Tracy Stroud, regional innovation network manager with APEX, poses for a photo at the ASTech Awards in Calgary on Nov. 7. Her organization won in the category of Leadership.--Submitted Photo
asmith@medicinehatnews.com
Medicine Hat and southern Alberta as a whole were well represented this year at the ASTech Awards, held Nov. 7 in Calgary.
The awards celebrate outstanding achievement in science and technology innovation in Alberta in a variety of fields, and aim to inspire ongoing innovation within the province.
At the 2025 awards, three Medicine Hat-based organizations took home their respective award, including QinetiQ Target Systems in Defence, Security and Aerospace and two Regional Innovation Champions Awards going home with APEX Regional Innovation Network of Southeast Alberta for Leadership, and Landing Zone Canada for Technology.
Bassano’s Carbon Oxy Tech also won for Sustainability Solutions and Cleantech. UVAD Technologies and Grass Roots Optimization were also nominated from southern Alberta.
QinetiQ was recognized for a project it has been working on in conjunction with the Canadian Navy and DRDC Atlantic, a multi-role autonomous boat.
“It represents just an advancement in, potentially an advancement in Canadian naval capability. They’d like to platform, but carry a wide range of sensors,” said security, IT, and trade compliance manager David Sabados.
He says QinetiQ is one of many Canadian companies working on the project and the hope is to see it move into mainstream production for the navy.
Landing Zone Canada was recognized for helping to solve one of the biggest sources of electronic waste in the country, its CEO and founder says.
“A lot of people don’t realize that Canada’s largest e-waste problem is actually created by Environment Canada,” said Spencer Fraser. He says there are currently more than 30 sites across the country that launch weather balloons, but once the balloons pop at high altitude, the sensors are not recovered.
“We’ve developed a drone that’s a bit of a boomerang. It goes up the same way, on the balloon, it takes all the measurements, but it then flies back to where it was launched from,” said Fraser. “It’s the No. 1 waste problem for the UN, so we’re quite pleased to be solving that.”
Landing Zones also has a military target version of the drone, which simulates some of the high-altitude threats facing NATO and NORAD today, making the project dual use, says Fraser.
Both companies expressed gratitude and pride to be representing Medicine Hat and southeastern Alberta and believe that having so many projects present at the awards this year was indicative of the opportunities in the region.
For Tracy Stroud with APEX, the award simply speaks to what is happening in what she refers to as the “opportunity corner” of the province.
“There’s a lot of exposure that the companies get at the awards, at the ASTech Awards, and so it really brings a lot of awareness about the innovative things that are happening in southeast Alberta to the rest of the province,” said Stroud.
Feeling humbled and appreciated, Stroud says she feels as a regional innovation network, the win for APEX is a win for everyone they work with, as nothing it does is in isolation.
“It’s really incredible and encouraging to see this,” said Stroud. “It also creates awareness for other companies to look at our region, to see what’s happening here and to choose to maybe make this their next location, which is another indirect win.”
