July 9, 2020 – Only 18% of Canadians are very or somewhat familiar with the contributions that the Canadian aerospace industry makes to the national economy. However – when told of the economic benefits of the aerospace industry ($31 billion in revenue, contributed more than $25 billion to Canada’s Gross Domestic Product, provides jobs to 215,000 Canadians) – almost all (91%) Canadians agree that it is very (46%) or somewhat (45%) important that the industry remain in Canada (91%).
These are some of the noteworthy findings from a new survey conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights on behalf of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC). The survey was conducted amongst a randomly-selected, reliable sample of N=1,517 adult Canadians between July 6th and 7th, 2020.
When informed that Canada’s aerospace industry ranking recently dropped from 5th to 7th in the world, more than eight-in-ten Canadians (85%) feel that is important for Canada to invest in its domestic aerospace industry. When hearing that Canada’s ranking in this industry has slipped from fifth to seventh place, the vast majority (85%) of Canadians feel that it is very (39%) or somewhat (49%) important that our aerospace industry remains competitive on a global scale.
Likewise, 85% also feel it is very (36%) or somewhat (50%) important that Canada invest in this industry, similar to other countries like Hong Kong, France, Germany and the USA.
Not surprisingly, eight-in-ten (78%) of Canadians strongly (35%) or somewhat (44%) agree that the federal government should develop a comprehensive Aerospace Strategy to ensure the industry’s long-term future and protect the more than 215,000 jobs and financial contribution to Canada.
