Tracking progress and results: The Innovation and Skills Plan

From: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada

Innovation translates into more jobs, more business opportunities, a cleaner environment and higher living standards for Canadians.

The government has developed the Innovation and Skills Plan to grow the economy, create middle-class jobs, and provide Canadians with the skills they need to succeed. The Innovation and Skills Plan includes a commitment to deliver and communicate meaningful results to Canadians. The target descriptions, indicators, progress bars, and other information found below track progress towards reaching the goals established under the Innovation and Skills Plan.

People and skills

Equipping Canadians with the tools, skills and experience they need to succeed in the marketplace, and attracting global talent

A diverse and highly skilled workforce

Increase the share of science and technology-related jobs to 40 percent by 2025

Increase the number of professional, science and tech-related jobs in the Canadian economy as share of total employment to 40% by 2025.

Why this is a target:

Canadians need the skills required for the jobs of tomorrow and Canadian businesses need a highly-trained and skilled workforce to be competitive in the new global economy.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Share of all jobs that are professional, science and tech-related

graph of progress bar showing 30% in 2011, 34% in 2016 and a target of 40% in 2025

View data on: An entrepreneurial and highly skilled workforce 

Digital skills and literacy

Increase coding and other digital skills training available to students across Canada's K-12 school system by 2025, reaching 500,000 students by 2019.

Why this is a target:

Canadians need to be digitally adept and prepared for high-quality jobs in the digital economy.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Provinces and territories with coding in their K-12 curricula

Number of student participants in CanCode coding and digital skills training

Enable a connected and digitally-engaged society

Bridge the digital divide by increasing household Internet use to 100 percent by 2025

Bridge the digital divide by increasing household Internet use to 100% by 2025 and ensuring 80% of Canadians have access to ultrafast broadband at 1 Gbps by 2020.

Why this is a target:

Access to high speed and modern digital infrastructure, and the ability to use digital services, are necessary for Canadians to fully participate and succeed in today's digital economy.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Share of all households that have internet access

Graph showing 50% of Canada with internet access, 85% access by 2014, 87% by 2015 and the goal of 100% connectivity by 2025

View data on: Enabling a connected and digitally-engaged society 

Attracting and retaining the best and the brightest talent

Increase the number of new permanent resident admissions in Canada to 340,000 by 2020

Increase the number of new permanent resident admissions in Canada to 340,000 by 2020, including 195,800 economic class admissions.

Why this is a target:

Encouraging the best and the brightest international talent to pursue their careers in Canada ensures that Canada has the skilled workforce to compete and innovate in the global marketplace.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Number of new permanent resident admissions

Graph showing progression of new permanent resident admissions in Canada from 250,000 in 2001, to 272,000 in 2015 to 296,000 in 2016 with the goal of 340,000 in 2025

View data on: Attracting and retaining the best and the brightest talent 

Research, technology and commercialization

Encouraging greater business investments in research and capitalizing on Canadian inventions through shared risk taking and partnerships

Innovation superclusters

Grow up to 5 world-leading superclusters in Canada by 2025.

Why this is a target:

Superclusters are areas of high business activity. They grow the economy, create quality jobs and attract further investments by driving the commercialization of research and building value-chain connections.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Superclusters in Canada

View data on: Support global growth through industry-led innovation 

Growing business investment in research and development

Expenditures in R&D to reach $30B by 2025, keeping pace with OECD average as a percentage of GDP

Increase Canadian business expenditures in research and development (R&D) to $30 billion by 2025, keeping pace with OECD average as a percentage of GDP.

Why this is a target:

When businesses invest in research and development they increase their demand for skilled workers and provide Canadians the opportunity to gain new skills and access high-quality jobs.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Canadian business expenditures in research and development

Progress bar showing 5.2% of companies engaged in collaborations with higher education institutions growing from in 2014 to target of 10% by 2025

View data on: Support global growth through industry-led innovation (continued) 

Strong and productive research & development collaborations

Double the percentage of companies collaborating with higher education research institutions by 2025

Double the percentage of companies engaged in collaborations with higher education institutions by 2025.

Why this is a target:

Connecting people, ideas and resources is more likely to lead to productive, world leading clusters and support innovation along the value chain.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Percentage of enterprises engaged in co-operation partnerships with higher education institutions on innovation activities

research and development expenditures by Canadian businesses growing from $15 billion in 2001 to $17.9 billion in 2016 with a goal of $30 billion by 2025

View data on: Strong and productive R&D collaborations 

Competitiveness in a digital world

Increase investment in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a percentage of GDP to 3 percent by 2025, making Canada competitive with international leaders

Increase investment in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a percentage of GDP to 3% by 2025, making Canada competitive with international leaders.

Why this is a target:

Technology adoption significantly impacts Canada's capacity for innovation and ability to be a world leader of industry, particularly in an economy that is increasingly digital.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Investment in ICT as a percentage of GDP

Progress bar indicating 1.97% of Canadian GDP consisting of ICT growing to 2.14% by 2015 with a goal of 3% by 2025

View data on: Competitiveness in a digital world 

A new vision for science and research

Increase Canada's ranking for Average Relative Citation (ARC) in natural sciences, engineering, and life sciences to reach the top 10 of OECD countries by 2025

Increase Canada's ranking for Average Relative Citation (ARC) in natural sciences, engineering, and life sciences to the top 10 of OECD countries by 2025.

Why this is a target:

Strengthening Canada's research institutions grows the skills needed for innovation and scientific discovery and has a positive ripple effect across the economy.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

ARC factor in natural sciences, engineering and life sciences, OECD ranking

Timeline showing Canada's ranking as 10th in 2003, as 17th in 2015 and with the target of being ranked 10th again by 2025

View data on: World-class and impactful fundamental research and science to support evidence-based decision making 

Investment, scale-up and clean growth

Attracting investment, supporting the growth of leading Canadian companies and start-ups, and clean growth

Helping Canadian firms scale-up and grow

Double the number of new high growth companies in Canada

Double the number of high-growth firms in Canada from 14,000 to 28,000 by 2025

Why this is a target:

High growth firms are the most likely to innovate, sell globally and invest in people creating more and better paying jobs.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Number of high-growth firms in Canada

Progress bar showing 11,500 high growth companies in Canada in 2011; 14,000 high growth companies in 2014 and a goal of 28,000 high growth companies by 2025

View data on: Scaling-up firms 

Supporting a diverse set of entrepreneurs

Increase Canada's exports by 30 percent by 2025

Double number of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) majority-owned by women to 340,000 by 2025.

Why this is a target:

All Canadians have the potential to be innovators and entrepreneurs and need equal access to opportunities to realize their ambitions.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) majority-owned by women

Progress bar showing

View data on: Supporting a diverse set of entrepreneurs 

Growing exports

Increase Canada's exports by 30 percent by 2025

Grow the value of Canada's goods and services exports by 30% by 2025.

Why this is a target:

Helping Canadian companies access global markets catapults their growth and supports more jobs.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Value of Canada's goods and services exports

Progress bar showing $483 billion in goods and services being exported growing to $628.5 billion in 2016 and the target growth of $817 billion by 2025

View data on: Growing exports 

Global investment

Double R&D investment by foreign controlled global firms in Canada to $11.8 billion by 2025

Double research and development (R&D) investment by foreign controlled global firms in Canada to $12 billion by 2025.

Why this is a target:

Investment by multinational firms in Canadian research & development signals confidence in Canada's R&D capabilities, encouraging further investment and strengthening Canada's connection to global markets.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Research and development spending in Canada by foreign-controlled firms

Progress bar of R&D in Canada by foreign firms at $5.9 billion in 2013 and growing to $12 billion by 2025

View data on: Global investment 

Tourism

Increase the number of international overnight visits to Canada by 30 per cent by 2021

Increase the number of international overnight visits to Canada by 30% by 2021.

Why this is a target:

Tourism is Canada's most important service export. It represents 2% of Canada's GDP, builds people-to-people connections, supports cultural exchange, expands trade opportunities and encourages foreign investment.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Number of international overnight visits to Canada

Progress bar of 16 million overnight international visits to Canada in 2013, 18 million visits in 2015, 20 million in 2016 and growing to goal of 23.4 million by 2021

View data on: Tourism 

Clean growth

Double Canada's exports of clean technologies by 2025

Double the value of Canada's exports of clean technologies by 2025.

Why this is a target:

Canada supplies clean technologies to the world, generating growth in firms, the development of in-demand skill sets and more quality jobs for Canadians.

How we are getting there:

Progress so far:

Value of Canada's clean technology exports

View data on: Clean growth 

Program simplification

Streamline and simplify program delivery in order to better support Canadian innovators.

Program simplification

Program simplification.

Why this is a target:

Ensuring that the Government of Canada's business innovation programs offer the best support to Canadian innovators means that more Canadian businesses have access to the resources they need to help grow the economy and create more jobs.

How we are getting there:

 Report a problem
Date modified: