Building with Atlantic Innovation at Home and Around the World

Atlantic Canada is having a moment. The tone has changed in the region, and the attitude has followed. We were once fighting for the world to see our value. Those days are behind us. We have talent, technology, natural resources and strategic location aligning, and the path to prosperity is clear.

Atlantic innovators have long worked at the intersection of the intangible and tangible economies, including dual-use technologies, ocean and maritime systems, defence, and AI. Today those strengths position the region to scale globally. Building with Atlantic Ambition at Home and Around the World sets out practical policy steps to turn that momentum into lasting regional prosperity and greater national economic strength.

“Atlantic Canada is uniquely positioned. Our natural resources and clustered expertise in oceans, defence, bioscience, agritech, AI and cybersecurity create deep value chains, and our we;; established dual‑use innovation ecosystem turns domain data and local research into competitive advantage," said Karen Moores, Senior Advisor, Atlantic Canada. "To capitalize on our strengths, we must ensure the intangible meets the tangible: policy that protects, promotes, and keeps Atlantic Canada's prosperity here.”

This playbook focuses on four priority areas where public policy can accelerate impact:

• Artificial Intelligence: Support harmonized, region‑wide policies that let Atlantic AI companies scale at home and abroad. Embed homegrown AI in nation‑building projects and public services to drive productivity for businesses, governments and communities.
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• Intellectual Property & Data Strategy: Treat provincial data as a strategic asset, make high-quality public datasets available, and establish an Atlantic IP-support agency to help firms protect and commercialize their innovations. Incentives for IP creation — such as provincial IP boxes — will help retain economic value in the region.
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• Global Market Access: Improve air access, fund business development travel, and create provincial global trade concierges and coordinated trade missions so Atlantic companies can find and win customers in key markets.
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• Procurement & Industrial Strategy: Use government purchasing power to buy Atlantic and Canadian where possible. Build regional procurement education, host Buy Atlantic roadshows, and pilot value-based procurement to connect local innovators with public-sector buyers.

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"Atlantic Canada is a distinctive engine of innovation whose companies, talent and technologies are already driving national prosperity and economic growth," said Patrick Searle, Chief Executive Officer, Council of Canadian Innovators. "Through strategic procurement, stronger IP and data protection, coordinated workforce investment, and policies that support global market creation, we can scale Atlantic Canadian solutions, capture more value at home, and build sustained economic advantage for the whole country.”

Building with Atlantic Ambition is a call to align policy with purpose: protect IP, invest in workforce and AI adoption, open markets, and use procurement to create demand. Doing so will let Atlantic companies scale faster, compete globally, and help fuel Canada’s economic and strategic future.

Read the playbook here.

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About the Council of Canadian Innovators

The Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) represents more than 170 of Canada’s fastest-growing technology companies. Founded in 2015, CCI advocates for policies that help Canadian innovators scale globally, create prosperity at home, and strengthen Canada’s economic sovereignty.