Canada’s national spending on higher education institutions’ R&D increased 7.3% to $10.9 billion in 2009. In real or inflation-adjusted terms, the amount was $9.0 billion, a 3.2% increase. Spending for health sciences R&D was $4.4 billion, an increase of 9.1%, or 5.0% in adjusted terms. Spending for other natural sciences and engineering R&D increased 5.5%, 1.5% in adjusted terms, to $4.3 billion. Higher education institutions’ contribution grew 10.6% to make up 46% of their total R&D funding. The next-largest contributor was the federal government with 26%. The provincial governments, private nonprofit organizations, the business sector and foreign sources accounted for 10%, 9%, 8% and 1% of R&D funding for higher education institutions, respectively. Funding from the federal government and business declined in real dollars 0.6% and 1.3%, respectively. Provincial governments and private nonprofit organizations’ funding in real terms increased 2.8% and 2.6%, respectively. Forty-two percent of R&D spending in the higher education sector took place in Ontario, and 26% took place in Quebec.

Source: Statistics Canada