Matthew Abraham

Understanding the geography of innovation provides key insights into successful economic models of growth and development. This study evaluates Canada’s shifting geography of innovation for the years 1991, 2001, 2006, and 2011 using patent data as a proxy for innovation. Employing both spatial and aspatial techniques, this paper examines Canada’s changing inventiveness with respect to the types of inventions produced, industrial specialization of patent owners, invention shares at both the metropolitan and provincial level, and by using linear regression analysis to determine key socio-economic indicators of invention.

The findings suggest that inventive activity is declining in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal in relative terms, as secondary medium-sized metropolitan regions with specialized economies like Kitchener-Waterloo, Saskatoon, and Calgary are experiencing increasing inventiveness. The regression analysis indicates that invention rate is likely a function of metropolitan size in 1991 and 2001, shifting towards resource-based industry specialization and highly educated labour in 2006 and 2011, keeping in tune with Canada’s changing economic focus from a manufacturing economy to a resource and service-based economy. Overall, Canada’s inventive landscape has taken on a new form focused on industrial specialization and large firm activity.