Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster project to generate thousands of jobs

February 22, 2018

The Government of Canada is sharing more details about the recently announced Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster investment that includes important roles for McMaster and its partners in Hamilton and across Southern Ontario.

At an event at the McMaster Innovation Park, federal minister Karina Gould announced the Supercluster project would generate 13,500 jobs and inject $13.5 billion into the Southern Ontario economy.

“These are the kinds of jobs you build a career and a life on,” Karina Gould, Minister of Democratic Institutions told a crowd of around 100 people who gathered to celebrate the investment. “This is great news for Ontario’s economy, for Canadian innovation and for our society.”

“This investment will pay dividends for years to come,” said President Patrick Deane. “And the entire country will benefit.”

“Advanced Manufacturing is in our wheelhouse,” says Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger. “We want clean and innovative manufacturing and we want it to create jobs,” here in Hamilton and across Southern Ontario.

Last week, the federal government announced it had chosen the Advanced Manufacturing proposal from more than fifty other proposals including more than 150 post-secondary institutions and hundreds of industry partners. Ottawa is investing $950M in the supercluster program.

At the event, Gould said The Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster will build up next-generation manufacturing capabilities, such as advanced robotics and 3D printing.

Ultimately, the Advanced Manufacturing Supercluster aims to position Canadian companies to lead industrial digitalization, maximizing competitiveness and participation in global markets. Worldwide, “Made in Canada” will symbolize excellence in innovative manufacturing.

The federal investment will be matched dollar for dollar by the private sector

Superclusters are dense areas of business activity where many of the middle-class jobs of today and tomorrow are created. They attract large and small companies that collaborate with universities, colleges and not-for-profit organizations to turn ideas into solutions that can be brought to market.

In 2017, the Government of Canada challenged Canadian businesses of all sizes to collaborate with other innovation actors, including post-secondary and research institutions, to propose bold and ambitious strategies that would transform regional economies and develop job-creating superclusters of innovation, like Silicon Valley.

The Innovation Superclusters Initiative is a centrepiece of the Government of Canada’s Innovation and Skills Plan, a multi-year strategy to prepare Canada for the innovative jobs of today and tomorrow.

The new CEO of the Supercluster Project will be located at the McMaster Innovation Park.

“The Innovation Superclusters Initiative created an important dialogue between industries, companies, and communities focused on building the next generation of manufacturing firms in Canada,” said Jayson Myers, CEO of Next Generation Manufacturing Canada. “These vital conversations have set the stage for new partnerships, customer relationships, and investment opportunities that will shape the future of advanced manufacturing in Canada.”