Study finds aerospace leads in Canadian manufacturing sector

Jun. 21, 2017 – The 2017 State of Canada’s Aerospace Industry Report — released last week by the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) and Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) — finds that the aerospace industry is Canada’s most innovative manufacturing sector, leading manufacturers in R&D investment and posting nearly 30 per cent of the sector’s R&D investments in 2016.

It also finds that Canadian aerospace is strongly integrated into global supply chains and a major player in the international aerospace market.

Key findings include:

• Canada’s aerospace industry contributed nearly $28B to GDP and 208,000 jobs to the Canadian economy in 2016.
• Canadian aerospace manufacturing was the number one R&D investor across manufacturing industries, was six times more R&D intensive than the manufacturing sector average, and generated nearly 30 per cent of all Canadian manufacturing R&D investments in 2016.
• Canada ranks in the top three globally for the production of civil aircraft, helicopters, engines and flight simulators.
• Canadian aerospace manufacturing supply chain exports are an important part of the industry’s activity, growing 20 per cent over the last 15 years and representing more than 60 per cent of all aerospace product exports.
• Canadian aerospace manufacturers develop new technologies at twice the rate of the Canadian manufacturing average, and they recruit significantly more employees for innovation-related roles.
• Canadian aerospace outpaces the national manufacturing average in the use of all four major types of innovation practices: product, process, organizational and marketing innovation.
• Canadian aerospace companies collaborate significantly more with industry, academia and government than the Canadian manufacturing industry average.

“The aerospace industry is the poster-child for innovation leadership in Canada,” said Jim Quick, AIAC president and CEO. “It is collaborative, globally integrated, and a best-in-class creator of high-value jobs and opportunity for Canadians all across the country. As government implements its plan to foster prosperity for Canada’s middle class through innovative businesses and sectors, the aerospace industry can and will lead the way.”