Canada must invest in university research to compete globally

Peter Stoicheff, is president and vice-chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan, and chair of the U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities.

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s Fall Economic Statement signalled to the world that Canada is committed to escalating the fight against inflation, accelerating the move toward a net-zero economy and strengthening the country’s social safety net.

To ensure that the 21st century truly “belongs to Canada,” however, will also require ambitious investments in university research to meet growing competition – not only from the U.S., but also Britain, Germany and Japan, all of which have recently increased R&D funding by significant amounts.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which includes US$370-billion for climate and energy-focused initiatives, is referenced as a model for Ms. Freeland’s strategy. What must be recognized, however, is that the IRA is just one part of an ambitious two-part approach to relaunch the U.S. postpandemic economy.

On July 28th, in a rare display of bipartisan support, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the other part of the strategy – the CHIPS and Science Act – that will enhance fundamental research by investing in the most innovative ideas across all areas of science and engineering to help solve current and future challenges. Over the next five years, the act will double the base budget of the National Science Foundation, the primary agency for funding academic research and technology development.

Roughly a third of this funding will go to a new Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships that will turn fundamental research discoveries into strategically important technologies and services, and make them available to innovative companies capable of bringing them to market. Initially, the focus will be artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing and biotech. In the future, the discoveries made in research facilities across the country will determine the areas of strategic importance.

The CHIPS Act will also provide US$2.6-billion yearly in new money for STEM education, including support for scholarships, fellowships and traineeships to prepare workers for critical fields such as artificial intelligence, microelectronics education and cybersecurity. Added to the billions already invested by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes for Health and numerous other departments and agencies, this new level of funding will attract the best and brightest young talent from around the world to the U.S.

Overall, the U.S. two-part strategy emphasizes that increased investments in science, research and innovation must underpin initiatives to move toward a prosperous and sustainable future.

Meanwhile, Canada over the past two decades has built an enviable reputation as a leading science-and-technology-development nation with major public investments in university research. But investments in publicly funded research are not keeping pace with those of many other countries. We are not developing the number of highly qualified individuals needed to drive our rapidly developing innovation economy. Canada now stands 28th in the OECD in graduate-level educational attainment.

There is a real risk that we will return to the 1990s, when examples of brain drain were often in the headlines as top researchers, scientists and engineers left Canada for greener pastures.

Major new investments in university research would develop the highly qualified talent increasingly needed to drive innovation in all sectors. Such investments will also spur brain gain through increased opportunities for international graduate students to make Canada their new home.

Public investment in university research also leverages private-sector investment in collaborative projects that help drive an innovative economy. Until recently, low business investment in research and development reflected the fact that many sectors did not feel competitive pressure to improve their operations.

In recent years, however, extreme weather events have made innovation for sustainability more urgent than ever, while the pandemic has accelerated the need for digital transformation to serve customers and citizens. Today, business investment on Canadian campuses amounts to $1.3-billion and is growing each year as companies increasingly focus on innovation.

Now is the time for the federal government to respond to the growing international investment in R&D and talent in order to be globally competitive in the 21st century. Canada must renew its talent-based research advantage to help drive the economic growth we urgently need to build a prosperous, sustainable and resilient future.

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