Québec, December 18, 2019. – In Québec, 80.6% of businesses with 20 or more employees have introduced at least one innovation into their business between 2015 and 2017. Compared to the 2010-2012 period, innovation in Québec businesses jumped by almost 20 percentage points in 2015-2017.
These are the main findings of the S@voir.stat bulletin published by the Institut de la statistique du Québec, which uses data from Statistics Canada's 2017 Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy.
Québec is leading innovation in Canada
The proportion of businesses that introduced an innovation in 2015-2017 in Québec (80.6%) is slightly higher than that observed in Ontario (79.8%) and Canada (79.3%). In addition, the innovation gap observed in 2010-2012 between businesses in Québec, Ontario and Canada was fully closed in 2015-2017.
Proportion of businesses that introduced an innovation between 2010 and 2012 and between 2015 and 2017, Québec, other regions and Canada
Source: Statistics Canada, Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy, 2012 and 2017.
* Indicates that the rate is significantly different from the rates of other regions for a given period.
The larger the main geographic market, the higher the innovation rate
In Québec, the percentage of businesses that innovate (innovation rate) varies according to the size of the main geographic market in which the business makes most of its sales. Among businesses mainly active locally, 78.8% innovated over the observed period, compared with 92.4% of businesses that are mainly active outside Canada.
Organizational innovation remains the most frequent in Québec
Between 2015 and 2017, organizational innovation (64.9%) was the most frequent type of innovation in Québec businesses. The three other types of innovation, which relate to marketing, processes and products, were introduced by 58.0%, 54.1% and 50.3% of Québec businesses, respectively.
Compared to what was observed during the 2012 edition of the Survey of Innovation and Business Strategy, the proportion of Québec businesses that have introduced an innovation is growing, regardless of the type of innovation.
Between the two editions of the survey, the proportion of businesses that introduced a process innovation registered the largest difference (+28.1 points), followed closely by the proportion of businesses that introduced an organizational innovation (+27.0 points).
An innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (good or service), or process, a new marketing method, or a new organizational method in business practices. This innovation may or may not already exist in one of the business’s markets.
The Institut de la statistique du Québec produces, analyzes and disseminates official, objective and quality statistical information on various aspects of Québec society. It is responsible for conducting all statistical surveys of general interest. The relevance of its work makes it a strategic ally for decision makers and all those wishing to learn more about Québec.