Industry Findings: Canadian activity remains automotive-led: a recent uptick in installations in auto supply chains has produced demand for retrofit programs and workforce-upskilling partnerships. Integrators that combine hardware with training and rapid retrofit services win constrained but high-value projects, so vendors are packaging “upskill + retrofit” offers to capture these tightly clustered, sector-specific Canadian opportunities.
Industry Progression: Canada’s automation landscape is pivoting toward targeted retrofits rather than broad expansion as automotive manufacturing remains the country’s anchor driver. IFR data from 2023–24 shows a notable uptick in auto-related robot installations despite overall softness, prompting factories to prefer retrofit-ready cells and workforce-training partnerships that stretch limited budgets while improving throughput in Tier-1 and Tier-2 operations.
Industry Player Insights: Major companies defining Canada’s market direction include ABB Robotics, FANUC Corporation, KUKA, ATS Automation, Universal Robots (Teradyne), Yaskawa, and Mitsubishi Electric. Canada’s retrofit-heavy demand is rewarding vendors that pair hardware with training and local engineering services; for instance, ATS Automation’s broadened Canadian systems contracts in 2023–24 emphasised after-sales support and workforce upskilling. That emphasis pushes suppliers to offer packaged retrofit programs and training credits to capture constrained but high-value projects in automotive and food processing clusters.