Modernizing productivity with advanced manufacturing

Private industry is partnering with labs funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation to transform the manufacturing sector to Canada’s advantage.

Gone are the factory floors of decades past: researchers in Canada are developing breakthrough advanced manufacturing technologies that automate critical processes and modernize production capabilities. And they are partnering with companies to deploy and scale these technologies, all while upskilling their workforces and fortifying the resilience of Canadian manufacturing in an increasingly uncertain global landscape.

Two persons wearing glasses are bathed in a fluorescent green light emanating from a measuring instrument using lasers.

From labs to factories: 3D printers, nanofabrication facilities and real-time simulation laboratories all help create the resilient manufacturing networks our country needs.

Strength in numbers *

Number of CFI-funded advanced manufacturing-related research infrastructure projects

CFI investment in capital costs for infrastructure used to advance research in advanced manufacturing

Number of students and postdocs per year trained by conducting advanced manufacturing-related research using CFI-funded infrastructure

Number of new or improved advanced manufacturing products, services or processes created annually

*Since 2014–15

Bringing bold ideas to life through automation and robotics

Red Deer Polytechnic’s Centre for Innovation in Manufacturing Technology Access Centre includes industry-leading prototype and advanced manufacturing equipment. Associate Vice-President of Applied Research, Tonya Wolfe, gives a tour.

Supporting e-waste and plastics recycling

SMART Centre at Conestoga College in Cambridge, Ont., provides applied research expertise across the domains of advanced manufacturing, digital innovation and AI.

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Adopting 4.0 technologies to increase efficiency and product design

The Additive Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ont., is a leading research centre in metal additive manufacturing.

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Filling critical innovation gaps

The Lambton Manufacturing Innovation Centre at Lambton College in Sarnia, Ont., is a premier hub for advanced manufacturing innovation, addressing regional diversification needs.

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Solving manufacturers’ challenges

The McMaster Manufacturing Research Institute at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., helps its industrial partners maximize productivity and quality while reducing cost and facilitating product innovation.

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Encompassing all areas of advanced manufacturing

The Walker Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (WAMIC) at Niagara College in Welland, Ont., supports automotive and machinery manufacturers through mechanical, electronic and mechatronic design and adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies.

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Explore these Navigator-listed labs, all of which are part of the Southern Ontario Network for Advanced Manufacturing Innovation (SONAMI), a Niagara College-led network of postsecondary institutions that collaborate with small- and medium-sized companies to tackle their manufacturing-related challenge.

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The Southern Ontario Network for Advanced Manufacturing Innovation (SONAMI) gives the Canadian manufacturing industry an edge, from nuclear technology to assessing 3D-printed stainless-steel for aerospace applications, to supporting clean-growth projects.

Marc Nantel, Vice-President of Research, Innovation and Strategic Enterprises at Niagara College Canada, the lead institution of the Southern Ontario Network for Advanced Manufacturing Innovation