Skip to main content

Canada’s ITS sector looks to boost exports

A mission to Hong Kong and Shenzhen in China marks the start of a series of export visits planned within ITS Canada’s new International Business Development (IBD) strategy, the only one open to all members, including SMEs, across the country’s transportation industry.
December 11, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Association chair Chris Philp.
A mission to Hong Kong and Shenzhen in China marks the start of a series of export visits planned within 74 ITS Canada’s new International Business Development (IBD) strategy, the only one open to all members, including SMEs, across the country’s transportation industry.


The association is receiving funding from Global Affairs Canada, which promotes SMEs abroad, to cover up to half of members’ travel costs.

Association chair Chris Philp told ITS International: “Many of our members must market abroad to remain sustainable.” He anticipates a “significant increase” in numbers of Canadian software firms making transportation-related apps for mobile devices and in-vehicle applications.

Since these companies typically don’t market their products along geographic lines, but sell through channels such as app stores, automotive OEMs and public transportation agencies, the association aims to strengthen links with global supply chains in target areas.

It is emphasising sustainable elements in ITS technologies that are important for rapidly developing economies with congestion and environmental issues. There will also be a continued drive into the US, the Canadian industry’s largest single market.

In the reverse direction, 8082 ITS France and national economic development agency Business France staged a May 2017 briefing in Paris on ITS opportunities in Canada.

This highlighted the country’s 2015 legislation enabling a national ITS architecture which is designed to ensure full compatibility of ITS products and services in integrated systems.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • On-road and in-vehicle are not in competition
    May 18, 2018
    The integrity and accuracy of data that can be verified by weigh-in-motion technology has been improving for decades – and the range of WIM applications is increasing at a tremendous pace. Chris Koniditsiotis, president of the International Society for Weigh-in-Motion (ISWIM) and CEO of Transport Certification Australia (TCA), began his career in 1985 as a pavements engineer. “When I joined this portfolio, the integrity, accuracy, and sampling frequency of mass information delivered at best an estimate, us
  • Inland waterways can de-stress city roads
    March 17, 2016
    David Crawford looks at an under-utilised solution for city-centre deliveries. The use of rivers and canals for moving freight is a well-established mode in North Western Europe, where it can take advantage of an intensively developed network. In the Netherlands, 40% of the total volume of goods transported internally goes by water; the figure for Flanders (the neighbouring Dutch-speaking region of Belgium) is 11.5%.
  • Asecap debates the future of tolling
    August 23, 2016
    Colin Sowman reports form Asecap’s Study & Information Days event in Madrid. At Asecap’s (the Association of European Toll Road Operators) recent Study and Information Days event there was no doubt about the subject at the top of the agenda: the European Union Directive 23/2014/EU. This will introduce fundamental changes to the concession model under which Asecap members operate more than 50,000km of tolled highways and, in response, it has compiled a report entitled Proposal for a Sustainable Concession Mo
  • Truck digitisation and tech developments in freight ‘will boost Europe’s CV telematics market’
    January 11, 2017
    According to research by Frost & Sullivan, growth opportunities are strengthening in the commercial vehicle (CV) telematics market in Europe with the imminent arrival of value-added services such as video-based safety solutions, mobile base on-demand freight exchange platforms, and field service management solutions. While penetration of fleet management services (FMS) in large and medium fleets is relatively high, addressing challenges such as awareness, adequate training, and better business cases are key