Ottawa, Ontario – The Government of Canada is committed to developing the international partnerships that will allow Canadian entrepreneurs to bring new ideas to the market place generating jobs and economic growth. To this end, on March 14, 2013, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault of France announced the Joint Action Plan Canada-France 2013-2015 in the Fields of Science and Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
The Joint Action Plan will strengthen partnerships linking industry, government, and universities to promote the mobility of students and researchers, and will foster innovation by supporting basic and applied research, and commercializing new technologies. Canadian institutions leading on such collaborations include the National Research Council and the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council.
The Action Plan will foster various forms of collaboration, including exchanges of scientific knowledge, seminars, business and technology partnerships, and the shared use of resources and technology.
Focus areas include: health; sustainable development and renewable energy; agriculture and agrifood; space and aerospace; ocean and marine technologies; information and communication technologies; innovation policy; entrepreneurship; and, social innovation.
Canada and France have a long history of successful collaboration in the areas of science, technology and innovation dating back to 1965 with the signing of a Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement. Both Canada and France offer world leading expertise in science and technology, and continued collaboration will present significant opportunities for both countries to develop competitive advantages within the global marketplace through the commercialization of new technologies.
This tradition of cooperation between both countries was reinforced in 2008 with the signing of a joint plan of action on business development, investment and innovation, by the Trade Ministers of Canada and France. This action plan was renewed in November 2012.
The value of this cooperation is illustrated by successful trade missions in technologically advanced areas of carbon capture and storage, biomass conversion technologies, neurodegenerative diseases, and personalised medicine. These initiatives also speak to the enduring interest in cooperation on market driven research and development within both the private and public sectors.
