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This article discusses the case-study of the Quebec’s maritime cluster. It discusses the factors that explain why significant innovation activities in maritime industry did not emerge in what might have been considered at the outset a promising area of growth of this industry and the Quebec maritime region. After briefly describing the development of the maritime cluster, we discuss some factors that might explain the weak performance of the maritime industry in terms of innovation activities and the lack of critical mass of actors to foster clustering dynamics. A range of general policies issues are discussed in the conclusion.