Canada's looking to bolster its semiconductor industry
The country plans to invest CAD 240 million as it is looking to solidify its place as a supplier of photonics and at the same time bolster the development and manufacturing of semiconductors.
With the disruptions in semiconductor supply, many sectors and industries dependent on semiconductors have been impacted. This is one of the reasons why the Canadian government says it’s committed to collaborating with Canadian researchers and businesses to strengthen the country’s position in the industry.
François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announces in a press release the “Semiconductor Challenge Callout”, a fund of CAD 150 million to make targeted investments to build on Canada’s domestic strengths associated with the development and supply of semiconductors. At the same time, the minister also announced CAD 90 million in funding for the National Research Council of Canada’s Canadian Photonics Fabrication Centre (CPFC).
This Challenge Callout represents the country’s initial commitment to investing in innovation projects that aims to reinforce and scale up Canada’s semiconductor ecosystem. The government is now turning to businesses to identify ambitious, transformative proposals in the priority areas of research, commercialisation, and expanded semiconductor manufacturing capacity.
“Our government wants Canada to be a strategic global leader in the semiconductor industry. That’s why we’re investing $240 million today to strengthen our semiconductor ecosystem, which will allow us to build a more innovative and resilient economy. By investing in Canada’s semiconductor industry, we are making a firm commitment to businesses looking to invest in Canada. Whether it’s high-value or large-scale manufacturing, we want to see Canada be home to the world’s leading semiconductor manufacturers,” says François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry in the press release.
The investment in the CPFC will result in the upgrading of equipment, improving the centre’s capacity and capability to address the increasing complexity of leading-edge technology. The CPFC is described as the only compound semiconductor foundry in North America that is publicly operated and open to all for use. CPFC a 40,000 square foot facility with 11,000 square feet of class 100/1000 clean room space.
Canada’s semiconductor sector includes over 100 homegrown and multinational companies conducting research and development on microchips. Its manufacturing base includes over 30 applied research laboratories and five commercial facilities in areas such as compound semiconductors, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and advanced packaging.
