‘…the government intends to invest in innovation, research and development at the scale required to make Canada a global leader.’
Canada’s Federal Government has used its 2022 Budget to set out plans for a new innovation and investment agency. The agency will be ‘operationally independent’ and receive an investment of CAN$1 billion over five years starting in 2022-23 to support its initial operations.
The Government has said that the innovation and investment agency will: ‘Proactively work with new and established Canadian industries and businesses to help them make the investments they need to innovate, grow, create jobs and be competitive in the changing global economy.’ The Government will consult further with both Canadian and global exports in finalising the design and mandate of the new agency, with details to be announced in the 2022 autumn economic and fiscal update.
The agency is said to be a key element in solving the country’s innovation challenges which include a ‘low rate of private business investment in research, development, and the uptake of new technologies…’ The Government noted that despite the country’s talented and creative population, Canada is currently ranked last in the G7 R&D spending by businesses. This is trend which the Government said ‘has to change.’
Highlighting existing innovation models in other countries, the Government added: ‘A market-oriented innovation and investment agency – one with private sector leadership and expertise – has helped countries like Finland and Israel transform themselves into global innovation leaders.’
In its budget statement the Government added; ‘At a time when other countries are making significant investments in this area, the government intends to invest in innovation, research and development at the scale required to make Canada a global leader.’
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