There is a call for BlackBerry to keep jobs and ingenuity in this province as the Waterloo, Ontario based company brings in a committee to assess strategic alternatives, which could include its sale or a joint venture.  Shares of BlackBerry soared $1.08 yesterday to close at $11.13.  Premier Kathleen Wynne says BlackBerry has been a homegrown technology leader.  “Look I have a lot of faith in the ingenuity of the people in the BlackBerry organization,” she explained, “and I hope that whatever direction they go in, they will be successful.  Obviously, we want to keep those jobs.  We want that innovation here in Ontario.”

The new high-end BlackBerry 10 phones struggled to gain favour, and initial sales figures for the cheaper BlackBerry Q-5 have fallen short of expectations.