Sustainable Development Goal 9: Industries, innovation and infrastructure

Canadian ambition under Industries, innovation and infrastructure

Canada’s ambitions are to foster sustainable research and innovation in Canada, and to ensure Canadians have access to modern and sustainable infrastructure.

The Government of Canada knows that enhancing skills, jobs and access to sustainable technologies and high-speed internet services will create more opportunities for Canadians and innovative businesses across the country.

SDG 9 recognizes that innovation builds the foundation for industries and infrastructure to be major sources of economic strength.

Canada’s targets are:

• for 98% of Canadian homes and small businesses to have access to Internet at speeds of 50 Mbps download / 10 Mbps upload by 2026, with the goal of connecting all Canadians to these speeds by 2030
• improved access to the latest mobile wireless services
• for a total of 1,000 EV Chargers, 22 natural gas stations, and 15 hydrogen stations along major highways, freight corridors and key metropolitan centres to be under development and completed by March 31, 2024
• for 20,000 chargers in public spaces, on-street, at apartment buildings, retail outlets, and the workplace to be under development and completed by March 31, 2026

Canadian Indicator Framework

In collaboration with federal departments and agencies, Statistics Canada has developed the Canadian Indicator Framework (CIF) for the Sustainable Development Goals. The CIF includes 76 indicators specific to Canada, which measure progress using a set of nationally relevant, objective and comprehensive indicators. CIF indicators for SDG 9 are:

• Proportion of innovation in environment-related technology
• Gross domestic expenditure on research and development intensity
• Proportion of households that have access to broadband Internet service at speeds of 50/10 Mbps
• Proportion of Canadians that have access to the latest generally deployed mobile wireless technology
• Greenhouse gas emissions per dollar of value-added from the production of infrastructure assets
• Number of low carbon recharging and refueling stations under development and completed along major highways, and in rural and urban areas across Canada
• Number of low carbon recharging and refueling stations under development and completed in public places, on-street, at apartment buildings, retail outlets, and the workplace

What we are doing to improve industries, innovation and infrastructure in Canada

The Innovation and Skills Plan is a major redesign of the innovation policy landscape in Canada designed to make Canada a world-leading centre for innovation, to create well-paying jobs and foster the participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, such as women and Indigenous people, in the innovation economy. The Plan targets investments at all points along the innovation continuum, starting with people and skills and extending to fundamental science, to commercial applications and new technology adoption, and to accessing markets at home and abroad. Major components include:

• Innovation Superclusters Initiative
• Strategic Innovation Fund
• Innovative Solutions Canada
• Clean Growth Hub

The Government of Canada’s strengthened climate plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, commits to support Canadian industrial innovation and conduct Canada’s first-ever national infrastructure assessment to prepare for a net-zero emissions future.

Impact Canada seeks to reach a diverse group of problem solvers and innovators to solve economic, environmental, and social problems. Since 2017, the Impact Canada Cleantech initiative has invested $75 million in 6 initiatives, including:

• Women in Cleantech
• The Sky’s the Limit
• Power Forward
• Crush It!
• Indigenous Off-diesel Initiative
• Charging the Future

The strategy High Speed Access for All: Canada’s Connectivity Strategy committed to:

• connecting 95% of Canadians by 2026 to high speed internet
• 100% of Canadians by 2030

With the launch of the Universal Broadband Fund, this target was accelerated to 98% of Canadians by 2026. The government is on track to achieve this target. See Canada’s Get Connected website for more information. These targets will help close the infrastructure gaps in rural and remote communities and Indigenous communities.

A new Canada Digital Adoption Program will help small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) boost their e-commerce presence and digitize how they run their businesses behind the scenes. The program provides funding and expertise to businesses, as well as training and work opportunities for young Canadians.

The First Nation Infrastructure Fund provides essential community infrastructure funding for First Nation communities to access high-speed internet to support health and education services, as well as economic development opportunities, offering people in remote or isolated communities a fair opportunity to participate in the digital economy.

The Canada Infrastructure Bank’s Growth Plan has identified $2 billion to connect approximately 750,000 homes and small businesses to broadband in underserved communities, so Canadians can better participate in the digital economy.

The Government of Canada supports local priorities and communities through the Investing in Canada Plan, with funding for public transit, social infrastructure, green infrastructure and rural and northern communities. For example, the following programs are delivered under the Investing in Canada Plan:

• the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program provides long-term, stable funding to help communities reduce air and water pollution, provide clean water, increase resilience to climate change and create a clean-growth economy; build strong, dynamic and inclusive communities; and ensure Canadian families have access to modern, reliable services
• the Canada Community-Building Fund is a permanent source of funding to provinces and territories, who in turn flow this funding to their municipalities to support local infrastructure priorities. Municipalities can pool, bank and borrow against this funding, providing significant financial flexibility

The Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund seeks to strengthen the resilience of communities to the risks of infrastructure failure often caused by natural hazards triggered by extreme climate events such as floods and wildland fires.

De-carbonizing Canada’s transportation and industrial infrastructure includes a national Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) sales target of 100 percent of new light duty vehicle sales by 2035, and will include interim targets of at least 20% by 2026, and at least 60% by 2030.These targets are being supported by measures such as:

• ZEV charging infrastructure
• ZEV purchase incentives
• tax incentives that encourage business investment in ZEVs

To reduce emissions from medium-and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs), the Government of Canada will aim to achieve 35% of total MHDV sales being ZEVs by 2030. In addition, the Government will develop a MHDV ZEV regulation to require 100% MHDV sales to be ZEVs by 2040 for a subset of vehicle types based on feasibility.

The Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Demonstration (EVID) Program is supporting the demonstration of innovative solutions to technical challenges and other barriers for the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including in:

• multi-residential buildings
• cold-weather operation
• public transit
• autonomous vehicles
• hydrogen trucks

Attracting international talent is important for Canada’s economic success. The Government of Canada’s Global Skills Strategy helps employers attract skilled workers to work in high growth and innovative industries, while the Start Up Visa program targets innovative entrepreneurs and links them with private sector investors in Canada who will help them start up their business.

The Creative Export Strategy, led by the Department of Canadian Heritage aims to increase international trade by:

• providing Canada’s creative industries in-market support
• funding for export-ready projects
• creating trade opportunities so that cultural entrepreneurs may achieve their international business objectives and maximize their export potential

What Canada is doing to improve industries, innovation and infrastructure abroad

The federal government is promoting cleaner and more resilient growth in its international development programming. For example, investments in the Closing the Investment Gap initiative (CIGI), the Global Infrastructure Hub (GIH) and the Global Infrastructure Facility are helping to build capacity for infrastructure project identification and to develop quality infrastructure projects, around the world. Canada’s support to investment in quality infrastructure is also provided through its climate finance program in international development.

The Government of Canada is continuing to work with the G20, the OECD, and international financial institutions to implement the G20 Roadmap to Infrastructure as an Asset Class, which aims to:

• improve the quality of infrastructure investments
• close the infrastructure investments gap through mobilizing private and institutional investors

Under Canada’s 2018 G7 Presidency, Ministers of Employment and Innovation convened in Montreal under the theme of Preparing for Jobs of the Future to discuss how governments can better support their citizens to adapt and thrive in the new world of work. Also in 2018, the Development Ministers endorsed the Whistler Principles to Accelerate Innovation for Development Impact and pledged to encourage innovations that can reinforce social and economic resilience for those in fragile states or at risk of extreme weather events and other natural hazards.

The Government of Canada is working with the United Nations to accelerate the transfer of environmentally sound technologies of all kinds to developing countries through the Climate Technology Centre and Network.

Canadian actions taken abroad to advance affordable and clean energy, Canada along with the International Renewable Energy Agency launched a new global, multi-stakeholder platform to help remote communities transition to renewable energy.

Related links

• Taking Action Together – Canada’s 2021 Annual Report on the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 9 Industry, innovation, infrastructure
• Statistics Canada’s Global Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals Data Hub: Goal 9
• Statistics Canada’s Canadian Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals Data Hub: Goal 9