Curious about Canada’s aerospace sector? If so, this post is for you.
Canada’s aerospace industry contributed $324.2 billion to the country’s GDP and 225,000 jobs (both direct and downstream) in 2024. Most direct employment jobs come from manufacturing and maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO). More than 50% of Canadian aerospace manufacturing workers are in production (53%), followed by employees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM, 28%), and corporate (19%). STEM employment in aerospace manufacturing is more than twice the Canadian manufacturing average of 12%.
Canada’s aerospace sector is first among Canadian manufacturing industries in research and development (R&D), investing more than $1.2 billion in 2024, and it continued to rank in the Top 5 across civil flight simulators, civil engines, and civil aircraft subsegments in 2024.
More than 70% of aerospace manufacturing revenue was export-related last year. In 2024, Canada exported almost $11 billion in aerospace products to the US; other top export destinations included the UK ($765 million), Italy ($734 million), and France ($733 million). That same year, it imported over $5 billion in products from the US, almost $2 billion from France, over $957 million from the UK, and over $787 million from Mexico.
Canadian Aerospace Industry Exports by Product Category, 2024
Source: State of Canada’s Aerospace Industry Report Summer 2025
NAV CANADA owns and operates the country’s civil air navigation service (ANS), manages 18 million km2 of airspace, and traditionally averages 45,000 customers annually, including airlines, air cargo operations, air charters and taxis, and business and general aviation providers. It operates 100 staffed sites across the country, including control towers and flight service stations (FSS), numerous flight information centres (FIC), area control centres (ACC), and community aerodrome radio stations (CARS).
Activity in Canada’s aerospace industry is national in scope, with regional specializations. Quebec is by far the country’s aerospace hub, with 61% of all manufacturing and 20% of MRO activity concentrated within its borders. Western and Northern Canada are MRO hubs, with 39% of activity concentrated in the country’s western half.
Canadian Aerospace Industry Direct Employment, 2019-2024
Source: State of Canada’s Aerospace Industry Report Summer 2025
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