Canada and the EU are engaged in a strong historical partnership - willing to be reinforced by the recent Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), signed by both parts on October 30th, 2016.
Canada has developed a large and promising cluster & supercluster community, supported by ambitious governmental policies in favour of research and innovation. Key sectors: advanced manufacturing, clean technologies and energies, digital economy, agri-food, health and bio-sciences. The Canadian government has decided to concentrate its action by supporting the five superclusters thanks to a $950 million CAD investment for 5 years, as of 2018.
Canada is considered as one of the most attractive countries in terms of business environment, with an easy access to business investments, in a particularly stable political context. The current government, led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, is looking towards strong policies to support research and innovation, in high value-added sectors such as advanced manufacturing, agri-food, clean technologies and digital industries.
Essentially based in the provinces of Ontario and Québec, some of the largest Canadian clusters could be considered as “superclusters”, such as Toronto Waterloo Corridor, Ontario Aerospace Council or Toronto region’s Human Health & Sciences cluster. In Québec, the Montréal’s Metropolitan clusters is a huge cluster network strongly advanced in the field of cluster policy and firmly international-looking.
In addition, there are five superclusters, funded at the federal level on strategic domains, as the result of the Innovation Superclusters Initiative. The five superclusters are the following: the Digital Supercluster, the Protein Supercluster, the Artificial Intelligence Supply Chain Supercluster, the Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster and the Ocean Supercluster. A cluster data base is available on the Institute for Competitiveness & Prosperity’s website, and the related mapping currently under construction. The Institute has listed a total of 67 clusters around the country.
Mainly driven by the ambitious Innovation & Skills Pan, a governmental program launched in March 2017, and the new Global Markets Action Plan, cluster policies are also supported by Innovation Canada, with a $50 million CAD contribution to research and innovation. Read more...
For the period 2017-2022, the Innovation Superclusters Initiative will be at the heart of cluster policies. This competition providing a $950 million investment budget will help giving an accurate typology of Canadian clusters and superclusters by rewarding few of the best initiatives across the country. Read less.
Cluster cooperation between the EU and Canada is not led by a specific bilateral convention, however the enforcement of cooperation policies and an increasing number of bottom-up initiatives contribute to a global collaboration process. International partnerships involving businesses are already supported by local initiatives, such as the Enterprise Canada Network, or European ones, like the Enterprise Europe Network.
Also, the International Cleantech Network should be mentioned, as one of the main cluster networks specialised in clean technologies. Canada is also targeted by a number of European Strategic Cluster Partnerships – Going International (ESCPs-4i) within their internationalization strategy, in sectors like agri-food, health and bio-sciences, clean technologies and transportation.
. In these sectors, some success stories deserve to be mentioned, such as the Skywin and Aero Montréal collaboration (aerospace) or the Alsace BioValley and MEDTEQ partnership (healthcare). Read less.
| Date | Name | Target | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday, 1 April, 2019 - 09:45 | EU CLUSTER WEEKS' MAIN ANCHOR EVENT IN THE CONTEXT OF THE HANOVER FAIR | Cluster managers, Cluster Policy Makers, SME | Conference, Matchmaking, Seminar, Workshop |
| Friday, 25 January, 2019 - 11:30 | Gender Diversity and Inclusion in Innovation | Cluster managers, Cluster Policy Makers, Project coordinators | Workshop |
| Thursday, 18 October, 2018 - 10:30 | Global Matchmaking at TCI 2018 | Cluster managers, Project coordinators, SME | Matchmaking |
| Tuesday, 16 October, 2018 - 09:00 | 21st TCI Network Global Conference (TCI 2018) | Cluster managers, Cluster Policy Makers | Conference, Matchmaking |
| Thursday, 27 April, 2017 - 16:00 | Information event: "Cooperation with USA & Canada | Cluster managers, SME | Matchmaking |
| Tuesday, 3 October, 2017 - 09:15 | Business Connection Forum Albany 2017 | Cluster managers, SME | Matchmaking |
| Tuesday, 27 September, 2016 - 09:00 | 3rd Atlantic Stakeholder Platform Conference promoting entrepreneurship and innovation in the Atlantic Area | Cluster managers, Large audience, Project coordinators, SME | Conference |
| Sunday, 17 July, 2016 - 10:00 | World Investment Forum 2016 | Large audience | Conference |
| Acronym | Name | Sector(s) | Targeted third countries | No. of SME involved | No. of Partners |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AdPack | Future Materials and products for advanced smart packaging |
Paper and Packaging AGROFOOD INDUSTRY›Technologies for the food industry›Food Packaging / Handling |
Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, United States | 373 | 5 |
| AdPack² | European Strategic Cluster Partnership for Advanced Smart Packaging |
Paper and Packaging AGROFOOD INDUSTRY›Technologies for the food industry›Food Packaging / Handling |
Canada, China, United States | 530 | 6 |
| bioXclusters plus | ESCP on Personalised Healthcare |
Biopharmaceuticals BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES›Medicine, Human Health›Pharmaceutical Products / Drugs |
Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Republic of Korea (South Korea), United States | 880 | 4 |
| DECISION | DElivering Cluster International Strategies Into Overseas Networks |
Downstream Chemical Products ENERGY›Renewable Sources of Energy›Waste to energy - other |
Canada, China, India, United States | 320 | 2 |
| EACP ABROAD | Activities and Businesses from Real Opportunities for Aerospace Developments (EACP network) |
Aerospace Vehicles and Defense INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING, MATERIAL AND TRANSPORT›Aerospace Technology›Aeronautical technology / Avionics |
Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, United States | 1355 | 11 |
| ELBE | Europe Leading Blue Energy |
Electric Power Generation and Transmission ENERGY›Energy production, transmission and conversion›Generators, electric engines and power converters |
Canada, China, Japan, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Taiwan, United States | 467 | 5 |
| ELCA4i | European Lighting Cluster Alliance For Internationalisation |
Lighting and Electrical Equipment ENERGY›Energy efficiency›Lighting, illumination |
Canada, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United States | 470 | 5 |
| GEO-ENERGY EUROPE | Geo-Energy for the XXIst Century |
Electric Power Generation and Transmission ENERGY›Renewable Sources of Energy›Geothermal energy |
Canada, Chile, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico | 320 | 8 |
| LASER-GO | European Cluster Partnership in Photonics for Health |
Lighting and Electrical Equipment BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES›Medicine, Human Health›Medical Technology / Biomedical Engineering |
Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, United States | 231 | 3 |
| LASER-GO GLOBAL | European Cluster Partnership in Photonics for Health |
Lighting and Electrical Equipment BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES›Medicine, Human Health›Medical Technology / Biomedical Engineering |
Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Singapore, United States | 240 | 6 |
| MobiGoIn | Mobility Goes International |
Transportation and Logistics ELECTRONICS, IT AND TELECOMMS›IT and Telematics Applications›Applications for Transport and Logistics |
Canada, China, Malaysia, Singapore, United States | 1100 | 4 |
| MobiGoIn-Action | Mobility Goes International - In Action |
Transportation and Logistics ELECTRONICS, IT AND TELECOMMS›IT and Telematics Applications›Applications for Transport and Logistics |
Canada, China, Singapore, United States | 1270 | 4 |
| New Frontier in Food | New Frontiers for Emerging Industries in Food |
Food Processing and Manufacturing AGROFOOD INDUSTRY›Technologies for the food industry›Food Technology |
Brazil, Canada, China, Japan, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Taiwan, Thailand, United States | 514 | 4 |
| NF4 | New Frontiers in Food Fast Forward |
Food Processing and Manufacturing AGROFOOD INDUSTRY›Technologies for the food industry›Food Additives/Ingredients/Functional Food |
Brazil, Canada, China, United States | 561 | 5 |
| PERES (Voluntary Partnership 2016-2017) | PERES-Promoting European Rail Excellence outSide EU |
Transportation and Logistics INDUSTRIAL MANUFACTURING, MATERIAL AND TRANSPORT›Transport Infrastructure›Railway Transport |
Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, India, Iran, Mexico, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United States | 600 | 6 |
| PIMAP Partnership | PIMAP Partnership – Photonics for International Markets and APplications |
Production Technology and Heavy Machinery ELECTRONICS, IT AND TELECOMMS›Electronic circuits, components and equipment›Optical Networks and Systems |
Canada, United States | 900 | 4 |
| REINA PLUS | Renewable Energy Internationalisation ESCP project for European SMEs |
Electric Power Generation and Transmission ENERGY›Renewable Sources of Energy›Wind energy |
Algeria, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Morocco, Tunisia, United States | 322 | 4 |
| SPACE2ID | Space Clusters International Industrial Diversification |
Information Technology and Analytical Instruments ELECTRONICS, IT AND TELECOMMS›Telecommunications, Networking›Satellite Technology/Positioning/Communication in GPS |
Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, United Arab Emirates | 757 | 9 |
| SPACE2IDGO | Space Clusters International Industrial Diversification |
Information Technology and Analytical Instruments ELECTRONICS, IT AND TELECOMMS›Telecommunications, Networking›Satellite Technology/Positioning/Communication in GPS |
Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, United Arab Emirates | 757 | 8 |
| SpaceWave | Clusters waving the flag to the internationalisation of European SMEs taking advantage of the cross-sectoral dimension of Earth observation for Blue Growth market |
Information Technology and Analytical Instruments ELECTRONICS, IT AND TELECOMMS›Telecommunications, Networking›Satellite Technology/Positioning/Communication in GPS |
Australia, Canada, South Africa, United Arab Emirates | 50 | 4 |
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