Our federal government is delivering a message that the time to grow, compete, and lead on the global stage is now. From the stage of ALL In last week, we heard Ministers speak of the importance that Canadians seize the moment, support Canadian businesses, and take a chance on each other. With the launch of the new Major Projects Office in late August, Government has focused its first round of projects, including the Montreal Port Authority, and a second round of project announcements to come focused on critical mineral development, wind energy, critical infrastructure in the North, ports, and transportation infrastructure connecting Canadians and our goods with the world, as well as innovative carbon capture and storage and carbon management technologies. This, combined with record defence spending commitments, an increased focus on Arctic sovereignty, and three new strategies expected this fall focused on Industrial Defence, Trade Diversification, and Climate Competitiveness, Ottawa is signaling urgency and accelerated action. In order to achieve this, Canada needs future-shaping industries with bold ambition to carry this agenda forward. Few are as ready to deliver as the ocean economy.
With membership now approaching 1,000, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster (OSC) is one of the largest blue clusters in the world. We have a project portfolio delivering solutions from shipping and scaled ocean energy to sustainable seafood, defence and dual-use technologies, the accelerated development of AI and emerging technologies, knowing the potential to build on this is tremendous. Together with our members and partners, and Canada’s entire ocean community we have a 5X growth ambition for Canada’s ocean economy through Ambition 2035. An ambition that earlier this spring, the Conference Board of Canada found that, if achieved, could deliver $378 billion in total economic benefit and support 1.2 million jobs in Canada. This is a shared ambition with benefits that run deep including creating jobs, growing and scaling more ocean companies, building resilience in communities, and making Canada a global leader in the sustainable ocean economy at a time when it is the ocean economy that is set to outpace the growth of the broader economy by 20 per cent.
Through a platform for the ocean economy called Charting the Course, the OSC has outlined how Canada can lead: accelerating innovation, scaling clean technologies, advancing dual-use and Arctic focused solutions, and expanding Canada’s trade opportunities with global partners through the ocean sector. The alignment with federal priorities is clear. The focus on industrial defence connects directly with Canada’s need for advanced shipbuilding, surveillance, and Arctic capabilities. Trade diversification is tied to ocean economy exports from aquaculture to marine technologies and equipment. And, climate competitiveness from scaling sustainable ocean industries that reduce emissions including marine transport, energy transition, and food security, and creating significant economic value in the process.
Global competitors aren’t waiting. Norway, Singapore, and the UK are already investing at scale to claim their share of the rapidly growing ocean economy, which has doubled in size five years sooner that expected. If Canada is to lead, we need to prioritize the ocean sector, we need to be bold, and we need to leverage the moment Canada is having and also make it Canada’s ocean moment. That means mobilizing capital, advancing more projects, investing in Indigenous-led innovation, building partnerships that unlock global markets, and actioning existing agreements with purpose with partner countries including Canada’s declaration on Ocean and AI with France.
As Canada’s Ocean Supercluster heads to Ottawa from October 21-23 for our Ocean Week on the Hill, we will share these messages and recommendations, encourage expediency and urgency in approaching them, and through our digital campaign toolkit for members and partners coming soon, we hope you will add volume to this activity.
The moment is ours to seize.
