About MAT Industry

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What Is The Current State Of Canada’s MAT Sector? Ontario?

  • The MAT sector in Canada is strong and growing. Nationally, the MAT sector employs more than 35,000 Canadians in close to 1,500 corporate facilities. These companies are primarily based in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia and account for more than $6 billion in sales a year, mainly to health care facilities.
  • In Ontario, an estimated 700 MAT companies employs more than 22,000 employees and generate approximately $4 billion in revenues.
  • Already the epicenter of Canada's MAT sector, Ontario has the opportunity to take a leading worldwide role in MAT research, development and commercialization, creating robust, skilled local employment and contributing to innovative healthcare delivery on a global scale to help accelerate the development of the MAT industry sector in Ontario. 

What products/services does the MAT sector provide?

  • The MAT sector includes a wide range of medical diagnostic, imaging, therapeutic, assistive and rehabilitative products, in a convergence of technologies including microelectronics, biomaterials and bioengineering, optics, and increasingly, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

What are the benefits of a strong MAT sector?

  • As successful MAT clusters in other areas have shown, a robust MAT sector can help improve health care delivery, treatment methods, patient outcomes, quality of life, and access to health care in rural and remote locations in addition to reducing institutional costs.
  • The economic benefits are enormous and help build a knowledge economy around healthcare technologies, increase export sales and attract research and start-up companies from other areas.
  • In Ontario, each additional $1 billion in manufactured MAT-sector goods and services generated represents about 4,000 positions for highly qualified personnel.

What challenges is the Ontario’s MAT sector currently facing?

  • Ontario’s MAT sector will thrive with adequate funding to support efforts to foster research, development, commercialization and procurement of MAT innovation.
  • Creating robust information networks and centres, and providing the tools and resources that enable academia and private sector collaborations, which are also important criteria for success.

What can be done to support the MAT sector?

  • Currently, there is an estimated trade deficit of $1 billion in the MAT sector. HTX believes that a healthy trade surplus in Medical and Assistive Technologies is achievable in Ontario.
  • HTX is leading the way by encouraging and supporting new and continuing initiatives to strengthen product development and procurement of Ontario-developed MAT products and services by the Ontario Healthcare system.