State of the Canadian space sector

President's message

As the President of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA), I am pleased to present the 2020 State of the Canadian Space Sector Report: Facts and Figures 2019. The report, which has been published since 1996, is the primary reference on the Canadian space sector. It contributes to our understanding of the sector by providing comprehensive and authoritative data, as well as long-term trend analysis on the economic activity generated in the Canadian space sector.

The 2020 State of the Canadian Space Sector Report: Facts and Figures 2019 is based on information gathered from 208 organizations involved in space activities from across Canada, including small businesses, multinational space companies, not-for-profit organizations, research centres and universities.

COVID-19 significantly impacted the Canadian space sector in the second quarter of 2020. Traditionally, the 2020 survey would only contain 2019 data, but given the circumstances, questions were added to assess the preliminary impacts of COVID-19 during the 2020/2021 fiscal year. Results indicated that COVID-19 had a significant negative impact on company revenues, demand for services, employment, and supply chain operations across the Canadian space sector.

In 2019, the space sector produced revenues of $5.5B and contributed $2.5B to Canada's gross domestic product (GDP). Research and development (R&D) expenditures reached a total of $376M, while commercialization revenues from government-funded projects totalled $253M. A new section on return on investment (ROI) was added to the report this year, revealing that for CSA space development programs, for every dollar invested, 2.5 dollars are returned through follow-on revenues – a multiplier of 2.5 times. Space sector organizations reported a total of 243 inventions and 66 registered patents.

The Canadian space workforce grew to over 10,000 jobs, while activities in the space sector supported more than 12,000 additional jobs in the wider Canadian economy. New questions related to gender were added to the survey this year which capture the gender balance for the entire space workforce. It is estimated that 28% of people in the Canadian space sector identify as female, and 72% identify as male.

I trust you will find this publication useful. I would like to convey my gratitude to all those who contributed to the 2020 survey. This publication would not be possible without the generous collaboration of members of the Canadian space industry and academia.