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strong regulatory regime will allow Canada to lead in these international markets. This represents a natural opportunity for Canada – a country where exports account for more than 70% of our GDP.

There are many reasons why the global community is betting on cleantech, jobs and productivity chief among them. Adoption of clean technologies makes existing economies more competitive. Green technologies produce broader and more integrated supply chains, create spin-off economic opportunities, spawn wholly new sectors and have a multiplier effect in job creation.

According to the United Nations Environment Programme’s SEF Alliance, cleantech generates more jobs per dollar of spending than traditional industries: solar photovoltaics create 50% more jobs than highway construction and biomass nearly twice as many as health care. A 2009 survey of 47 small and medium-sized enterprises supported by SDTC showed that once fully commercial they expect to create more than 4,000 high-skill, high-paying, direct jobs.

Employment is just one of the benefits Canada stands to reap from cleantech adoption. Building on the strong culture of innovation in our universities, government research facilities and corporate laboratories, our country has emerged as a leader in developing technologies that marry environmental stewardship with economic prosperity. This goes to our roots in natural resource-related industries such as oil and gas, minerals, forestry and agricultural products. The convergence of clean technologies promises to revolutionize these industries: instead of one-off applications, a systems-based approach is being taken using cleantech solutions in combination to reduce waste, conserve power,

private-sector approach, targeting our investments in technology development and demonstration where the need and opportunity are greatest. By the end of 2009 we had leveraged our total allocation of $463 million with $1.1 billion from other sources, with the private sector the majority contributor. A subset of 37 of the more mature companies in SDTC’s portfolio has raised a combined $1.1 billion over the last five years in follow-on funding from various sources including venture capital, private equity and project finance.

The financing needs of cleantech companies are as varied as clean technology itself. All players in the financial ecosystem—governments, industry, investors—must work together. The private-sector component is critical because it is the private sector that must do the heavy lifting to bring technologies to market.

We look forward to continuing our contribution to the reinvention of Canada’s economy in the green global marketplace. The unique knowledge and thought leadership of SDTC staff is contributing to the definition of the cleantech sector and the vital role it plays in our economy, and I thank you for all your energy and commitment. Finally, on behalf of the SDTC Team, I want to thank all the great Canadian cleantech companies and their employees with whom it is such

a privilege to work.

Sincerely,

Vicky J. Sharpe

President and CEO

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