Ministerial Foreword
In today’s ever-evolving global economy, innovation isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a necessity.
To meet this imperative, the Government of Canada is focused on supporting breakthrough innovation, enhancing productivity and creating high-quality jobs. As we pursue these goals, we’re helping home-grown enterprises innovate, build, scale and commercialize their ideas. These efforts are driving economic prosperity while solving complex global challenges.
The global innovation clusters are driving economic progress through a collaborative model—one that brings together business, academia and not-for-profits—to develop transformative solutions.
What began as a bold experiment has become a signature initiative. A recent economic analysis underscored the clusters’ substantial impacts, assessing their total contribution to Canada’s gross domestic product (GDP) at $3.3 billion and crediting them with the creation of 35,000 jobs nationwide.
The clusters’ activities have now reached an inflection point. Many projects supported through the clusters are maturing from early stages to market-driven growth, attracting investments and generating commercial revenues. We’re witnessing the compounding effects of our initial funding, with economic forecasts projecting an extraordinary trajectory.
By 2029, the clusters are anticipated to contribute $8.1 billion to Canada’s GDP while supporting more than 83,000 jobs across the country. These powerhouse innovation ecosystems are bolstering Canada’s competitive advantage in five key areas where we already excel: digital technologies, plant proteins, advanced manufacturing, AI-powered supply chains and ocean industries.
Our government has seen the value in this collaborative model since its inception, and our commitment hasn’t wavered. There are now more than 10,300 members across all five clusters, including companies of all sizes, academic institutions and not-for-profits. As of March 2025, the clusters have announced more than 615 projects worth over $3.02 billion, involving 3,226 partners—of which 1,640 are small or medium-sized businesses. These results are proof of the clusters’ success, with every dollar of government funding resulting in a further investment of $1.60 from industry and other partners. This private sector buy-in exceeds our target, underscoring the real value of this collaborative approach.
Recognizing the clusters’ effectiveness and overall impact, we’ve expanded their mandate to accelerate Canada’s leadership in emerging technologies.
Protein Industries Canada is transforming the agricultural and food production sector while helping to solve some of the world’s most pressing issues: food insecurity, global health, nutrition and carbon emissions. Over the past year, PIC has been working with industry partners to bring to life projects that have the potential to drive growth and innovation in Canada’s plant protein sector. These projects are building a talent pool to meet the sector’s future needs, fostering collaborations across the agrifood value chain and with global partners, putting new products on grocery store shelves, and ultimately helping to generate new economic growth for Canada while reducing the impact of greenhouse gas emissions on global food systems.
The government is investing in the global innovation clusters to drive the adoption of made-in-Canada artificial intelligence technologies across the Canadian economy. With $275 million in targeted support provided through the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy, we are empowering Canada’s world-class talent and research capacity and making sure that Canadian AI innovations are commercialized at home.
As global competition intensifies in the AI space, we’re not just developing cutting-edge technology—we’re also helping to scale ambitious Canadian companies, building the secure digital infrastructure and trusted data environments they need to grow, and ensuring this innovation reflects Canadian values. By pairing ambition with responsibility, we are driving AI-powered productivity while safeguarding the public’s trust, ensuring our businesses and public institutions can compete and win on the world stage.
In the decade ahead, the clusters will stand as cornerstones of Canada’s innovation strategy, bringing together diverse voices, including those of women and of Indigenous communities and other equity-seeking groups, to tackle our most pressing challenges.
Innovation is about more than technology. It’s about how we build a more just, resilient and competitive Canada. The clusters represent our collective affirmation that Canadian ingenuity, when properly supported and connected, can compete on the world stage…and win.
By investing in ourselves, our ideas and our shared potential, we aren’t just anticipating the future—we’re actively creating it.
