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Aerospace and Defence

Canada is home to some of the Most Recognized global brands in the Industry

Thompson Manitoba is home to the Global Aerospace Centre for Icing and Environmental Research (GLACIER). This $42 million research and testing facility for the aerospace industry was developed with Pratt & Whitney Canada and supported by the Canadian and Manitoba governments.

“GLACIER will be a global leader in cold weather research for the aviation industry and is well aligned with Pratt & Whitney’s long-standing focus on research, development and innovation.”

Walter Di Bartolomeo, Vice President, Engineering, Pratt & Whitney Canada and Chairman of the Board of GLACIER.

The world’s fifth-largest aerospace sector— Canada’s aerospace industry ranks fifth in the world, behind only the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany. With its highly skilled workforce and integrated supply chains, Canada’s aerospace industry supplies one-third of global demand for small gas-turbine engines and enjoys a 70 percent share of the global market for visual simulators. According to an RNCOS research report published in March 2011, Canada’s aerospace market has experienced one of the world’s fastest growth rates during the last few years.

Home to global leader Bombardier and other Tier-1 players— With more than 400 aerospace manufacturing and services companies across the country, Canada’s aerospace sector generated annual revenues of $22.2 billion in 2009. Among these companies, Bombardier is a global leader in the regional and business aircraft market. Global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier-1 suppliers such as Boeing Co., Pratt & Whitney, General Dynamics Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Rolls-Royce Group plc all have operations in Canada.

Sustained commitment to R&D— With annual R&D and capital investment of more than $1.3 billion in this sector, Canada is at the forefront of aircraft technology development and applications. The Canadian federal government’s Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative (SADI) aims to further increase the level of investment by providing repayable contributions of up to 30% of eligible costs in support of R&D by Canadian aerospace, defence, space and security industries.

Recent Foreign Investments – Aerospace

Map of Canada showing two locations: Winnipeg, Manitoba and Montreal, Quebec

In December 2010, Pratt & Whitney Canada (PW&C), part of United Technologies Corporation announced investments of more than $1 billion over the next five years to develop the next generation of high-performance aircraft engines at facilities across Canada.
In February 2011, GE Aviation and StandardAero announced an agreement to build a $50 million aircraft-engine research and development centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
GE Canada announced an investment of $63.5 million over six years to diversify its product line at the GE Aviation manufacturing plant in Bromont (near Montréal). The plant manufactures aircraft engine components, including fan blades, for a variety of commercial and military aircraft.
In May 2010, U.S.-based Dornier Seaplane Company chose St-Jean-sur-Richelieu (near Montréal) as the site for the final-assembly plant of its new amphibious aircraft. The project is valued at $71.5 million.