"First Steps For Canada" Released by SILICAN

The Council of Canadian Innovators is pleased to support the release of "First Steps for Canada," a landmark report by the Semiconductor Industry Leadership and Innovation Canada Action Network (SILICAN.)

“The chips industry is global, but Canada should focus on ensuring that competitive, successful Canadian companies have the tools to scale-up and compete globally to drive future generations of semiconductor innovation and investment,” said Council of Canadian Innovators President Benjamin Bergen. “Government programs and agencies must understand the industry and streamline existing programs for today’s rapidly evolving market realities.”

“First Steps for Canada” identifies key policy objectives to reinforce existing Canadian strengths in important niches — compound semiconductors, advanced assembly, packaging and testing and sensor technologies.

Key policy objectives include:

• Building on Canada’s existing strength. The National Research Council’s Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre (CPFC) facility could be a pivotal part of the Northeast Microelectronics Corridor, and with the right investments and a governance model oriented around commercial success, it could be a truly unique asset.
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• Scaling up Canadian companies. Targeted investments to address capital gaps, deepening capital pools and bringing industry expertise to the table with government partners to formulate specific approaches informed by expertise would help build up domestic firms into global players.
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• Growing the talent pool. Funding talent development, including creating scholarships, co-ops and internships, boosting support for research in semiconductor fields and supporting workforce development by giving institutions information to forecast demand and talent needs, would all allow Canada to secure the people it needs.

The Council of Canadian Innovators is a founding partner in SILICAN. SILICAN works with federal and provincial governments to build on semiconductor industry priorities and co-develop a made-in-Canada action plan for strategic leadership in the global semiconductor value chain.

In addition to CCI, partners include CMC Microsystems, Deep Tech Canada, Canada’s Semiconductor Council Alliance for Semiconductor Innovation Canada (ASIC), Optonique, U15 Group of Research Universities, Canadian Innovation Network, and SECTR.