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Profile of end-user groups

Telecommunications:

In 1997, there were 259 establishments involved in producing telecommunications equipment in Canada, with almost 84 percent of their production dedicated to wireline equipment. Canada's largest telecommunications companies are Nortel (Northern Telecom), ranked seventh in the world, and Newbridge Networks, ranked thirty-fifth. Nortel, which is very active in research on and production of semiconductors, is one of the world's top ten users of semiconductors.

In addition to these two companies, the industry is made up of about 30 medium-sized Canadian firms with annual revenues between US$70 million and US$700 million, and about 300 small companies. Foreign subsidiaries such as Motorola, Ericsson, Harris, and Tellabs are also significant players in the Canadian telecommunications industry; Ninety percent of the industry's activities are in Ontario and Quebec.

Canada's wireless personal communications subsector is particularly strong. Its strengths include mobile data communications products, paging networks, cellular phones, industrial radio controls, two-way radio products, CDPD modems, wireless LANs, cellular network equipment and PCS systems. Several international wireless manufacturers, such as Ericsson, JRC and Motorola, have operations in Canada.

Computer Equipment:

The computer equipment industry in Canada is assembly-oriented, performs lower value-added manufacturing and is dominated by several firms. In addition to the larger firms, there are many small establishments. In total, there are 178 computer-manufacturing establishments in Canada with fewer than ten employees.

Geomatics:
The Canadian geomatics industry employs more than 15,000 people and annual Canadian sales were in excess of US$1.1 billion in 1997. The Canadian geomatics industry's strengths lie in the areas of natural resources management and environmental monitoring.
Automotive:
Canada is home to 14 of 70 North American light-duty assembly plants and is currently the world's sixth largest vehicle producer, manufacturing 2.5 million light-duty vehicles in 1997. In addition to overall growth in the automotive market, electronic component content is increasing in vehicles and new applications for integrated circuits continue to be found. Current automotive uses for ICs include navigation systems, more advanced airbags, antilock braking systems, and sensor-based collision-avoidance systems.
Aerospace:
The Canadian aerospace industry has a dominant position in the regional aircraft market. Canadian airframe manufacturing, which grew an estimated 23 percent in 1998 and is expected to average 14 percent real annual growth through 2001, in turn fuels demand for avionics. Avionics includes, among others, radar apparatus, radio navigational aid apparatus, automatic pilots, and aeronautical and space navigation instruments. Major end-users include Bombardier Aerospace, the world's third largest aircraft manufacturer; Bell Helicopter Textron; avionic systems and subsystems manufacturers, air navigation authorities, and Canada's national carriers Air Canada and Canadian Airlines.
Labeling and Standards:

Canada requires bilingual labeling (English and French) for most products. Bilingual designation of the generic name on most prepackaged consumer products is required by the federal Consumer Packaging and Labeling Act. Information regarding Canada's packaging and labeling requirements are available online from Industry Canada's website at: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/