Thank you for that question, Ms. Nash.
I hope I'm not part of a dying industry. I don't want to have to flip burgers in a few years.
There's no denying the fact that our sector was especially hard hit by the global economic crisis and the financial meltdown. Most sectors are now back to pre-recession levels. Ours is a sector that is undergoing transformation, but certainly not one that is dying. Instead, I would say it's in a period of technological change.
The strength of our sector's economy does not lie so much in its share of the GDP, although it does account for 14%. It isn't the sector with the largest share, however, when you compare it with the service industry. As I said in my opening remarks, the manufacturing sector produces 88% of Canada's exports and is responsible for 75% of R&D spending. So, for all of our sakes, I hope it isn't a dying sector. Nevertheless, I can reassure you that it isn't. We're actually seeing advanced manufacturing sectors emerging, particularly in western countries.
Advanced manufacturing relies much more heavily on new technologies. And these new technologies are focused on innovative manufacturing processes.