IMPACT: Innovation — Mobilizing Partnerships in Academia, Culture and Technology
What if innovation stemmed from a bridge between two continents? The multi-sectoral mission to Quebec and Ontario forges strategic ties between businesses, universities, and research centres from Wallonia, the French-speaking southern region of Belgium, and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and their Canadian counterparts, with a focus on lasting collaboration in order to face academic, scientific, and technological challenges.
From 20th to 24th of April 2026, Elisabeth Degryse, Minister-President of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, and Adrien Dolimont, Minister-President of Wallonia, will lead alongside Pascale Delcomminette, Chief Executive Officer of Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI) and the Wallonia Export & Investment Agency (AWEX), a large-scale ministerial mission.
A large delegation of scientists, academics, businesses, cultural organisations, and high-level experts will travel across three key cities: Montreal (20th to 21st of April), Quebec City (22nd of April), and Toronto (23rd to 24th of April). These three different stops reflect the diversity and complementarity of Canada's innovation and cooperation ecosystems.
Why Quebec and Ontario?
Canada has become a key strategic partner for Wallonia and the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, especially since it entered Horizon Europe, an EU programme which allows for new collaboration possibilities in the sciences and technology sectors.
Quebec
Quebec has a privileged relationship with the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Wallonia, one rooted in decades of structured cooperation and a shared linguistic and cultural heritage.
Ontario
Ontario offers an important gateway to further collaboration in a dynamic English-speaking environment, with a strong potential in research, innovation, and economic development. A memorandum of understanding between the Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Ontario was signed in 2022.
Amidst a changing international context, this mission was born in a shared commitment to strengthening transatlantic ties and seizing new opportunities for cooperation.
The Key Sectors of this Mission
The mission will shine a spotlight on several strategic sectors where Walloon expertise and Canadian ecosystems are particularly well aligned.
Higher Education & Research
The mission aims to strengthen collaboration in higher education and research, while tackling the institutional and policy challenges regarding mobility. Its main objective is removing barriers to the movement of students, researchers, and interns, and exploring measures to make exchanges easier in the long run.
Sustainable Agri-Food & Environment
The agri-food dimension showcases Wallonia's expertise in research and innovation in the fields of sustainable agri-food industry and innovative environmental management. Its goal is to connect Walloon, Quebec, and Ontarian ecosystems and build partnerships in areas such as green biotechnologies, biocontrol, biomass valorisation, and environmental technologies.
Creative & Cultural Industries
The cultural dimension aims to reinforce the international presence of creative industries. It also highlights the development of cross-border artistic residencies, the creation of new technological and commercial partnerships in creative industries, and participation in structuring initiatives for the management of French-language cultural content.
Aerospace & Technological Sovereignty
This dimension, alongside the participation of Skywin, the Walloon competitiveness cluster, will bring together leading players in Quebec and Ontario's innovation ecosystems to foster scientific and industrial exchange. The mission will kick off with a high-level meeting at Polytechnique Montréal, aimed at shining a light on the strategic role universities play in addressing technological sovereignty amidst a shifting geopolitical backdrop.
Our Partners
- Cabinet of Elisabeth Degryse, Minister-President of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation
- Cabinet of Adrien Dolimont, Minister-President of Wallonia
- The General Delegation of Wallonia-Brussels in Quebec/Canada
- The Wallonia-Brussels International Science and Technology Liaison Office for Canada
- AWEX — Offices in Montreal & Toronto
- Wallonia-Brussels International (WBI)
- Wallonie-Bruxelles Campus (WB Campus)
- The Academy for Research and Higher Education (ARES)
Contacts
Science & Higher Education Counsellor in Canada
Responsible for Higher Education
Belgian Trade & Investment Counsellor — Montreal
Belgian Trade & Investment Counsellor — Toronto
Cultural affairs
Policy Officer, Francophonie and Communications