Program directory · Canadian Space Agency
Space Capacity Development
- Department
- Canadian Space Agency
- Program code
- BLM03 (CSA)
- Core responsibility
- Canada in space
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
The Space Capacity Development Program carries out activities that range from pre-mission research and development to timely flight demonstrations, with the aim of positioning the Canadian space sector for global opportunities. It offers an end-to-end approach—from idea to space—with activities that are targeted to increase space and market readiness for both science and technologies to be flight-ready for space missions whether they are commercial, or government driven. It also develops the space workforce of tomorrow by encouraging youth K-12 to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and by supporting hands-on experience for post-secondary students and early-career professionals, with a focus on diversity and inclusion at all levels.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Space Capacity Development | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $679M |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | Indicators added: Number of technologies and applications having advanced their Technology Readiness Level (TRL) or Application Readiness Level (ARL) through the SCDP support. | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023-24 | Indicators dropped: Number of scientific activities and technologies that have advanced their readiness | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Planned employees (FTEs) 141, against 107 in 2024-25 (+33%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | ≥ 110 | 2023 | 116 Targets were exceeded mainly due to an increase in the share of academic activities concluded this year. Several academic R&D projects had been strongly impacted by the pandemic; the cohort of impacted activities are concluding at the same time as more recent ones in 2023-24 and 2024-25. | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 75 | 2025 | 145 | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | ≥ 189 | 2021 | 270 Some of the CSA’s investments have resulted in more opportunities than anticipated for the Canadian space sector. For example, Canada’s additional investment in the Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) program in 2016 resulted in more contracts than expected. Hence, more science and technology activities were advanced. | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 110 | 2022 | 87 Due to the impacts of the pandemic on beneficiaries' activities, fewer projects were completed during the year: 14 projects were extended (results will be obtained in a later year) and 2 were cancelled (no results produced). | Not met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 110 | 2023 | 124 The target for the program is exceeded due to a greater number of contracts associated with the ESA Contribution Program ending during 2022-23. | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 150 | 2027 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $77.3M | $78.5M |
| 2019-20 | $90.1M | $87.7M |
| 2020-21 | $96.9M | $106M |
| 2021-22 | $130M | $107M |
| 2022-23 | $119M | $105M |
| 2023-24 | $99.4M | $97.5M |
| 2024-25 | $105M | $97.7M |
| 2025-26 | $88.5M | — |
| 2026-27 | $78.6M | — |
| 2027-28 | $71.9M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $67.5M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 110 | 116 |
| 2019-20 | 122 | 117 |
| 2020-21 | 125 | 110 |
| 2021-22 | 123 | 112 |
| 2022-23 | 114 | 123 |
| 2023-24 | 121 | 126 |
| 2024-25 | 111 | 107 |
| 2025-26 | 141 | — |
| 2026-27 | 141 | — |
| 2027-28 | 134* | — |
| 2028-29 | 131* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $77,341,264 | $78,585,904 | $76,948,456 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $90,054,039 | $83,835,804 | $84,119,716 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $96,937,984 | $100,473,048 | $92,373,044 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $129,563,992 | $109,889,648 | $95,966,012 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $118,555,200 | $100,355,050 | $95,839,000 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $99,440,464 | $102,304,000 | $91,183,168 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $104,747,250 | $88,133,946 | $75,472,188 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $88,513,006 | $77,591,911 | $73,397,382 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $78,599,057 | $71,921,930 | $67,462,153 | ||||||||
| Actual | $78,498,513 | $87,707,905 | $105,653,274 | $107,231,879 | $105,052,941 | $97,532,426 | $97,730,280 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
