
The Report Context
- The Industrial and Technological Benefits (ITB) Policy contractually requires companies awarded defence procurement contracts to undertake market-driven business activity in Canada equal to the value of the contracts they have won
- The
ITB
Policy:
- Supports employment and economic growth across the country
- Drives innovation and exports
- Scales up small and medium-sized businesses (SMBsFootnote1)
- Advances gender equality, diversity, and inclusion
- ISED publishes two reports each year in an effort to be transparent about the results and status of the ITB Policy
1. Economic Impact
The ITB Policy is estimated to contribute more than 41,000 jobs and over $4.6B to GDP annually in Canada
Figure 1: GDP Economic Impact
(5-Year Annual AverageFootnote 3 Currently ActiveFootnote 4 ITB ProjectsFootnote 5)
Source: ISED economic modelling based on the ITB administrative database (2016-2020 ITB Credits of active ITB projects in 2021), 2022; Statistics Canada’s Input-Output multiplier (2018), 2022.
Figure 2: Employment Economic Impact
(5-Year Annual AverageFootnote 3 Currently ActiveFootnote 4 ITB ProjectsFootnote 5)
Source: ISED economic modelling based on the ITB administrative database (2016-2020 ITB Credits of active ITB projects in 2021), 2022; Statistics Canada’s Input-Output multiplier (2018), 2022.
2. Regional Industrial Strengths
ITB business activity aligns closely with regional industrial strengths
Figure 3: Breakdown of ITB Business ActivityFootnote6 by IndustryFootnote7
(Currently ActiveFootnote4 ITB Projects)
Source: ITB administrative database (2016-2020 ITB Credits and 2021-2032 ITB Commitments of active ITB projects in 2021), 2022.
3. Obligation Progress Report
Currently active ITB projects result in more than $44B of ITB economic obligations
Figure 4: Economic ObligationsFootnote8 $44B
(89 Currently ActiveFootnote4 ITB Projects)
Source: ITB administrative database (2016-2020 ITB Credits and 2021-2032 ITB Commitments of active ITB projects in 2021), 2022.
ActiveFootnote4 ITB Projects Between 2020 and 2021:
- 9 new projects added
- $0.7B in new ITB obligations
- 26 projects amendedFootnote 9
- $2.4B in new ITB obligations
- 7 projects closed
- $1.7B in ITB obligations fulfilled
- Over $8.6B of economic obligations to be identified in the next decade
4. Business Activity Across Strategic Areas
The introduction of the Key Industrial Capabilities (KICs) Policy resulted in 85 Commitments from 34 ITB Projects
Figure 5: Number of KICs Commitments by Strategic Area Footnote 10
Currently ActiveFootnote4 ITB Projects

- KICs commitments drive business activity across strategic areas
Source: ITB administrative database (2022).
5. Scales up small and medium-sized businesses (SMBsFootnote1)
Over 715 Canadian organisations are benefiting from the ITB Policy, of which close to 65% are SMBsFootnote1
Figure 6: ITB Recipients Breakdown: Number of Recipients by Type (2021) and SMB Activity Volume Breakdown by Type (2021)

- The vast majority of ITB SMB activity is focused on scaling up through supplier development via direct work and global supply chain participation
Source: ITB administrative database (2016-2020 ITB Credits and 2021-2032 ITB Commitments of active ITB projects in 2021), 2022.
6. Academic & Research Organisations R&D and Skills
Over 70 Canadian academic and research organisationFootnote 13 projectsFootnote4 are focused on areas of skills development, emerging technologies and leading competencies

Source: ITB administrative database (2016-2020 ITB Credits and 2021-2032 ITB Commitments of active ITB projects in 2021), 2022.
7. Gender and Diversity Plans
As a result of the ITB Policy, there are 8 currently active projectsFootnote4 with Gender and Diversity plans
Through the Gender and Diversity Plan, bidders are required to describe their approach to achieving gender balance and increasing diversity within their Canadian corporate structures and broader supply chains in Canada
The Gender and Diversity Plan may include:
- The bidder’s public approach to promoting diversity, inclusion and equality
- The bidder’s corporate anti-discrimination policies
- Training available to educate the bidder’s workforce on diversity and inclusion
- Available statistics on the proportion of designated groups employed at all levels of the bidder’s firm in Canada
- How diversity and inclusion is factored into the bidder’s supplier selection methods in Canada
- Other corporate activities that seek to increase or support diversity in Canada
Source ITB administrative database (2022).
8. Key Findings
In conclusion, the ITB Policy drives innovation and fosters economic growth in Canada
- Contributes to close to 41,000 jobs and over $4.6B GDP annually in Canada
- Is market-driven and aligns closely with regional industrial strengths
- Stimulates business activity across strategic areas, notably KICs in Direct Work, R&D, Supplier Development, Skills, Defence and Exports
- Supports more than 715 Canadian organizations, including 450 SMBs
- Benefits over 70 Canadian academic and research organization projects focused on areas of skills development, emerging technologies and leading competencies
- Promotes gender equality, diversity, and inclusion
9. Annex: Economic Impact Methodology Principles
- Methodology concepts are informed by subject matter experts from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development and Statistics Canada.
- Foundation data is based on ITB credits and commitments of active ITB projects in 2021 over the period of 2016-2032 as specified on each slide.
- Annual average economic impact analysis is based on the ITB credits over the period of 2016-2020, with adjustments reflecting the intangible business activity and ITB Policy credit multipliers to evaluate the job and GDP impacts.
- Economic model is based on Statistics Canada Input-Output (I/O) multipliers.
- Each ITB activity has been linked to the latest (2018) and most relevant economic impact multiplier.
- All values have been adjusted for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as well as the Bank of Canada's target CPI of 2% and are expressed in 2018 dollars.
- I/O multipliers have been adjusted to reflect the ITB 100% Canadian content requirement wherever applicable.
- Job and GDP impact is reported on an annual average basis.
- Job impacts are measured in terms of full-time equivalent (FTE) employment.
- Jobs cannot be additive as they are maintained for an extended period after creation.
- Total economic impact includes the activity that occurs within ITB recipients, Canadian value chain, as well as consumer spending by associated employees across the Canadian economy.
- All project analysis are based on 2016-2020 ITB credits and 2021-2032 ITB commitments of active ITB projects in 2021 to date.
- Economic impact estimates are reported at the national level and cannot be broken down at the regional level.
- All totals are in Canadian dollars. Foreign currency amounts were converted to Canadian dollars using the Bank of Canada’s annual average exchange rate for 2021.
- Each ITB activity has been linked to the latest (2018) and most relevant economic impact multiplier.