About the Moose
About the Canadian Blueprint
Canada’s biotechnology industry is an economic driver for our current and future economy. Over 550 biotech companies in health, agriculture, industrial manufacturing and resources are creating products and processes that are the building blocks of a broader bio-based economy.
Canada’s bio-based economy is worth $86.5 billion, more than 7% of our GDP – and supports over 1 million Canadian jobs through the bio-economy employment network. Its future growth potential is even greater.
Biotechnology is creating products and processes that improve our quality of life. Just as importantly, biotechnology is also creating high-quality jobs for Canadians in every part of the country; rewarding, knowledge economy jobs.
The Canadian Blueprint: Beyond Moose and Mountains is Canada's biotech industry strategy to take full advantage of all the opportunities biotechnology has to offer. This document is a call to action. The Blueprint is vitally important because, the fact is, biotechnology is critical to Canada’s future prosperity and economic security.
However, as strong as it is, biotech is also quite vulnerable to foreign competition. Given biotechnology’s tremendous potential, global competition is fierce. More and more countries are aggressively investing to build their biotechnology portfolios and strengthen their economies. Canada’s current top-ten position is now slipping.
The Canadian Blueprint will change this. If all of us – industry, governments, academia and ordinary Canadians – pull together, we will reverse Canada’s slide, and put our country on track to become the world’s leading bio-based economy.
The Canadian Blueprint sets a transformational course that focuses on three interdependent priorities: people, capital, and the operating environment. Proposing tactics that will create wealth for all Canadians. Read it here.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Beyond Moose and Mountains and what is it all about?
Beyond Moose and Mountains is a strategic plan spearheaded by the industry to begin a dialogue that will make Canada’s economy competitive, and our people prosperous in the future.Life sciences-driven innovation is already changing all economic sectors:
- health – biologics; vaccines for new conditions; personalized medicine; treatments for rare diseases; stents and coated medical devices
- natural resources – forestry
- consumer products – biodegradable bags; green detergents; alternative insulation/flooring; green fibres in clothing
- manufacturing – processes that harness green products ie yeasts and bacteria, biodegradability; green chemicals
- automotive – renewable plastics
- energy – biofuels for transport, heating
Why is BIOTECanada and the industry doing this?
- The recent financial crisis highlighted the lost opportunity for forward-thinking, as emerging biotech companies struggled to find financing with markets closed.
- Other economies are creating strategies to grow and promote their biotech industries and if we do not make biotech a priority we risk losing a clear competitive advantage for Canada.
- From health, to clean-tech and agriculture, Canada's biotech industry is very diverse. Speaking as one voice, our industry wants to show Canadians how important the bio-economy is to all of us.
What is this bio-economy?
- The bio-economy refers to the application of life sciences (biotech) technologies into the traditional economy.
- Today, our research estimates that Canada’s bio-economy is worth $86.5 billion, or more than 7% of Canada's annual GDP. This is significant as it is greater than the impact of the auto and the aerospace industries on the economy.
- Biotechnology products, process and technologies that are ubiquitous across our economy: in health, agriculture, environment, manufacturing, resource management, and energy.
