burlington and Toronto into a proving ground for advanced vehicle technologies and mobility innovation.
“Ontario is home to world‑class innovators, and this initiative helps ensure their ideas are developed and deployed right here at home. Working with OVIN, we’re accelerating the adoption of made‑in‑Ontario technologies that drive economic growth and create good‑paying jobs across the province,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation.
Through the QEW Innovation Corridor, a portion of the QEW will become a testbed and living lab for emerging transportation and mobility technologies. The program will provide up to $150,000 to Ontario-based small and medium enterprises to pilot innovative transportation and advanced mobility solutions, with a focus on electrification, smart mobility, infrastructure, and connected vehicle applications. The corridor will facilitate collaborative piloting opportunities and strategic partnerships to support the safe evaluation of advanced technologies that improve mobility, strengthen sustainability, and drive economic development.
“Ontario is a global leader in the automotive and mobility sector, cultivating economic growth and supporting homegrown companies while partnering with global leaders to create good-paying jobs,” said Raed Kadri, Head of OVIN. “The QEW Innovation Corridor is pivotal in the effort to bring together government and industry to showcase Ontario-made technologies and accelerate the next generation of solutions that will move people and goods.”
Nine Ontario-based companies have been selected through the initial intake to pilot their advanced automotive and mobility technologies in areas such as queue warning systems, work zone safety, predictive traffic management, and in-vehicle traveler information.
“The QEW Innovation Corridor enables Ontario innovators to test and validate new mobility technologies in real-world conditions,” said Dr. Claudia Krywiak, President and CEO of the Ontario Centre of Innovation. “By bringing together government, industry, and innovators, we are reducing barriers to commercialization and supporting the deployment of made-in-Ontario transportation solutions.”
Technologies and solutions that can be piloted include smart work zones and work zone safety, congestion management technologies, incidence response management, predictive traffic management, road hazard warning, in-vehicle traveler information, coordination and dissemination of real-time traveler information, data analytics, cyber security, geofencing and more.
The program will support the Ontario Ministry of Transportation to identify and evaluate technologies that improve transportation safety, sustainability, efficiency, and accessibility, while providing opportunities to challenge traditional methods of data collection and analysis to best support user-centric and evidence-based decision making, positioning Ontario as a forward-thinking and connected province.
Additional Resources
The Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN)
2025 Ontario Budget: A Plan to Protect Ontario
List of initial recipients:
AirMatrix Inc. (Mississauga): Libra Traffic by AirMatrix is an AI-powered, hardware-agnostic Intelligent Transportation System that integrates with existing traffic infrastructure to detect incidents, predict congestion, and provide real-time, data-driven traffic insights via a user-friendly dashboard.
A.U.G. Signals Ltd. (Toronto): ARGUS by AUG is a portable radar-based safety system that detects oncoming vehicles on highways, providing real-time warnings to enhance worker and driver safety on high-speed roads.
iNAGO Corporation (Toronto): iNAGO’s MUTUALISM platform is an AI-powered assistant integrated into the vehicle, infrastructure, and sensor data to provide drivers with real-time guidance, safety alerts, and efficient highway navigation.
Masterly Inc. (Toronto): The AI-Driven Queue Warning System uses machine learning and video analytics to detect and predict traffic conditions on the QEW, providing real-time queue warnings and actionable traffic insights.
MetaWorldX Inc. (Thornhill): MetaWorldX provides a cloud- and edge-enabled digital twin of the QEW, delivering real-time traffic, construction, and infrastructure insights to optimize safety and corridor management.
Raven Connected Inc. (Ottawa): Raven is an AI-powered IoT platform that leverages in-vehicle devices and sensor data to detect road work zones, lane closures, and construction activity, providing actionable insights to highway operators.
RideFlag Technologies Inc. (Mississauga): RideFlag is a smartphone-based AI system that verifies real vehicle occupants for HOV compliance, while providing navigation, queue warnings, and construction alerts on the QEW.
Sky Canoe Inc. (Port Perry): Sky Canoe’s RPAS (drone) systems, using Overwatch Rapid Data Disseminator (ORDD), detect and categorize traffic threats in real time, supporting safety and monitoring along highways like the QEW.
SMATS Traffic Solutions (Ottawa): SMATS uses live Floating Car Data and AI-powered analytics to provide real-time queue-ahead warnings via VMS and dashboards, enhancing traffic safety and management on highways like the QEW.
About the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN)
The Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network (OVIN) is an initiative of the Government of Ontario, led by the Ontario Centre of Innovation (OCI), designed to reinforce Ontario’s position as a North American leader in advanced automotive technology and smart mobility solutions such as connected vehicles, autonomous vehicles and electric and low-carbon vehicle technologies.
Through resources such as research and development (R&D) support, talent and skills development, technology acceleration, business and technical supports, and demonstration grounds, OVIN provides a competitive advantage to Ontario-made automotive and mobility technology companies.
For more information: https://www.ovinhub.ca
Media Inquiries
Alicia Pereira, apereira@oc-innovation.ca