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Aerospace industry positioned to double number of jobs

The document titled, The Strategic and Economic Impact of the Canadian Aerospace Industry was presented to approximately 350 attendees representing all segments of the Canadian aerospace industry and other leading aerospace nations, various levels of government, as well as members of the financial and investment community.

The report found that although Canada is in a good position to take full advantage of global growth in the industry, greater support by governments and investment in R&D remain critical factors for ensuring Canada's overall competiveness as other countries are already moving ahead and are in a better position to take advantage of emerging economic opportunities.

"For Canada to maintain or strengthen its global leadership position in aerospace, the private sector and governments must work more closely together," said Marc Parent, Chairman of AIAC and President and CEO of CAE Inc. "Canada needs a more integrated approach in order to take advantage of global growth opportunities," he added.

The Canadian industry, based in Quebec, Ontario, Western and Atlantic Canada, is regarded globally as amongst the best in world and enjoys a high level of confidence from manufacturers from around the world.  However, as foreign governments are investing heavily in their domestic industries and are developing supportive public policy to ensure their growth, Canada is falling behind.

"While Canada's civil aviation sector is currently ranked third in the world, we rank lowest in R&D funding when compared to our traditional competitors,France and Germany," stated Claude Lajeunesse, President of AIAC. "Emerging low-cost markets including China, India, Brazil and Mexico are investing heavily in their sectors to prepare to take advantage of the growth in new markets. Increased R&D will enable the Canadian sector to move up the manufacturing value chain, positioning the industry to compete for lucrative mandates requiring knowledge-based jobs in Canada."

The report also outlined the fact that the Canadian industry is a key driver of innovation, jobs and economic output accounting for nearly 80,000 jobs throughout the country with a payroll of more than $4.6 billion and expected revenues of more than $22 billion in 2010.  A sizeable but realizable investment in R&D would allow Canada to double industry employment to 158,000 jobs by 2020.

"Emerging markets such as China and India are seeing their governments heavily investing in our sector and establishing public policy to significantly expand their position in the civil aerospace industry, recognizing that Asia-Pacific will be the largest market for air transport in the next 10 years," continued Mr. Parent.  "We are confident that the Canadian industry can continue to build on its solid foundation with the federal and other governments to maintain Canada's position as a world leader now and for the future."

The report concluded that Canada can maintain its place in an increasingly competitive aerospace world, take full advantage of emerging markets and greatly expand the number of high-paying and high-quality jobs for Canadians, only if the Canadian aerospace industry can reconfigure itself to capture this growth.