On October 10, 2017, at the Laboratory for Multiscale Mechanics (LM²) directed by Professors Daniel Therriault, Martin Lévesque and Frédérick Gosselin of the Polytechnique Montréal Department of Mechanical Engineering, Mr. Bains announced the two proposals from Québec invited to the second and final phase of the cross-Canada funding application process, leading to the establishment and development of innovation superclusters led by Canadian companies.

One of the Québec proposals aims to set up a supply chains supercluster powered by artificial intelligence. It would foster Canadian leadership in artificial intelligence and data science and involve the manufacturing, infrastructure and retail sectors.

The other Québec-based proposal seeks to create a supercluster in “Mobility Systems and Technologies for the 21st Century.” It would leverage digital technologies to advance Canadian industry leadership in next-generation mobility products and services for the aerospace, ground transportation and advanced manufacturing sectors.

Polytechnique Montréal is involved in both of the Québec innovation supercluster applications shortlisted by the Canadian government.

“Our government’s Innovation Superclusters Initiative has started conversations and created solid partnerships between government, the private sector, academia and communities,” Mr. Bains said. “In today’s knowledge-based economy, this collaboration is essential. Together, we are building the economy of the future, creating the jobs of today and tomorrow, and gearing up for global success that will benefit all Canadians.

 

What is an innovation supercluster?

The Innovation Superclusters Initiative will see the federal government collaborate with industry according to a business-led partnership model that will align efforts by diverse industry sectors, researchers and intermediary institutions and build ecosystem-level advantages in regions across Canada.

Through investments of between $125 and $250 million, the federal government intends to accelerate commercialization, help tackle challenges of importance to industry, strengthen capacity in strategic platform technologies, and take advantage of new opportunities to stimulate competitiveness and productivity in Canada’s sectors of economic strength.

The two Québec-based proposals are among nine shortlisted across the country by the federal government, after 50 letters of intent were submitted on behalf of more than 1,000 businesses and 350 other participants.

The shortlisted applicants have now been invited to submit comprehensive proposals to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada in the weeks to come, as the selection process enters its final phase, which will last a few months.

The federal government intends to invest up to $950 million, beginning in fiscal 2017–2018 and continuing until March 2022, to fund the five innovation superclusters to be established in Canada.

Left to right: Fayçal El-Khoury, MP for Laval–Les Îles; Jean Choquette, Director, Strategic Planning and Government Relations, Polytechnique Montréal; Sherry Romanado, MP for Longueuil–Charles-LeMoyne; David Lametti, MP for LaSalle–Émard–Verdun; Richard Hurteau, Director of Administration, Polytechnique Montréal; Michèle Thibodeau-DeGuire, Principal and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Corporation de l’École polytechnique de Montréal; Nicola Di Iorio, MP for Saint-Léonard–Saint-Michel; the Honourable Navdeep Bains, MP for Mississauga–Malton and Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development; Annie Ross, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Associate Research, Innovation and International Officer, Polytechnique Montréal; Linda Lapointe, MP for Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.

To learn more

Web page of the Innovation Superclusters Initiative at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
Website of the Research, Innovation and International Affairs department at Polytechnique Montréal (in French)
Website of the Laboratory for Multiscale Mechanics at Polytechnique Montréal (in French)