Table of Contents - Previous - Next

Creating the Economy of Tomorrow

Highlights

• The $2-billion Knowledge Infrastructure Program has committed over 67 per cent of its funding to projects at colleges and universities across Canada.
• New Canada Graduate Scholarships Awards will be fully allocated to students for the upcoming academic year by September 2009.
• The Arctic Research Infrastructure Fund has been fully allocated to 20 successful projects that will receive $85 million over two years to strengthen northern research capacity.
• $50 million has been committed to support world-leading research at the Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo.
• Over $230 million has been allocated to support deferred maintenance at more than 70 federal laboratories and scientific facilities across the country.
• Since 2006, the Government has increased its annual support for the granting councils by a total of $400 million.

Canada's Economic Action Plan includes about $4.0 billion over two years for post-secondary education and research and other investments in science and technology. These measures will strengthen Canada's capacity for excellence in research by creating world-leading facilities for research and advanced training, and better prepare young Canadians for the jobs of tomorrow. Other investments will modernize the federal laboratories that deliver critical services to Canadians in a wide range of areas including health and the environment. The Economic Action Plan also includes measures to create business opportunities and provide support for small and medium-sized companies as they develop new products and services for the marketplace, discover new greenhouse gas reduction technologies, create business opportunities in robotics, improve Canadians' access to broadband Internet, and create jobs.

Table 2.10
Creating the Economy of Tomorrow

	2009-10	2010-11	Total
	(millions of dollars)
Action to Invest in Colleges, Universities   and Research
Improving infrastructure at colleges   and universities	1,000	1,000	2,000
Other	90	154	244
Subtotal—Action to Invest in   Colleges, Universities and Research	1,090	1,154	2,244
Investing in Science and Technology
Renewing federal laboratories	100	150	250
Clean energy and the environment	501	201	702
Other	620	160	780
Subtotal—Investing in Science   and Technology	1,221	511	1,732
Total—Creating the Economy   of Tomorrow	2,311	1,665	3,976
Total stimulus value	2,371	1,664	4,035
With provincial contributions	3,538	2,664	6,202
Notes: Totals may not add due to rounding. The stimulus value reflects projected cash expenditures. The budgetary impact may be somewhat smaller because some of these expenditures relate to construction and renovation costs of federal assets (for which only depreciation is recorded on a budgetary basis) and loans to third parties (where there is a budgetary impact only in the event that there is a risk of loss).

Introduction

The Government of Canada is committed to building a strong future for Canadians through science, technology and research excellence. The new ideas flowing from science, research and development help improve our lives and create new economic opportunities. Learning how to do things in new and innovative ways makes us more competitive, and opens the door to new possibilities that were previously unimaginable. Examples include breakthrough medical treatments that reduce suffering and save lives, the development of more productive and nutritious foods that help reduce hunger, and cleaner environmentally friendly technologies that improve the quality of the air we breathe.

Investments in science and technology also help to train new generations of highly skilled individuals who are increasingly in demand by the private sector, academic institutions and governments. By participating in leading-edge research, young Canadians can acquire unique knowledge and experience, leading to fascinating and highly paid careers. In turn, Canada needs this new wave of highly qualified workers in order to compete and win as the global economy depends more and more on knowledge and innovation.

New ideas are not generated only in the laboratory or in the classroom. They come from the shop floor as employees think of new processes that reduce production costs, in the warehouse where workers come up with better ways of tracking inventory, and in mills where new valuable uses are found for previously discarded by‑products. Wherever it takes place, innovation is important to our well-being, economic growth and job creation.

Science, technology and innovation are a fundamental part of our economic strategy. Advantage Canada, our long-term economic plan, included commitments to sustain Canada's leadership in public sector research, including at colleges and universities, to promote the best possible research through a focus on true excellence, and to better link this research to the real-world needs of Canadian businesses so that they can become more competitive, grow and create jobs. This was followed by the 2007 release of our science and technology strategy, Mobilizing Science and Technology to Canada's Advantage, a comprehensive multi-year plan to make Canada a world leader in science, technology and innovation.

The Government has invested over $2.2 billion in new science and technology measures since 2006, including significant new support for advanced research at Canadian colleges and universities. Canada's investments in research and development in the higher education sector relative to the economy are now the highest in the Group of Seven, and second in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, providing us with a rich source of new ideas and creating unique training opportunities for young Canadians. The Government is committed to maintaining this global leadership position. Funding has been provided to strengthen basic research activities at Canadian post-secondary institutions, help Canadian scientists focus on priority areas where Canada can be a world leader, and link our research strengths to the opportunities and challenges facing the private sector.

The three federal research granting councils are the core agencies for delivering about $2.7 billion each year in federal support to researchers, institutions, and young Canadians pursuing advanced studies. Since 2006, the Government has increased its annual support for the granting councils by a total of about $400 million. This has included new funding for research competitions to identify the best ideas, advanced training, and the translation and application of new knowledge. Overall, the total planned spending of the granting councils will rise to about $2.7 billion in 2009-10 compared to actual spending of $2.2 billion in 2005-06.

The Government has invested significant new resources to position Canada for knowledge leadership, and establish centres of excellence in key priority areas such as health, energy, the environment, and information and communication technologies. We are also ensuring that our investments in science are more responsive to the needs of the private sector—for example, through practical research internships for graduate students in companies, support for college innovation, and the creation of business-led networks of centres of excellence. In addition, we have launched Automotive Partnership Canada, which will support major collaborative research projects that will lead to innovation and greater competitiveness in the Canadian automotive sector.

Building on these important measures, the Economic Action Plan invests a further $5.1 billion in science and technology initiatives—an unprecedented investment that underlines our continued commitment to the objectives of the science and technology strategy. In particular, the Plan provides:

• $2 billion in funding toward college and university infrastructure for deferred maintenance, repair and construction.
• $750 million for research infrastructure through the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
• Over $2.3 billion for other science and technology measures, including post-secondary internships and graduate scholarships, upgrades to Arctic research facilities and federal laboratories, support for research in advanced quantum technologies, a clean energy fund, research assistance for small and medium-sized firms, and support for the development of space robotics.

This report focuses on commitments made to date through agreements with provinces and others to invest in post-secondary education and research, and broader federal investments in science and technology that will shape Canada's economy of tomorrow.

Action to Invest in Colleges, Universities and Research

The Government is committed to helping maintain Canada's proportional support for public research at the forefront of developed economies. The Economic Action Plan includes new investments in colleges and universities, targeted spending on leading-edge research facilities, new support for research in Canada's Arctic, and scholarship support for young Canadians.

Improving Infrastructure at Colleges and Universities: Up-to-date research equipment and facilities help attract and retain the best scientists in Canada, and help young Canadians develop their talents at the leading edge of science and technology. Investments through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program in universities will create the modern technological infrastructure needed to keep our research and educational facilities at the forefront of scientific advancement, while investments in colleges will enhance advanced training and help Canadians prepare for rewarding technology-based careers. The program will also promote employment and provide economic stimulus, and create jobs for engineers, architects, tradespeople and technicians.

The program was announced on March 9, 2009, with $2 billion over two years to support knowledge infrastructure projects at colleges and universities across Canada. A number of provinces and territories have signed agreements outlining the infrastructure projects to be supported at colleges and universities, with others to come.

Positioning the Institute for Quantum Computing for Global Leadership: Canada is a pioneer in the field of quantum computing. On April 7, 2009, the Government announced a strategic investment of $50 million in the world-leading Institute for Quantum Computing at the University of Waterloo, including $16.5 million that will flow to the Institute as early as June. This investment will enable the Institute to position itself at the forefront of international research in the field of quantum information by developing breakthrough discoveries, training highly qualified personnel, fostering a multi-disciplinary approach, and promoting collaboration among scientists as well as industry and government partners.

Arctic Research: Creating a healthier and more sustainable society and economy in the Arctic is important to Canada's sovereignty and the lives of northerners. Scientific research can help achieve the vision for a stronger economy and society in the North. That is why the Government allocated $85 million over two years in the Economic Action Plan to an Arctic Research Infrastructure Fund, to maintain or upgrade key existing research facilities in the Arctic. In late March, the Government announced 20 successful projects at federal and non-federal research facilities located across Canada's North that will be advanced under the Fund.

Helping Young Canadians Prepare for the Jobs of Tomorrow: Today's workforce increasingly requires young people to possess higher levels of education and have experience working with new technologies. Training at the graduate and post-graduate levels increases the contributions that young Canadians can make to the economy and society, and prepares them for rewarding careers in the economy of the future. To enable more Canadians to pursue advanced education, the Economic Action Plan provided $87.5 million over three years to temporarily increase the number of Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) awarded by the granting councils, including 500 doctoral and 2,000 masters-level awards. Recipients have been identified for the majority of the new scholarships, and will begin to take up their CGS awards in May 2009 or September 2009. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council has launched a special call for masters-level applications focused on business-related research, with an announcement of the results expected in September 2009.

The Economic Action Plan also provided $3.5 million over two years to enable 600 additional graduate students to acquire real-world research experience in innovative companies through the Industrial Research and Development Internship Program. Accelerate Canada, a not-for-profit consortium that manages the program, is working to ensure that the new internships can begin as soon as possible.

Investing in Science and Technology

Scientific and technological discoveries fuel the growth of traditional sectors such as agriculture and natural resources and are the lifeblood of emerging industries such as robotics. Research on these issues is led by universities, as well as by federal laboratories and the private sector. The Economic Action Plan included significant new commitments to advance public and private research in support of Canadians' priorities.

Renewing Federal Laboratories: Research on health, food, natural resources and a wide range of issues that impact Canadians' lives is carried out every day by the scientists in Canada's federal laboratories. Providing well-maintained and modern laboratories will contribute to research excellence in Canada. The Economic Action Plan allocated $250 million over two years to address deferred maintenance at federal laboratories and scientific facilities across Canada. To date, $234 million over two years has been approved for over 70 projects at 13 different federal departments. For example, $24 million over two years will be provided to the Public Health Agency of Canada's national microbiology laboratory in Winnipeg, Manitoba. As well, the National Research Council (NRC) will receive $19 million over two years to modernize 28 of its facilities in 7 provinces—including $3.7 million for the Institute for Aerospace Research to reduce noise and air emissions at its Ottawa facility, and $1.2 million to address deferred maintenance at the NRC Plant Biotechnology Institute in Saskatoon. Departments have begun their work on several of these projects, and others will begin as soon as possible.

Clean Energy Fund: Canada is poised to become a clean energy superpower. Finding new ways of generating clean energy will help power our economy while protecting our environment and opening up new business opportunities that create jobs. The Economic Action Plan provided $1 billion to support the development of clean energy research and demonstration. The Clean Energy Fund was launched on May 19, 2009, with up to $150 million available to support clean energy research, and $850 million set aside for clean energy demonstration projects that include carbon capture and storage technologies. Natural Resources Canada has launched the first Request for Proposals under the program, with up to $191 million for technology demonstrations in renewable and clean energy. Projects are expected to begin in late 2009 or early 2010. Natural Resources Canada will also solicit proposals for up to $650 million for large-scale carbon capture and storage projects in the summer of 2009, with the expectation to begin projects in the spring of 2010.

Canadian Space Industry: Canada's space sector is a world leader operating at the cutting edge of advanced technologies, including space robotics, remote sensing, and satellite communications. Our technological advantage in these areas creates significant economic opportunities for innovative companies, and enables Canadian astronauts to have a leadership role in international space missions. The Economic Action Plan provided $110 million over three years to support Canada's continued leadership in the design and construction of space robotics. The Canadian Space Agency is expected to issue a Request for Proposals in summer 2009 for a number of industry-led projects to develop terrestrial prototypes of rovers and other robotic vehicles. The funding will enable Canadian space companies to maintain and increase their research and development capacity, and develop the new technologies that will position them to benefit from future space missions, such as those that astronauts Robert Thirsk and Julie Payette are participating in.

Carbon Capture and Storage: Carbon capture and storage holds significant promise for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from large industrial facilities, helping to meet Canada's environmental commitments. The process involves capturing carbon dioxide at the facility from which it would otherwise be emitted, transporting it (usually by pipeline), and storing it (typically in an underground geological formation). Consultations on the extension of accelerated capital cost allowance (CCA) to assets used in carbon capture and storage were launched on April 17, 2009. Interested parties have been invited to make written submissions by June 30.

Broadband: Broadband Internet access enables citizens, businesses and institutions to access information, services and opportunities in their homes and at their offices that could otherwise be out of reach, especially in small rural and remote communities. The Economic Action Plan commitment of $225 million over three years will enable rural households, businesses and community institutions to make use of the Internet at levels similar to many of their urban counterparts. As a first step, an extensive mapping exercise is underway to identify currently unserved and underserved households. The maps will be publicly available in July 2009, with a call for applications expected in late summer 2009. Applications will be reviewed and projects selected this fall, with funding expected to begin flowing to projects early in 2010.

Table 2.11
Creating the Economy of Tomorrow

	2009-10 Stimulus Value (millions of dollars)	Authorities in Place	Funding Committed (millions of dollars)	Funding to Flow/ Benefits Available
Action to Invest in Colleges, Universities   and Research
Improving infrastructure at colleges   and universities	1,000	Yes	675	June
Other	90	Yes	53	June- September
Investing in Science and Technology
Modernizing federal laboratories	100	Yes	84	May
Clean energy and the environment	561	Yes	289	April- December
Other (includes $500 million for   Canada Health Infoway)	620	No	–	July- December
Total	2,371		1,101

Table of Contents - Previous - Next