Opportunities

Along with environmental products and services, transportation and logistics, and building products, the Aerospace and Defence sector forms a group of advanced industries that the Government of Alberta recognizes as adding significant value, innovation, and diversification to the provincial economy.

Diversification into aerospace and defence is important to Alberta for a number of reasons: the sector employs highly qualified and skilled workers, it shares many of the same technologies used in other high-tech fields (including nanotechnology, ICT, and advanced materials), and it is an environmentally conscious industry sector. In short, the aerospace and defence industry is a green field that provides another home to Alberta’s advanced technology and employees beyond the oil and gas sector.

To learn more about opportunities in the Alberta's Aerospace and Defence industry, select from the following categories:

Events 

  • Western Canada's Shipbuilding Summit
    May 23, 2012 - Vancouver, British Columbia

    Find out how your company can access Industrial & Regional Benefits and what opportunities may be available with Canada’s National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy.

  • Security Canada International Security Conference and Exposition
    May 23-24, 2012 - Calgary, Alberta

    Security Canada International Security Conferences and Expositions are the leading security industry events in Canada. Security Canada 2011 is produced and managed by the Canadian Security Association (CANASA). We've been bringing buyers and sellers together from coast to coast and internationally for over 30 years.

  • CANSEC
    May 30-31, 2012 - Ottawa, Ontario 

    Brought to you by the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), CANSEC is Canada's foremost defence technology showcase. A two-day event, CANSEC will feature 120,000 square feet of indoor exhibits by Canada's leading edge defence and security companies, as well as an outdoor static display. This showcase targets a wide audience of customers that includes Government agencies and departments with an interest in the defence sector.

  • CBAA 2012 Annual Conference and Trade Show
    June 13-14, 2012 - Toronto, Ontario

    The Canadian Business Aviation Association annual convention unites business leaders, government officials, business aircraft manufacturers, corporate aviation department personnel and fellow CBAA members to learn and showcase the latest in aviation technology.

    CBAA 2012 is looking for exhibitors and sponsors. The trade show floor is open to both CBAA member and non-member companies showcasing products and services to approximately 700 delegates and guests. As an added value, CBAA is offering complimentary membership for 2012 to new exhibitors. To learn more, please access the following documents:

  • WESTDEF - Western Canada's Defence & Security Symposium (formerly ADIS)
    July 9-10, 2012 - Calgary, Alberta

    WESTDEF is a two day conference which includes keynote, engaging panel discussion, session speakers, industry tours, displays, and networking events. WESTDEF was conceived by western Canada defence industry companies to showcase capabilities and technological expertise of Western Canadian defence contractors; and to provide exposure and connections between advanced technology SMEs and major manufacturers in the Aerospace, Defence & Security (A/D/S) industry in Western Canada.

  • Farnborough International Air Show
    July 9-15, 2012 - Farnborough, UK

    The Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) is the world's most iconic global aviation event. Occupying a prominent position on the aerospace calendar, the airshow takes place every other year for one week in July. The first five days of the exhibition are traditionally trade days, followed by a weekend where the show is opened up to the public.

  • Japan Aerospace 2012: International Exhibition
    October 9-14, 2012 - Port Messe Nagoya, Japan

    The Japan International Aerospace Exhibition 2012 (JA2012) will be held in Nagoya, Asia’s largest aerospace industrial manufacturing region. Bringing together international and domestic companies in Japan and overseas, we aim to help promote trade, information exchange and the development of the aerospace-related industries, while raising the general public’s understanding of the improvements aerospace engineering brings to daily life.

  • AME International Excellence Inside Conference
    October 15-19, 2012 - Chicago Illinois

    This conference features workshops and presentations on and trade show on Lean thinking, enterprise improvement, and best practices for improving competitiveness. The AME Manufacturing Excellence Award will be presented at the conference.

  • SAE 2012 Power Systems Conference
    October 30-November 1, 2012 - Phoenix, Arizona

    The tenth biennial SAE Power Systems Conference will highlight technology in transition in military and commercial aerospace, and other military power system applications. The 2012 conference will focus on Energy Optimized Aircraft (EOA), bringing avionics, systems and engines together in an optimized way.

  • SAE 2012 Aerospace Electronics and Avionics Systems Conference
    October 30-November 1, 2012 - Phoenix, Arizona

    The inaugural SAE Aerospace Electronics and Avionics Systems Conference has the theme, "Air Vehicle Energy Management" and will address efficiency optimization for modern aircraft, including the closer integration of systems and optimization of power/thermal/energy management with support of novel avionics, integrated vehicle health management and control system architectures.

  • Unmanned Systems Canada 10th Annual Conference
    November 6-9, 2012 - Ottawa

    Unmanned Systems Canada will be holding its 10th internationally renowned Annual Conference 6-9 November 2012, in Ottawa, Ontario, to present Canadian and International innovation in the field of Unmanned Vehicle Systems (UVS) technologies.

    *Call for Presentations: Presentations are sought from Canada and internationally on all subject areas related to unmanned vehicle systems, research and development, case studies, operational experience and recent innovations.
    Abstract Deadline: 15 May, 2012
    Authors/Presenters notified of acceptance: 15 June 2011.

  • 2012 Canadian Aerospace Summit
    December 5-6, 2012 - Ottawa Convention Centre 

    Save the date for Canada's leading aerospace event. The conference will feature sought-after Canadian and international presenters, a technology trade show for domestic and international OEMs and suppliers of all sizes, business-to-business meetings with leading contractors and suppliers, and networking opportunities with industry leaders and decision makers.  

Funding

  • Tecterra's Tradeshow Attendance Program (TAP)

    Tecterra's TAP funding program is designed to assist geomatics technology entrepreneurs and professionals to attend relevant industry events, tradeshows, and conferences in support of their technology commercialization efforts. Tecterra will cover up to 100% of the eligible costs of up to two separate events per year, to a maximum total of $15,000 in any one calendar year per company.

  • Community and Regional Economic Development Funding Programs (PDF)

    This document lists a number of funding programs related to community and regional economic development offered by the Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta, as well as a number of foundations and not-for-profit groups.

Success Stories

Purchasing Opportunities

  • Alberta Purchasing Connection (APC) 

    Many opportunities in aerospace and defence are made known through competitive processes that are often advertised on provincial and federal procurement sites. Within Alberta, the provincial opportunities are most often found on the (APC).

    The APC enables purchasers from the Government of Alberta and the Province of Alberta's MASH sector (includes municipalities, municipal organizations, school boards and publicly-funded academic, health and social service entities) to create and post purchasing opportunities. APC is the Province of Alberta's official system for posting and distributing purchasing opportunities from the Alberta public sector.

Procurement

Market Reports

  • France's Aerospace and Defence Industry

  • Global Innovation Index and Report 2009-2010 (PDF, April 2010). The Global Innovation Index (GII) is a global benchmarking instruments that ranks countries based on innovation ability and capacity. The report also highlights some countries' innovation successes through case studies.

  • Global Aerospace & Defense sector outlook (PDF, January 2010) A report prepared by Deloitte on the global state of the Aerospace & Defence industry and predictions for the upcoming year.

  • Competitiveness of the EU Aerospace Industry (PDF, December 2009). This report analyzes the competitiveness of the Aerospace industry in Europe, with a focus on the Aeronautics industry.

  • Alberta Industry Sector Performances and Prospects (PDF, May 2009). PriceWaterhouseCoopers has prepared a study on the performance, trends and prospects of 19 of Alberta’s largest industry sectors for Alberta Finance and Enterprise. The report consists of the following components:  

    • Macroeconomic analysis of trends and outlooks for the Canadian and Alberta economies.
    • Analysis of overall industry sector trends in Alberta.
    • Industry profiles. This includes a description of the type of size of firms in these sectors, an assessment of factors influencing growth and performance of industry sectors since 2000 and of the growth prospects for each sector through a detailed SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) for each industry sector.

  • Canada’s Aerospace Product Manufacturing Industry (PDF, November 2005). Prepared by the Conference Board of Canada, this report provides a detailed five-year forecast of Canada’s Aerospace Product Industry.

Exporting

Date Updated:
RDP-1960