31 August 2023

Press release – For a third consecutive year, Sherbrooke Innopole is one of the select group of 20 local and regional economic development organizations recognized by the American magazine Site Selection in its Canada’s Best Locations 2023 list. This is Sherbrooke Innopole’s fourth nomination by the magazine since 2018. 

Published in its September 2023 edition, the ranking is based, among other things, on private-sector investment and job creation. The data comes from the Conway Analytics database.  

“A few years ago, I had the opportunity to visit and see the innovation mindset and interconnected energy of the Sherbrooke region up close and personal,” said Adam Bruns, managing editor of Site Selection magazine. “From these results, it is evident that company leaders — especially in the tech and life sciences sectors — are seeing these same qualities and investing accordingly.” 

In its article, Site Selection evokes Sherbrooke’s vision for the future, notably with the Quantum Innovation Zone, a project for which Sherbrooke Innopole provided leadership until the creation of the organization responsible for its deployment. Among Sherbrooke Innopole’s innovative projects in 2022, the magazine highlights the holding of the first Semaine sherbrookoise du jeu vidéo (Sherbrooke Video Game Week) – a second edition of which took place in 2023 – and support for 12 companies in their growth outside Québec through the Sherbrooke International program. Also mentioned are the results of its financial tools: more than $1.6 million was allocated to 12 seed, pre-commercialization, start-up, innovation, or growth projects, generating economic benefits of more than $56.5 million dollars, and leading to the creation or consolidation of 436 jobs in Sherbrooke. 

The publication also refers to several recent projects by companies served by Sherbrooke Innopole, namely DE LA FONTAINE, General Dynamics Mission Systems, Pasqal and Soucy Techno. 

Only two other Québec organizations appear this year in the top 20 local and regional economic development organizations, namely Montreal International and Quebec International. In this context, Sherbrooke Innopole is the only organization outside major cities to have been recognized three years in a row, and this, for at least 10 years. 

The Executive Director of Sherbrooke Innopole, Sylvain Durocher, welcomes the news:
“Our team is once again very honoured to be among Canada’s leaders in economic development, especially since this is Sherbrooke Innopole’s fourth nomination from the magazine since 2018. Although Sherbrooke is the 6th city in terms of population in Quebec, we are among the major cities in terms of our economic development. This distinction undoubtedly supports Sherbrooke’s claim as the leading city of Québec’s regions. » 

“Sherbrooke Innopole’s greatest strength lies in the cutting-edge expertise of the members who make up its team. They are dedicated professionals committed to providing entrepreneurs with the right tools, which are often specific depending on their sector of activity. Our primary objective is to respond effectively to the strategic needs and challenges of industrial and technological companies, and to carry on stimulating innovation in Sherbrooke,” said the president of Sherbrooke Innopole, Étienne Villeneuve. 

“The excellence of Sherbrooke Innopole is once again recognized internationally, and this is a well-deserved distinction. I salute the work of the staff of Sherbrooke Innopole who, every day, work to develop the economy of our city in niches of the future,” added Sherbrooke Mayor Évelyne Beaudin. 

Let’s remember that Sherbrooke’s five key sectors – Advanced Manufacturing, Quantum and Information Technology, Cleantech, Life Sciences and Micro-nanotechnologies – account for 22,157 jobs in 690 companies. 

Since 2010, the key sectors have recorded: 

• A net gain of 195 businesses; 
• A net creation of 9,027 jobs; 

• Investments of more than $3.3 billion in machinery, equipment, land, buildings, and R&D. 

The Sherbrooke Innopole team carries out an average of nearly 650 interventions each year with industrial and technology companies to support them in their start-up, establishment, growth, consolidation, or succession projects in Sherbrooke. 

The full article is available here.