DIGITAL is always ahead of the curve.
We’re driving innovation solutions that support economic growth as well as the success, impact, opportunity and competitiveness of Canada’s companies. As a result, Canadian-led innovation is making a difference both at home and around the world.
Our vision for Canadian innovation actualizes the power of a collaborative community that drives the results and impact needed to address the world’s grand challenges and convert them to opportunities for Canada. By breaking down the silos between academia, public institutions and industry to de-risk R&D and accelerate the commercialization of novel digital technology solutions, we’re growing the competitiveness of Canada as an innovation nation for future generations.
Together, we’ll continue to do more.
Message from the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
HONOURABLE FRANÇOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE
Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
The Government of Canada is keeping Canada at the forefront of economic development by working to increase investment, enhance productivity and encourage the kind of game-changing innovation that will create good-paying and meaningful jobs for Canadians. We’re working to empower more of our best entrepreneurs and innovators to put their ideas to work here in Canada.
The Global Innovation Clusters are built on a collaborative model designed to foster innovation and jointly address challenges to grow strong Canadian ecosystems. By bringing together companies of all sizes, academic institutions and not-for-profits to generate bold new ideas, the clusters are strengthening their ecosystems while positioning Canada for global markets.
The clusters have helped build successful and growing innovation ecosystems across the Canadian economy in five areas where Canada has a competitive advantage: digital technologies, plant-based protein, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence for supply chain and logistics, and ocean-based industries.
The government has continued to invest in the clusters to fuel Canada’s innovation ecosystems, promote commercialization, support intellectual property creation and retention, and scale Canadian businesses, and it’s been working. As of March 2024, the clusters have announced more than 540 projects worth over $2.53 billion and involving 2,750 partners.
Because of their unique model and strong results, the Global Innovation Clusters were selected to help administer the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy (PCAIS) and received $125 million under the PCAIS’s Commercialization pillar. To date, the clusters have announced 38 PCAIS projects that are worth over $146 million and involve more than 158 partners. The clusters are helping scale up Canadian AI firms to help secure and strengthen Canada’s AI advantage.
The Advanced Manufacturing Cluster and the Digital Technology Cluster were selected to help administer the National Quantum Strategy and have received $14 million as part of the commercialization pillar of the strategy.
Budget 2024 announced $50 million for a new Homebuilding Technology and Innovation Fund being led by Canada’s Advanced Manufacturing Cluster (Next Generation Manufacturing Canada). This fund will support the scale-up, commercialization and adoption of innovative housing technologies and materials, including those for modular and prefabricated homes.
In addition, the clusters are helping to build a skilled and diverse workforce by creating opportunities for women, racialized Canadians, Indigenous communities and other under-represented groups, and they are offering workshops and formalized training to develop diverse talent and meet sectoral labour force needs.
Canada’s Digital Technology Cluster (DIGITAL) has been accelerating the development and adoption of digital technologies that help Canadians stay healthy, address climate change, drive economic productivity and build digital skills. Over this past year, DIGITAL has supported Canada’s global leadership in ethical and responsible deployment of AI in areas such as health care, natural resources and agriculture, productivity and services, all while fostering a more innovative and competitive Canadian economy.
I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to DIGITAL and everyone involved for their tireless efforts to strengthen Canadian innovation ecosystems, build a diverse and future-ready workforce, and expand our presence both at home and abroad.
Message from the Honourable Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation
HONOURABLE BRENDA BAILEY
Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation
British Columbia continues to be the fastest growing technology and innovation hub in North America, and our government is committed to maintaining this strength and momentum. As Minster of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, I’ve heard firsthand from business and organization leaders, and post-secondary institutions how technology and innovation are changing the labour market and the economy. That’s why our government is focusing on increasing productivity, helping businesses protect their intellectual property and making post-secondary education more affordable, accessible and relevant to people. Through B.C.’s Industrial Blueprint, we are cultivating an economic environment where businesses can thrive, compete globally and provide family-supporting jobs, while seizing new opportunities in growing clean-energy and sustainable industries.
DIGITAL’s partnership has been crucial to accelerating the development and adoption of digital technologies that contribute to B.C.’s economic strengths and improves life for people in all sectors, including healthcare, natural resources and advanced manufacturing. Our thanks to the team at DIGITAL for their leadership and vision, and I look forward to our continued collaboration in building an economy, and a world, that benefits generations to come.
DIGITAL makes significant strides in AI, digital health and resource sustainability
STEWART BECK
Board Chair; Canada-Asia Foreign + Trade Policy Expert
In 2023, DIGITAL achieved remarkable advancements across various projects, making significant strides in AI, digital health and resource sustainability. As we continue our journey to be a leading-edge, self-sustaining organization, our impact on both national and international stages has grown substantially. Our achievements not only enhance the competitiveness of Canadian businesses but also contribute to a healthier, more sustainable future.
DIGITAL’s unwavering commitment to fostering innovation, collaboration and growth within Canada’s innovation landscape has never been stronger. Our investments addressing key challenges in areas such as healthcare, sustainable resource management and workforce development are projecting a revenue potential of over $4B by 2028 for our partners. As part of helping grow Canadian companies, a total $1.2B of follow-on funding has been raised by our project partners from private markets. Our Members across Canada, both large multinationals and SMEs, are engaged in a truly effective and productive public-private sector partnership.
The milestones we reached this year reflect this dedication, particularly in workforce development. By deploying new skilling approaches, we are opening doors for Canadians often marginalized from these in-demand fields. Our Digital Learning Lab has successfully put over 11,000 Canadians on the path to careers in the digital economy. Our collaborations with training providers and employers now span coast-to-coast-to-coast, with 70% of participants in our talent programs coming from traditionally underrepresented groups.
Looking ahead, DIGITAL and its Board of Directors are committed to a financially self-sustaining future, pushing the boundaries of what is possible and fostering an inclusive and sustainable digital landscape. I especially want to recognize the dedicated staff at DIGITAL for their collaboration, innovation and relentless pursuit of excellence. Thank you for your continued support and partnership in this exciting journey.
Leveraging Canada’s people, trust and ambition to accelerate growth, prosperity and wellbeing
SUE PAISH
CEO, Digital Supercluster
It’s been quite a year for DIGITAL, our Members and the over 1,400 organizations in our community who benefit from our collective commitment to always be ahead of the curve in building and deploying digital solutions to some of industry’s and society’s biggest challenges.
Being ahead of the curve has been our foundation since our start in 2018 that leveraged AI to deliver some of our first successes. As the world embraces generative AI, DIGITAL and our Members continue to build on years of experience in this space. Over $200M of our total $255M of co-investments have been committed to the development, commercialization and adoption of AI solutions. The stories you’ll read about throughout this year’s Annual Report remarkably represent only a portion of the technologies our Members are delivering across numerous industries.
Breaking down these traditional silos is accelerating the pace of innovation and bringing development from concept to adoption faster than ever before. We’ve nearly doubled our portfolio of investments within the past year, with over 70% of our co-investments going to Canadian SMEs. The ultimate example of our impact is the $1.2B in follow-on funding that DIGITAL Members have raised after their projects with us, representing capital that is vital to the continued growth of Canadian innovators.
We’ve continued our historic focus on workforce development, including deploying new approaches to skilling that have opened opportunities for Canadians often marginalized from breaking into or advancing within these in-demand fields. The result has seen our Digital Learning Lab put over 11,000 Canadians on the path to careers in the digital economy. Our collaborations with training providers and employers now span all coast-to-coast-to-coast, with 70% of talent programming participants being from traditionally underrepresented groups.
Thank you to our team, our Members, our Board of Directors, and our partners across the Government of Canada and the Government of British Columbia for being a part of this incredible journey. Together, we will continue to keep Canada ahead of the curve.
Our Vision
Fueled by a pan-Canadian, Member-based innovation ecosystem, we are developing the next generation of digital innovation platforms, high-growth digital enterprises and a digital workforce required to support the transformation to a low-carbon digital economy.
Our Mission
We accelerate the development of digital innovations in the pursuit of transformative economic opportunities as a catalyst to grow Canadian companies into global leaders.
How We Do It
We’re built on demand-driven innovation that solves real-world problems, which means we invest in the development and deployment of digital technologies and solutions to some of Canada’s and the world’s most pressing needs. These include an accessible and sustainable health system; a net-zero future that maximizes the competitiveness, environmental sustainability and profitability of our resource industries; and a diverse workforce, skilled and ready to lead in the digital world. Our combination of collaborative innovation and co-investment creates products, services, IP and opportunities for Canadians and for Canada.
By convening the ‘best and brightest’ across sectors in our collaborative innovation model, project teams produce results together better than any organization could on its own. De-risking development and adoption through co-investment, collaboration and putting customers at the innovation table; we maximize ambition and deliver Canadian products and services the world needs — pushing the limits of opportunity for Canadian companies.
Results matter. We co-invest alongside industry — demanding accountability and results that benefit Canadian companies and Canada.
We do it fast. Our approach is seamless — driving new relationships across academia, public institutions and industry that accelerate the development and commercialization of solutions for customers around the world and here at home.
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Digital Pathways Platform
Our pilot Digital Pathways Platform reached over 5,260 jobseekers and numerous employment services organizations to help users navigate their digital career paths. Users were given free access to a team of professional coaches, resume writers, career resources and job search tools from Randstad RiseSmart.
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Indigenous Digital Health Ecosystem (IDHE)
The Indigenous Digital Health Ecosystem initiative is developing a culturally aligned digital platform and suite of integrated applications for Indigenous data management. CGI joined the initiative in 2023 to advance fire safety for First Nation communities by leveraging AI and machine learning to build a digital twin and risk model that will identify fire safety assets and mitigation opportunities.
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Accelerating cancer trials with digital twins
Altis Lab’s computational imaging platform, Nota, is accelerating cancer trials with digital twins by allowing biopharma sponsors to manage and automatically analyze imaging data from past and current clinical trials using prognostic AI models. Global biopharmaceutical companies AstraZeneca and Bayer Pharmaceuticals are incorporating predictions from Nota into their statistical analyses to quantify treatment effects earlier and more accurately.
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Alleviating exposures of COVID-19 to care workers
Sanctuary AI’s human-in-the-loop teleoperations technology was used to alleviate exposures of COVID-19 to care workers throughout the pandemic. Sanctuary’s relationship with Microsoft started as part of their original project with DIGITAL and has since seen them officially announce a collaboration to accelerate AI development for general purpose robots.
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Launching over 6,000 job-seekers across Canada
NPower Canada’s Canadian Tech Talent Accelerator (CTTA) program reached the tremendous milestone of launching over 6,000 job-seekers across Canada into meaningful careers in tech. This accomplishment was made possible by DIGITAL’s original investment in the program in 2021, with continued investment in 2023.
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Patients at risk of skin cancer to get diagnosed in days
The cloud-based Dermatology Point-of-Care Intelligent Network uses MetaOptima’s tele-dermatology and Change Healthcare’s AI-augmented tele-pathology imaging to enable patients at risk of skin cancer to get diagnosed in days, rather than months. The system supports a patient-centric, closed-loop tele-dermatology workflow, including remote patient and physicians.
Key performance indicators
5 year key performance indicators
In AI innovation and economic reconciliation
(Learn more by selecting the initiatives below)
2023-24 Outcomes & 2024-25 Objectives
Financial reporting
Our team
Thank you to our amazing team. Your collective dedication, energy, and commitment is the foundation of our success today—and for years to come.
Board
STEWART BECK, BOARD CHAIR
Canada-Asia Foreign + Trade Policy Expert
CAROLINE MORISETTE
VP Digital & Data, McCain Foods
ERIN PISKO
VP IP Strategy, Innovation Asset Collective
FANNY SIE
Head of AI and Emerging Technology External Collaboration, Roche Integrated Informatics
GREG CAWS
Advisor, Mentor and Director, GCIE Projects Ltd.
JASON LOW
EVP & CFO, McElhanney Ltd.
KIM HAAKSTAD
VP Stakeholder Relations, Terramera
SHAUN MCCUMBER
Senior Indigenous Digital Health Consultant and Project Director
VICTORIA LEE
CEO & president, Fraser Health Authority
Executives in Residence
KIRSTEN SUTTON
CEO, Kirsten Sutton Consulting
Leadership
SUE PAISH
Chief Executive Officer
ALASTAIR NIMMONS
Chief Financial Officer
ELYSA DARLING
Chief of Staff
CHERYL MUIR
VP, Communications + Public Affairs
NADIA SHAIKH-NAEEM
VP, Programs
Legal
Auditor
Our Members
Thank you
DIGITAL thanks our investing partners, including the Government of Canada through the Global Innovation Clusters program and our Members. We would also like to thank the people who assisted in developing our 2023-2024 Annual Report, including the DIGITAL team, Board of Directors, our Members and KA Creative Inc.