Question Period Note: Investing in Global Innovation Clusters

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

• As part of Budget 2022, the Government of Canada reconfirmed Canada’s commitment to the Global Innovation Clusters with an additional $750 million investment through to 2028.

• With this funding, Canada's five Global Innovation Clusters will continue to expand their national presence and deepen their impact at home and abroad.

• The Global Innovation Clusters are harnessing the power of collaboration to help Canadian small and medium-sized enterprises scale up, integrating them into global value chains and building strong innovation ecosystems that attract investment and talent.

• The clusters are delivering results: as of June 2023, Canada’s Global Innovation Clusters have announced more than 510 projects with 2,520 partners, worth over $2.29 billion.

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.

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 accelerating the development and deployment of digital innovations as a catalyst to grow Canadian companies, advance human and environmental health and build an inclusive, skilled workforce for the digital world.

Protein Industries Cluster (Protein Industries Canada): Based in the Prairie provinces, PIC is
creating a reliable, sustainable and long-term plant-protein industry, supporting Canadian companies and economic reconciliation, reducing GHG emissions related to agriculture and food processing, building out an integrated and resilient value chain towards food security, and anchoring Canada as a global leader in the sector.

Advanced Manufacturing Cluster (Next Generation Manufacturing Canada): Based in Ontario, NGen is helping to commercialize transformative industry-led projects that develop, scale-up, and apply advanced technology solutions in manufacturing, attracting talent and investments from within Canada and around the world.

AI-Powered Supply Chains Cluster (Scale AI): Based in Quebec, Scale AI is boosting industry performance by leveraging AI technologies to improve value chains, with a specific focus on building resilient and sustainable supply chains with a focus on creating an innovative, competitive, diverse, inclusive and greener Canadian economy.

Ocean Cluster (Ocean Supercluster Canada) Based in Atlantic Canada, the Ocean Supercluster
is driving growth of Canada’s ocean economy, delivering cross-sectoral solutions, building a strong global ocean brand, connecting ocean communities, and building Canada’s diverse ocean workforce.

Canada’s Global Innovation Clusters are delivering results; they 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. As of June 30, 2023, the Global Innovation Clusters have announced more than 510 projects worth over $2.29 billion and involving more than 2,520 partners. This includes 89 projects in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with a total investment of more than $220 million.

Right from the start, this program has been about doing things differently and finding new ways to build connections — among sectors, large and small businesses, and academia — that mobilize knowledge, drive innovation and have ecosystem-level results. To get 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. Through the Global Innovation 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 the program’s success.

The program’s approach to IP is focused on commercialization outcomes, and includes ensuring that all projects have an IP plan.

By incentivizing collaboration and growing strong Canadian ecosystems, Canada’s Global Innovation Clusters are generating good, middle-class jobs, and contributing to a robust economic recovery by fostering stronger and resilient Canadian economic growth.

The clusters are helping innovators, researchers and game-changers grow bold ideas into global opportunities through better access to experience and expertise.

The Global Innovation Clusters were selected to help administer the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy (PCAIS) as part of the second phase of the strategy through the PCAIS’s $125M Cluster Commercialization Stream and $14M from the National Quantum Strategy through the Commercialization Pillar.

• 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.

• Canada’s Global Innovation Clusters employ a collaborative model, bringing together firms, not-for-profits, and research institutions to foster innovation and jointly address challenges, beyond what any one project partner could accomplish on its own.

• The clusters are a co-investment by government and industry, with activities across 12 provinces and territories. This co-investment model is proving successful, as the program is exceeding the requirement that federal government funding be matched dollar for dollar by industry towards eligible costs by the end of the program.