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Atlantic Canada’s Aerospace and Defence Sector

Last Revised: February 1, 2024

ISSUE: Update on Atlantic Canada’s Aerospace and Defence Sector

RESPONSE

• Atlantic Canada’s aerospace and defence (A&D) sector is an important contributor to the region’s economy.
• There are approximately 200 firms operating in Atlantic Canada’s Aerospace and Defence (A&D) sector, providing 9,500 high-quality jobs in the region.
• The sector includes large local firms, small and medium-sized businesses, and global defence companies.
• Regional business activities in the A&D sector include work in aerospace, land and marine environments.
• Through our advocacy efforts and programming support, ACOA plays an active role in ensuring growth in the region’s A&D industry.

ACOA’s Role in Supporting the Aerospace and Defence Sector:

• In the aerospace and defence sector, ACOA supports continued access to global supply chains and increased export opportunities. 
• The Agency does this by leveraging opportunities created through Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy. 
• The ITB Policy requires companies awarded defence and major Canadian Coast Guard contracts to do business in Canada equal to the value of their contracts. 
• ACOA helps stimulate investments in the region through the ITB Policy by working directly with businesses, universities and colleges, and industry associations to promote and position Atlantic Canadian capabilities to major defence prime contractors.
• As well, ACOA is helping Atlantic Canada businesses in the aerospace sector as they work to create greener products, improve productivity and strengthen export channels to reach the global supply chain.

BACKGROUND

Atlantic Canada’s aerospace and defence (A&D) sector is an important contributor to the region’s economy. The sector is comprised of approximately 200 firms and organizations that support and create high value-added economic outputs. These firms offer capabilities (i.e., products and services) in commercial and military aerospace, land systems and marine/naval subsectors. The A&D sector is mostly made up of small and medium-sized firms, regional operations of global prime contractors, and is anchored by two large regional headquartered firms (IMP Aerospace & Defence and Irving Shipbuilding Inc.).

Atlantic Canada's A&D industry employs more than 9,500 direct high-quality jobs and offers a broad range of capabilities with globally recognized strengths in several capability areas. These industrial strengths include naval shipbuilding and design; aerospace and naval maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO); sonar and acoustics systems; training and simulation; autonomous systems; ground vehicle solutions; and cyber security.

Although the region only represents approximately 6.5% of the Canadian population, Atlantic Canada employs 18% of the total Canadian defence industry. The growth of the region’s A&D sector is fueled, in part, by securing direct federal defence procurement opportunities and by leveraging federal government defence expenditures through Canada’s Industrial Technological Benefits (ITB) policy. Many firms in Atlantic Canada’s A&D sector can directly tie their growth to the business generated through Canadian defence procurement.

ACOA’s Role in Supporting the Aerospace and Defence Sector

In the aerospace and defence sector, ACOA supports continued access to global supply chains and increased export opportunities. The Agency does this by leveraging opportunities created through Canada’s Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy. The ITB Policy requires companies awarded defence and major Canadian Coast Guard contracts to do business in Canada equal to the value of their contracts. ACOA helps stimulate investments in the region through the ITB Policy by working directly with businesses, universities and colleges, and industry associations to promote and position Atlantic Canadian capabilities to major defence prime contractors. To ensure regional industry is well positioned benefit from investments and long-term partnerships, ACOA helps by:

• assisting regional firms navigate the defence procurement and the business opportunities that exist in the defence and security sector;
• advocating with federal government procurement colleagues and major defence firms for the inclusion of regional firms and capabilities in major Canadian and international defence and security projects;
• promoting the industry to international suppliers by organizing regional tours and leading Atlantic Canadian delegations to international trade shows and conferences;
• facilitating partnerships between international and regional firms by matching Atlantic Canadian skills and capabilities with defence contractors’ various business lines; and,
• providing financial support to regional industry and supporting capacity building programs administered by associations and innovation hubs (e.g., skills development and training initiatives, R&D pursuits, certification awareness), to strengthen and grow our industry’s competitiveness.

Through our advocacy efforts and programming support, ACOA continues to play an active role in ensuring growth in the region’s A&D industry. ACOA will continue to focus efforts on key challenges impacting the sector; specifically, skills and workforce development, enhancing competitiveness and supporting other government priorities (e.g. green agenda).

Skills and Workforce Development

Atlantic Canadian industry continues to face challenges attracting and retaining sufficient human resources capacity to deliver complex, specialized A&D projects. To address these skills and workforce development challenges, the Agency will continue to undertake broad-based initiatives that build capacity in key areas (e.g., business development, project management, supply chain management). ACOA continues to work with regional stakeholders to enhance our understanding of the sector’s future skills needs, and to develop strategies and interventions to attract talent with appropriate skills to the sector.

Competitiveness

Supplying products and services to broader A&D sector requires firms to be competitive.  To maintain and enhance the competitiveness of regional firms, ACOA will continue to provide funding that supports improvements in products and services through research, commercialization, and technology adoption. ACOA will also facilitate access for our firms to the supply chains of major A&D contractors, monitor opportunities for regional businesses to participate on Canadian defence procurement projects, and assist firms with access to other government programming support.

PREPARATION AND APPROVALS

Prepared by: Dominique Bouchard, Senior Communications Officer, 506-429-7561
Sector contact: Faith McIntyre, Director General, Programs, 902-940-1417
Sector approval: Daryell Nowlan, Vice-President, Policy, Programs and Communications, 506-851-3805