Airbus activities generated $8.4 billion in GDP and supported nearly 60,000 jobs in Canada
Press Release + Noah Note
MIRABEL, QC, July 16, 2026 /CNW/ -- Ahead of the Farnborough International Airshow, the largest aerospace event of the year, Airbus presents its first comprehensive economic analysis of its activities in the country, conducted by PwC Canada. Airbus' business units in Canada have grown considerably over the last four decades. Today, they significantly contribute to the Canadian economy and have generated $8.4B in GDP (measured in 2025 Canadian dollars) from 2023 to 2025, supporting nearly 60,000 job-years or around 20,000 average annual jobs.
In 2025, Airbus spent over $2.2B for its various activities and operations in Canada - 70% for Canadian dual-use suppliers active in both civil and military applications. This supplier base helps maintain industrial and technological capabilities in Canada, in a context where supply chain resilience is a strategic issue. Airbus now supports a network of around 1,000 suppliers - over half of them being small and medium-sized companies - in Canada, which ranks seventh among Airbus' key supplier countries.
"Today, Canada is where Airbus has the most significant presence outside Europe with all its business units - Defence and Space, Helicopters and Commercial Aircraft being present", says Guillaume Chevasson, CEO of Airbus in Canada. "Not only does Airbus contribute significantly to Canada's aerospace ecosystem, but Canada also provides Airbus with world-class talent, expertise, major aircraft components and access to strategic raw materials availability, to name but a few."
The study reveals that Airbus supports 27% of all aerospace jobs in the province of Quebec. The PwC report notes the average income of an Airbus employee in Canada is approximately 60% higher than the average salary across all industries in the country.
Last year, close to 60% of the Canadian aircraft exports - all aircraft sizes and weight classes combined - were Airbus products assembled locally. Each aircraft delivered engages a Canadian network of suppliers spanning multiple links in the value chain - from major industrial players to companies specialising in engineering, technical services, and aeronautical systems. International deliveries thus help integrate segments of this supply chain into global markets. They support the operations of Canada-based suppliers and can enhance their exposure to major international aerospace programmes.
From a few hundred employees at its Fort Erie helicopter site in 1984 to the acquisition of the A220 programme in 2018 and its subsequent strong growth, Airbus today employs over 5,300 employees in Canada, mostly based in Quebec, Ontario and Nova Scotia. Between 2023 and 2025, Airbus' Commercial business unit contributed $5.5 billion to Canada's GDP. This contribution includes both the value added generated directly by its activities and the indirect and induced benefits across the economy. The A220 programme continues to ramp up production to 13 aircraft to be produced per month in 2028. Over the last three years, Airbus Helicopters' activities contributed $237.5M of GDP to the Canadian economy. This investment actively supports over 350 suppliers across the country as well as nearly 2,000 jobs, significantly contributing to the dynamism of the national aerospace ecosystem. Anchored by its helicopter sales and deliveries, composite manufacturing, repair and overhaul, optional equipment development, and support and services activities in Fort Erie, Airbus Helicopters' operations in Canada support over 230 domestic operators while exporting composite components to global markets.
Over the same period, Airbus Defence and Space entities generated $778.4M of spending in the Canadian economy. Airbus Defence and Space Canada located in Ottawa, Ontario is involved in several key projects for the Canadian government and the Canadian Armed Forces.
Leading this momentum, Airbus' digital aviation services subsidiary, Skywise, based in Waterloo, Ontario, contributed a vital $184M between 2023 and 2025, anchoring the company's cutting-edge technological footprint in Canada's premier innovation corridor. Coupled with a $617M contribution from fellow subsidiary Airbus Atlantic Canada through its strategic aerostructures activities in Mirabel, Quebec, these figures underscore a highly diversified, pan-Canadian industrial strategy that leverages regional strengths to power the future of global aviation.
To read the full PwC study report, or for more information about Airbus in Canada, please visit our website.
Noah Note: lol they know. lolololololol i can respect trying to build your worth before anything drops. thats kinda the enviornment were in. gotta get out there early, show off early and get yourself known because you never know whats gonna happen at any given time.
Really, just a bit too on the nose. Is it helicopters, more MRTT, something else?
It must be a shock for Canadian and “friendly foreign” companies to be ready to hit the ground sprinting versus waiting months and years of government indecision.