Canada
Over the last 15 years, Canada’s total Gross Domestic Expenditures on R&D (GERD) as a share of GDP has been slowly declining. This is mainly in comparison to Canada’s peer group, which consists of G7 countries (US, Canada, Australia, UK, Germany, France and Italy) and key East Asian countries (Japan, Korea and China). The GERD of Canada is lower than the rest of the countries in its peer group. In 2014–2015, the average GERD intensity was 2.38%, while Canada’s was 1.61%, ranking Canada as below the average and median of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Globally, Canada has also lost its place among the top 30 nations in regards to research spending.
The GERD received from federal funding is below the average of most other countries, which is largely due to Canadian policies directed towards incentivizing business R&D through tax credits. In 2014, federal research funding in Canada plateaued, although it picked up again in 2015; however, in 2015, federal research funding was still only 23.3% of all R&D funding for academic institutions. Canada’s share of the global output for scientific publications increased from 377,779 between 2003 and 2008 to 496,696 between 2009 and 2014, a 24.0% increase. The Advisory Panel on Federal Support for Fundamental Science, which provides recommendations to the Minister of Science, suggests that in order to increase Canada’s standing in R&D and innovation a new National Advisory Council on Research and Innovation should be developed to improve the efficiency and productivity of the governing bodies that provide funding to more appropriately disperse expenditures.
