Semiconductors power Canada’s digital economy, and global demand is surging. These chips, embedded in everything from smartphones to satellites, power the technologies that drive Canada’s economic, security, and society. Every sector in Canada and around the world depends on secure and resilient semiconductor supply chains, and global demand continues to surge with explosive growth in AI, advanced computing, and green technologies.
Despite the importance of the semiconductor industry, Canada remains the only G7 nation without a national strategy. This gap threatens our global competitiveness, ability to scale innovation, and to develop sovereignty over our digital economy.
Prepared by a consortium of semiconductor and technology organizations, including Canada’s Semiconductor Council (CSC), CMC Microsystems and its FABrIC project, ICTC, and ventureLAB, this policy brief calls on Canada to develop a National Semiconductor Strategy to protect domestic industries, strengthen competitiveness, create thousands of high-paying skilled jobs, and attract the investment needed to supercharge Canada's national economy.
Recommendations
Five Key Policy Recommendations
- Canada should significantly increase public R&D investment in the semiconductor industry to catalyze private-sector growth and attract FDI, positioning the country as a globally competitive innovation hub.
- Canada should build its domestic semiconductor fabrication and packaging capacity by designating such capital investments as Major Projects initiatives, framing it as a nation-building effort to secure technological sovereignty, strengthen economic resilience, and position the country as a strategic partner in the global semiconductor ecosystem.
- Canada should invest in targeted training programs that align postsecondary graduates with the evolving needs of the semiconductor industry, generating a skilled and dynamic workforce pipeline capable of supporting domestic R&D, innovation, and long-term sector growth.
- Canada should foster and nurture strategic alliances and international collaboration with allied nations in the semiconductor industry to strengthen supply chain resilience, diversify trade, accelerate innovation, and ensure access to critical technologies and new markets.
- Canada should implement targeted regulatory and procurement support to strengthen its domestic semiconductor industry, reinforce multilateral strategic alliance, and protect its intellectual property.
Download the Report: https://ictc-ctic.ca/reports/a-national-semiconductor-strategy-for-canada
