Post-Bourget 2025: Focusing on global trends and action levers for Quebec innovation
The 2025 edition of the Paris Air Show marked a pivotal moment for the global aerospace industry, and even more so for Quebec-based stakeholders. With the post-pandemic recovery now in the rearview mirror, the 2025 show confirmed a strong momentum of acceleration, characterized by clear directions, a firm commitment to investment, and a high level of collective engagement.
This strategic gathering served as a barometer for major transformations underway: technological transition, decarbonization, redefinition of value chains, and the growing integration of technological and territorial sovereignty issues. These are all strong signals to decipher in order to anticipate challenges and, above all, seize new opportunities. Mahdi Tika, Consulting Director at Innovitech, shares the key insights from this year’s edition.
Key trends observed: A paradigm shift
The 2025 Paris Air Show did more than showcase future technologies, it marked a shift. A shift from speculation to structuring, from ambition to execution. A clear throughline emerged during the event: innovation is no longer just a showcase, it is now an industrial imperative.
Decarbonization and the energy transition
Propelled by notable advances in liquid hydrogen, decarbonization is entering a concrete phase. Airbus unveiled a cryogenic tank and a concept aircraft equipped with four 2 MW fuel cells, clearly moving from R&D to industrialization.
Canada is positioning itself actively on these issues: STRIX, a new pan-Canadian initiative dedicated to promoting and supporting collaborative research in the aerospace sector and related fields, is committing to financially support R&D projects. Meanwhile, H2CanFly is continuing development on its mobile hydrogen refueling modules. These initiatives could play a key role in attracting future nationwide test campaigns.
They demonstrate that the green transition is now embedded in real value chains, far beyond statements of intent.
Sustainable productivity and applied digital technologies
The smart factory is taking shape: Airbus UpNext unveiled a MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) demonstrator whose digital twin updates in real time, while WatchOut launched a manufacturing platform powered by AI in Mirabel, in partnership with the YMX Innovation Centre. These initiatives consolidate Quebec’s position as an advanced manufacturing hub.
Sovereignty, defense, and dual-use capabilities
The lines between civil and military applications are blurring fast, redefining industrial priorities. Technological sovereignty is no longer a concern reserved for nation-states; it’s becoming a driver of innovation for entire industrial ecosystems.
On the defense front, Bombardier is asserting its ambitions by consolidating its Bombardier Defense subsidiary, with a focus on special mission aircraft (ISR/AEW), and actively seeking a North American site to test new sensors. This growing presence reflects a clear intent to play a structuring role in future defense and security value chains.
Another strong signal: General Atomics unveiled the collaborative drone YFQ-42A, designed to fly in swarms with piloted fighters. This advancement illustrates the normalization of dual-use strategies, where defense technologies also find high-value-added civilian applications.
For Quebec companies, this means clarifying their strategic positioning, aligning with major industry directions, particularly in defense, and demonstrating how their projects address multiple challenges simultaneously: operational, economic, and technological.
Advanced Air Mobility (AAM): the tipping point
Perhaps the most emblematic evolution of the 2025 show, advanced air mobility, once seen as niche or futuristic, is now recognized as a serious strategic focus by both governments and industry players.
The release of the Roadmap for AAM Certification by the network of national aviation authorities (FAA, EASA, Transport Canada) represents a decisive breakthrough. The document sets out six key principles for regulatory harmonization, along with a clear timeline for convergence. By reducing uncertainty around mutual validation, this roadmap removes a major investment barrier and sends a strong signal to industry stakeholders.
In the U.S., the presidential decree “Unleashing American Drone Dominance” (June 2025) provided a political boost. It mandates the deployment of large-scale demonstrators, the systematic integration of AI, and fully embraces a dual-use logic (security/defense). The decree also opens major federal budget lines, indirectly pressuring Canada to deliver a coordinated response, or risk seeing its operators move to cross-border infrastructures.
But the shift is also economic. Companies like Skyports are now offering vertiports at around $20M, designed for cities like Montreal. We are moving away from grandiose, impractical projects toward modular deployment models supported by viable, locally adapted business strategies.
“Innovation is no longer just about technology, it’s becoming systemic. We’re thinking about governance, value chains, and use cases. AAM is no longer a utopia, it’s entering serious industrial planning.”
This shift also calls for a redefinition of the role of ecosystems. They can no longer just observe or support; they must actively create the conditions for change. Those able to align vision, coordination, and experimentation capacity will become key hubs in the AAM innovation chain.
Implications for quebec companies
The major trends observed, decarbonization, defense buildup, and the rise of AAM, are not just global tendencies. They are reshaping current market expectations, government strategies, and the demands of major clients. Whether you’re an OEM, Tier 1 or 2 supplier, or a specialized SME in Quebec, you are directly or indirectly affected by at least one of these structural axes.
This context brings opportunities but also calls for a clarified strategic stance. Too many companies still approach these transformations from a purely technological perspective, while the real issues are also regulatory, economic, and industrial. Innovation is no longer a side option or a standalone department; it’s the very foundation of adaptation. To make the most of this momentum, companies must take a step back: understand overarching sectoral directions, identify the right niches, and prioritize investments. This requires a clear and realistic roadmap based on in-depth market dynamics knowledge to lead change instead of being subject to it.
Three priorities emerge for Quebec companies:
- Anticipate and position on emerging segments (AAM, defense and security, green technologies) by developing strategic partnerships.
- Leverage the current momentum to launch innovation projects, even modest ones. The ecosystem is active, governments are supportive, technologies are mature.
- Structure their transformation through three essential levers:
- A positioning study aligned with major sectoral directions;
- A prioritized roadmap to guide innovation investments;
- Continuous technological monitoring to seize opportunities, especially in the context of closer ties with Europe.
These actions will enable companies to ensure short- and mid-term competitiveness and secure their place in the ongoing transformation of the sector. In such a fluid environment, the ability to anticipate, position, and form the right partnerships becomes a decisive competitive advantage. The challenge is no longer just to innovate, but to innovate in the right direction.
What role for the Quebec ecosystem?
Faced with the rapid transformation of the sector, Quebec’s ecosystem doesn’t need to start from scratch, but it must gain clarity and cohesion. The initiatives are there, robust, led by key players like Aéro Montréal, CRIAQ, NRC, STRIX, H2CanFly, and Espace Aéro. Their alignment with the main directions of the Bourget show proves Quebec is already on the right track.
But the challenge remains structural: too many initiatives operate in silos with limited strategic coordination. For a company, especially an SME, it is still difficult to navigate this environment: whom to contact? When? With what leverage?
The issue is not creating new structures but better connecting existing ones, clarifying each player’s role, and making information accessible and actionable. Companies need a clear, reliable, and coordinated point of entry.
This also requires a clear industrial vision, built around structured strategies at all levels: national (for aerospace and AAM) and provincial (for the defense sector). These strategies must move beyond intent to become real guideposts, shaping investments, directing roadmaps, and fostering convergence of efforts.
In this context, specialized partners like Innovitech can play a catalytic role. By helping companies structure strategic thinking, prioritize initiatives, and clarify positioning, they help transform collective ambition into concrete projects. This kind of support also facilitates dialogue with public authorities and maximizes the impact of innovative investments.
The 2025 Paris Air Show confirmed a strategic shift in global aerospace: decarbonization, sovereignty, advanced air mobility… These trends are already reshaping the rules of the game.
For Quebec, this represents both an opportunity and a responsibility. The region is aligned with the right priorities and has the expertise, talent, and industrial capacity to be a driving force. But the next step is clear: structure collective action.
Three regions are already leading efforts to build a strong regional cluster: Mirabel, Montreal, and Longueuil. They focus a critical mass of industry players, research centers, test platforms, and innovation initiatives.
In this effort, ADM (Aéroports de Montréal) is positioning itself as a strategic promoter, having recently acquired the former LION site, which it plans to transform into an innovation center focused on the sector’s major trends: AAM, decarbonization, and dual civil-defense applications.
Companies must position themselves quickly, build realistic roadmaps, and integrate the right partners to turn today’s momentum into tangible projects. Governments, in turn, must provide clear guidance to secure investments and accelerate innovation.
In this surge, Quebec’s ecosystem has a key role to play, not by adding new initiatives, but by reinforcing coordination, clarity, and the ability to generate structuring projects.
What Bourget 2025 tells us is this: the conditions are in place. It’s now time to act with ambition, method, and coherence.