Canada's Space Sector Industry Snapshot
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© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, .
ISSN: 2818-5226
Background
- This snapshot, developed by the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) in collaboration with Space Canada, provides information about the space economy in Canada.
- The data is based on an annual voluntary survey led by the CSA and sent to space organizations in Canada. The facts and figures presented are limited to survey responses and supplementary internal information. The data collected remains confidential and protected by the CSA. It has not been shared with Space Canada in any way. This information is only made public in aggregate form.
- The report covers data for the year of .
- The numbers presented may not add up precisely to the totals provided because of rounding.
- Further details are set out in the CSA's State of the Canadian Space Sector Report that will be published on the CSA website: www.asc-csa.gc.ca/eng/publications/corporate.asp
Space Economy Ecosystem
Over 200 organizations from across Canada are involved in the CSA's Annual Space Sector Survey.
| Large companies |
Universities & Research Centres |
Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) |
Government | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | 9% | 19% | 68% | 4% |
| Ontario | Quebec | Prairies | British Columbia & North |
Atlantic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage | 38% | 30% | 13% | 11% | 8% |
Note: The North (Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut) has been integrated with B.C. due to the small number of respondents. However, no regional information was received from the North this year.
Contribution to the Economy
The space sector contributed $3.4B to Canada's GDPFootnote 1 – increasing 8.4% since .
| GDP | 0% | 0% | -5% | 4% | 8% |
|---|
Revenues
Space sector revenues totalled $5.1B
This includes:
71% Satellite Communications 
7% Earth Observation 
2% Space Science 
13% Navigation 
6% Space Exploration 
1% Other
| Millions | $5,489 | $4,898 | $4,896 | $5,049 | $5,091 |
|---|
Value-Chain Activities
Of the total revenues:
- 25% were upstream activities
- 75% were downstream activities
| Research, Engineering, and Consulting (Upstream) | 8% |
|---|---|
| Space Segment Manufacturing (Upstream) | 12% |
| Ground Segment Manufacturing (Upstream) | 5% |
| Satellite Operations (Downstream) | 15% |
| Value-Added Products and Applications (Downstream) | 15% |
| Services (Downstream) | 45% |
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upstream | 0% | -22% | -11% | 15% | 36% |
| Downstream | 0% | -9% | -11% | -13% | -16% |
Domestic vs. Export Revenues
Of the total revenues:
- 57% ($2.9B) were from domestic sources.
- 43% ($2.2B) came from exports.
- North America and Europe remain the most common export destinations.
| North America | 65% |
|---|---|
| Europe | 19% |
| Asia | 8% |
| Central America, South America, and Caribbean | 5% |
| Middle East | 1% |
| Oceania and Antarctica | 1% |
| Africa | 0.5% |
| Other | 0.3% |
*Note - Exports were reorganized by continental region this year, consistent with categorizations at Statistics Canada.
Workforce
The space sector supported over 26,480 jobs in Canada.
- Direct: 13,888 jobs most of which are STEMFootnote 2 (70%) and HQPFootnote 3 (73%).
- Indirect and Induced: 12,592 jobs.
The space sector gender breakdown includes 29% women; 71% men; 0.2% non-binary people.
| Administration | 18% |
|---|---|
| Students/Interns | 14% |
| Other (incl. Health Professionals) | 8% |
| Technicians | 9% |
| Management | 7% |
| Marketing and Sales | 4% |
| Engineers & Scientists | 40% |
Research and Development
Business expenditures for research and developmentFootnote 4 reached $650M – up 73% since .
The R&D intensity for space manufacturing was 12 times higher than the average for manufacturing in Canada.
Innovation
There were 340 inventions – up 40% since .
There were 135 patents – up 105% since .
| 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inventions | 243 | 215 | 226 | 256 | 340 |
| Patents | 66 | 64 | 76 | 63 | 135 |
Summary
In , Canada's space industry:
- Over 200 firms active across Canada generating $5.1B in revenues.
- Contributed $3.4B to Canada's GDP – increasing 8% since .
- Included 13,888 direct jobs in the space sector – of which 70% were STEM and 40% were engineers and scientists.
- Had $2.2B worth of exports, with the North America and Europe as primary destinations.
- Continues to advance technology with strong increases in BERD investment – up 73% since .
- Outperformed the broader Canadian manufacturing sector in terms of R&D manufacturing intensity by 12 times – demonstrating the innovative nature of the sector.
- Made breakthroughs through inventions and patents, rising significantly since by 40% and 105%, respectively.