Question Period Note: INVESTING IN GLOBAL INNOVATION CLUSTERS

How are the Global Innovation Clusters helping to make the Canadian economy more innovative?

• The Global Innovation Clusters are accelerating Canada’s global competitive edge by bringing together companies of all sizes, academic institutions, and not-for-profits to generate bold new ideas.

• The clusters have already approved more than 495 projects worth over $2.21 billion.

• Building on their success to date, these clusters will expand their national presence and collaborate to deepen their impact on key government priorities such as fighting climate change and addressing supply chain disruptions.

• The Government of Canada’s additional investment of $750 million over six years will support the further growth and development of the clusters.

• Since they were announced in 2018, the clusters have helped build successful and growing innovation ecosystems across the Canadian economy. These include:
o Plant-based protein alternatives;
o Ocean-based industries;
o Advanced manufacturing;
o Digital technologies; and,
o Artificial intelligence for supply chain and logistics.

• The clusters are a co-investment by government and industry across 11 provinces and territories.

• The clusters have generated more than 855 new intellectual property (IP) rights.

• There is an opportunity now to build on the success of this model to strengthen networks between the private sector, academia, and government to promote innovation, help firms scale up in Canada, and grow the economy.

• This new funding will be allocated between the five clusters on a competitive basis to ensure it meets industry and government needs.

In February 2018, the government announced five innovation clusters, in areas where Canada has the potential for significant competitive advantage: Digital Technologies, Protein Industries, Advanced Manufacturing, Artificial intelligence (AI), and Ocean technologies. They were projected to create more than 50,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and grow Canada’s GDP by more than $50 billion over the next 10 years.

In October 2020, the Parliamentary Budget Officer released a report on the progress of the initiative. Analysis since then shows the program is on track to meet or exceed program targets.

Digital Technology Cluster (Digital Supercluster): Based in British Columbia, Digital is unlocking the potential of data to improve service delivery and efficiency in the natural resources, precision health and manufacturing sectors.

Protein Industries Cluster (Protein Industries Canada): Based in the Prairie provinces, PIC is establishing Canada as a lead in plant protein and increasing the value of key Canadian crops, such as canola and pulses.

Advanced Manufacturing Cluster (Next Generation Manufacturing Canada): Based in Ontario, NGen is building next-generation manufacturing capabilities, such as advanced robotics, to position Canadian companies to lead industrial digitalization.

AI-Powered Supply Chains Cluster (Scale AI): Based in Quebec, Scale AI brings the retail, manufacturing, transportation, infrastructure and information and communications technology sectors together to build intelligent supply chains.

Ocean Cluster (Ocean Supercluster Canada) Based in Atlantic Canada, the Ocean Supercluster taps the combined strengths of the industries operating in Canada’s oceans, including marine renewable energy, fisheries, aquaculture, oil and gas, transportation and ocean technology.

Canada’s clusters are on track to meet or exceed the overall job creation target of 15,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs created by 2023, and 50,000 by 2028.

This program is finding new ways to build connections — among sectors, large and small-sized businesses, and academia — that mobilize knowledge, drive innovation and have ecosystem-level results. To achieve these long-term results, it was important to invest in this new innovative model and give the program time to build a solid foundation to ensure the clusters were set up to succeed.

Growing and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is key to advancing Canada’s edge internationally. With the help from the clusters, SMEs are able to leverage expertise and find new opportunities to collaborate, helping them to scale up and access new markets, clients, and supply chains like never before. More than 75 per cent of business partners of Canada’s Global Innovation Cluster projects are small- and medium-sized businesses, making them key to success of the program.

The program’s approach to IP is to generate collaborative IP, and ensure that it is cultivated to maximize accessibility for members, foster innovation, and support good commercial outcomes. To date, the program is generating more than 7.5 IP rights per project, and the clusters have delivered educational IP touchpoints such as webinars, workshops, video series, blogs, articles, and 1-on-1 support.