OSC 2022/23 Annual Report

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Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
2022/23 Annual Report

The world is coming together to talk about ocean. Now more than ever, amid the UN Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, there is an increasing global focus on ocean knowing how critical it is to sustainable economic growth, combatting climate change, and contributing to the health and well-being of communities and people worldwide.

Together with our members, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster has built a growing network that is cohesive and connected and shares a commitment to changing the way ocean business is done, building partnerships, projects, talent, and helping shape the future of ocean in Canada and our collective ocean opportunity.

Ministerial Foreword

“The Government of Canada is working to secure Canada’s economic growth and prosperity in a green, digital and resilient world economy. We are in a position to seize the moment and build on our solid innovation investments so that Canada succeeds in the new global economy.”

  • The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne
    Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

Message from Chair

“As I sat down to write this year’s forward I re-read and reflected on what I had written last year. My first reaction was, why not repeat that message as the theme still resonates, but that would be too easy. And it would ignore all that has happened during the past year. On that front, this past year has been dominated by extreme weather events, and everywhere. Their ferociousness, frequency and damage caused is frankly frightening, as is the extent to which we can’t know whether this year was an anomaly or a portend of worse to come. We do know there are patterns, trends which would seem to indicate the more to come direction . These are evident in the El Nino , a multi year event which has just descended on us, gradually increasing ocean temperatures everywhere ( not to mention the unbelievable extremes off the Florida coast ) and the changing pace of the Gulf Stream, to identify just a few. All these have consequences , the outcomes or impacts of which we are uncertain. But they are likely to be dramatic.”

  • John Risley
    Chair of the Board

Message from CEO

“As we embark on our second mandate at Canada’s Ocean Supercluster, it’s with significant momentum behind us that we build on what we started together just five years ago. And while I have always found it exhilarating to start a new chapter of something – not unlike the feeling of cracking open new books for school in the fall – it’s with a great deal of pride that we can reflect on the accomplishments of our cluster over the past year and over the course of our first mandate.”

  • Kendra MacDonald
    Chief Executive Officer

A Year in Review

This year, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster set out to continue to build on its portfolio of innovative ocean solutions and the robust ecosystem needed to drive the significant growth it’s generating. Engaging with members and partners from coast-to-coast-to-coast, with a key focus on expanding collaboration, networks, and capacity in Canada’s ocean economy, the OSC reached the following key achievements:

Key Performance Indicators

  • Projects:
    • 80+ projects in flight with a total project value of $400 million
    • 13 new projects approved
    • 24 projects announced publicly
  • Partnerships/Collaborators:
    • More than 300 partners actively engaged in OSC projects
    • SME partners engaged in 100 per cent of projects
    • 96% of projects are led by a SME
  • Training:
    • 3,000 internships made available for youth and Indigenous peoples exploring a career in ocean
  • Jobs:
    • 5,000 jobs created based on current project activity
    • On track to create 20,000 new jobs by 2030 based on current trajectory
  • Membership:
    • Achieved 500+ member milestone, with 91 new members added
    • Members in nine provinces and one territory
    • 27 international members from 9 different countries
  • Events:
    • More than 1,200 attendees at virutal, hybrid and in-person osc events
    • Member and partner consultation events drew more than 400 attendees
    • Variety of webinars and events co-hosted with other clusters and partner organizations

What Members and Partners are Saying About the OSC

 “Membership with the OSC opened new opportunities for business development at a critical stage of our growth. The OSC membership helped us find new clients, and the funding allowed us to advance our innovative smart coatings. It was a critical component that later helped us raise $10M in a Series A round.” – Mo AlGermozi, CEO & President, Graphite Innovation & Technologies (GIT)

“As a member of Canada’s Ocean Supercluster we have been able to network with ocean minded companies and organizations. Together we were able to work towards common goals of training and talent development that will enable Indigenous community members to participate in the ocean economy. I am pleased the Ocean Supercluster is focusing on opportunities for and with Indigenous peoples and communities.” – Carolann Harding, CEO, SmartICE Sea Ice Monitoring & Information Inc.

“The technology advances from OceanDNA System come at a time when we are facing a global biodiversity crisis and when generation of large-scale biodiversity data is most critical. NFA and DFO collaboration with eDNAtec and the support from the Canada’s Ocean Supercluster and ERINL have yielded new, practical tools and protocols that enable large scale eDNA sample acquisition by non-scientists. ”- Steve Barrett, CEO, eDNAtec

Read the full Canada’s Ocean Supercluster 2022/23 Annual Report here…