Innovation is part of Ontario's aerospace heritage.

It started well before the first De Havilland Beaver rolled off the Downsview production line in 1948 and is continuing into the 21st century. An Ontario company delivered the two-armed robot Dextre to the International Space Station. Other Ontario innovations include the Canadarm2, RADARSAT-2, the Q400, the D-JET and the next generation of green technologies.

Innovation is part of the reason why more than 100 aerospace programs around the world - including the Airbus A380, Boeing 787 and the Joint Strike Fighter - incorporate components made-in-Ontario by companies like Goodrich Landing Gear, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney Canada and Magellan Aerospace. Final assembly of the Bombardier's amphibious firefighting aircraft - the CL-415 - is performed in North Bay.

Ontario's 350+ aerospace firms:

Ontario has more than 350 aerospace companies. Bombardier's Q400 series regional aircraft is assembled in Toronto, Ontario

• sell more than $6.5 billion annually

• employ over 22,000 skilled workers

• are developing lighter, greener, stronger, more efficient next generation products using advanced polymers, bio-composites and super conductive materials.

• have broad capabilities including: regional, business and special-purpose aircraft, turbine engines, landing gear systems, aerospace structures and environmental and electrical systems.