Why this is important to Wisconsin businesses: Civil aircraft production in Canada is expected to grow at twice the global average over the next five years.
The Canadian aerospace manufacturing industry encompasses civil and defense activities as well as space systems manufacturing. Canada’s civil aircraft production growth is forecast to outpace the global market for the period 2014 through 2021, with 22 percent growth in Canada versus 11 percent for global civil aircraft production.
In 2015, Québec’s aerospace industry generated $15.5 billion in sales and was represented by more than 40,000 employees and 190 companies (177 of them small and midsize enterprises, or SMEs), including international aerospace firms Bombardier, Bell Helicopter, Pratt & Whitney and CAE.
Central Canada (Ontario and Québec) account for the majority of the manufacturing industry, which includes: aircraft assemblies, subassemblies and parts; engines and engine parts; fuselage, wing, tail and similar assemblies; flight simulators; prototype products; avionics; telecommunication satellites and components; and helicopters, propellers and parts.
Québec recently announced a new aerospace strategy that will provide long-term direction to the province’s objective of developing its aerospace industry. Part of this strategy includes providing the industry with $510 million in funding, which aims to support companies in Québec as they transition to Industry 4.0 and to support initiatives such as MACH FAB 4.0 and the Greener Aircraft Catalyst Project; provide training to the workforce to meet future challenges and automation; and consolidate SMEs to make them Tier 1 and Tier 2 companies.