National Autonomous Vehicle Day was founded by Emerging Prairie, an entrepreneurial ecosystem platform, and American technology talk show host, Marlo Anderson to celebrate the advances in the Autonomous Vehicle industry and the potential opportunities for business and technology growth related to this innovative concept.

Today, in celebration of National Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Day, we are pleased to announce the development and launch of Canada’s first Autonomous Vehicle Technology and Innovator Directory in collaboration with Invest Ottawa and the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence (CAVCOE).

The first of its kind, this unique and valuable resource will provide a comprehensive overview of the growing number of contributors to the Canada’s AV ecosystem. This will include innovators, companies, post-secondary institutions, and other organizations with AV technologies, solutions, and knowhow.

Today’s launch of the Canadian Autonomous Vehicle Technology and Innovator Directory marks another ‘Canadian first’ to steward national awareness of our country’s position as a global leader in autonomous vehicles and related technologies. The KNBA is proud to spearhead this effort in collaboration with Invest Ottawa and CAVCOE in order to establish coast to coast collaboration and access to partnerships that will strengthen Canada’s contribution to Autonomous Vehicle innovation globally.

The launch of this Directory in conjunction with the celebration of Autonomous Vehicle Day in Canada brings a spotlight on Ottawa’s growing tech ecosystem. The Directory will be an open, community document (hosted in Google Sheets) to be populated initially by KNBA and Invest Ottawa with Kanata North and Ottawa based AV companies to start. The Directory will be shared with local and national community partners and promoted broadly to ensure continued sharing and awareness. Access the Directory here.

The Directory will be available on the Ottawa AV Cluster website – a central resource for all AV related information, announcements and events.

Over time, this directory will serve to demonstrate the broad spectrum of AV contributors, collaborators, companies and organizations supporting Canada’s role in advancing AV technologies globally. We hope through a collaborative effort of sharing, populating and promoting, the Directory will increase Ottawa’s visibility as a centre of AV excellence in order to bring the emerging connected car and AV technologies, products, services and applications developed in Ottawa and across the country to the global market.

Coast to coast, Canada is an AV powerhouse with AV clusters in key technology centres advancing Canadian AV innovation. As Canada’s AV Capital, Ottawa has more than 70 companies and organizations contributing technology and expertise in networking, software, cybersecurity and IoT to AVs and connected cars. Anchored by global AV leader BlackBerry QNX, more than 45 of the firms that comprise Ottawa’s AV cluster are located in Kanata North Technology Park, the largest of its kind in Canada.