Anything that has to do with mining engineering and the use of software is just ripe for startups, getting the industry to adopt thought is a different story.
The public French school boards tend to have lower passing rates in maths and sciences then the public English boards though, chalk it up to the shit-show you need to be allowed to learn in English or whatever else might be at play. But the math and science reforms that Quebec implemented 8 years torpedoed basic math and science proficiency across the board.