Ottawa, Canada — November 25, 2025 – Last week, Ottawa welcomed a high-level business delegation from Sweden, underscoring the growing collaboration between the Swedish and Canadian innovation ecosystems.

Organized by Business Sweden and represented by the Embassy of Sweden in Ottawa, the delegation included senior executives from more than 30 of Sweden’s foremost companies in defence, security, electrification, and advanced technologies.

In collaboration with Invest Ottawa, the visit included a site tour of Area X.O, Ottawa’s cutting-edge R&D complex for connected, autonomous technologies operated by Invest Ottawa. The site visit was followed by an afternoon of programming highlighting Canada’s strengths in innovation and industrial growth, featuring remarks from His Worship Mark Sutcliffe, Mayor of Ottawa, The Hon. Laurel Broten, President & CEO of Invest in Canada, and Sonya Shorey, President & CEO of Invest Ottawa, with insights on federal programs supporting internal collaboration and investment from Ken McConnell of FedDev Ontario.

The visit coincided with Sweden-Canada Innovation Days 2025 (SCID25) and the State Visit of Their Majesties the King and Queen of Sweden – amplifying a week of diplomatic, academic, and business engagement across both nations.

“The high-level delegation visit, held alongside Sweden Canada Innovation Days and a State Visit by H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, aims to deepen bilateral ties, drive innovation, and unlock new partnerships,” – Business Sweden.

As part of the broader SCID program, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden also held an InnoMatch Partnering Day on November 18th at Bayview Yards, bringing together Swedish SMEs and Canadian companies, researchers, and organizations to explore new collaborations in clean energy, quantum technology, digital resilience, advanced manufacturing, and other high-growth sectors.

The Swedish delegation’s recent visit reflected the shared commitment of Sweden and Canada to foster innovation-driven growth, strengthen industrial partnerships, and advance solutions that contribute to a more sustainable and secure global economy.

Invest Ottawa extends sincere thanks to Business Sweden, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, the Embassy of Sweden in Ottawa, and all participants who helped strengthen the ties between Canada and Sweden’s innovation communities.

Media Contact:

Lindsey Fair
Vice President, Marketing and Bayview Impact
Invest Ottawa and Bayview Yards
[email protected] | 613-857-7779

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About Invest Ottawa

Invest Ottawa is the lead economic development agency for knowledge-based industries in Canada’s Capital Region, facilitating economic growth and job creation in Ottawa. Guided by a vision to help realize Ottawa’s full potential as a globally recognized, innovative, inclusive, and future-ready city, Invest Ottawa delivers venture development, global expansion, and talent programs and services that catalyze the growth and success of entrepreneurs and firms. These include small-business training, mentorship, acceleration for technology firms, foreign business and investment attraction, local business retention and expansion in targeted sectors, commercialization, and marketing Ottawa’s diversified economy and high quality of life. Invest Ottawa is also the manager of Bayview Yards, Ottawa’s innovation hub and one-stop business acceleration shop, and founder and operator of Area X.O, the R&D complex for next-gen smart mobility, autonomy, and connectivity technologies. Since 2017, Invest Ottawa has supported and delivered $3.7 billion in GDP impact, 29,343 jobs, and $622 million in government revenues.

About Area X.O

Area X.O, operated by Invest Ottawa, is Canada’s all-weather ITB-certified R&D complex that enables the testing, validation, demonstration and commercialization of next-generation technologies, helping entrepreneurs and companies get to market faster, safely.

One of 14 NATO DIANA test centres in Canada, it:

• Combines diverse expertise with Ottawa’s telecom and cybersecurity strengths as a global tech hub and operates one of the most advanced communications infrastructures in the world.
• Is the only all-weather innovation hub of its kind in North America with three integrated R&D sites for private, public and defence testing and validation with specialization in AI, drones and advanced robotics.

These applications benefit our community, economy, and environment, and span: defence, security, public safety, smart mobility, telecom, smart agriculture, unmanned aerial vehicles, and smart cities.

Established and managed by Invest Ottawa, Area X.O leverages critical support from world-class founding partners, including: the Government of Canada (through FedDev Ontario), the Government of Ontario (through the Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network managed by the Ontario Centre of Innovation), the City of Ottawa, Accenture, BlackBerry QNX, Ericsson, Microsoft, Nokia, and Ottawa’s post-secondary institutions.”

• Learn more about Area X.O