Canada

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Canada: Earlier this week, the government of Canada released its 2018 federal budget, in which science funding received a major boost. Almost CAD $4 billion ($3.1 billion) in new funding will be provided for basic science research, marking it as “the single largest investment in investigator-led fundamental research in Canadian history,” according to Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau. This spike in funding is a far cry from last year’s budget, in which federal investment in basic science remained flat. The increase follows recommendations made in 2017’s “Fundamental Science Review” report

The new funding will be split between three national agencies that had not received any new funding last year. The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research will be allocated CAD $354.7 ($276.1 million). The Social Science and Humanities Research Council will receive CAD $215.5 million ($167.8 million). The three agencies will also be provided another CAD $275 million ($200.1 million) each for the support of innovative research and international collaborations.
Early- and mid-career researchers will be eligible for the majority of the new funds, with early-career researchers also receiving more funding through an extra CAD $210 million ($164.5 million) for the Canada Research Chairs program. The program supports young scientists in universities across the nation.

In addition, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, which is the main funding body for research infrastructure, was allocated CAD $763 million ($594.0 million), with the government pledging that the funding will remain permanent, which was also a recommendation from the “Fundamental Science Review.” Previously, the organization received funding in blocks every few years. As of now, the the organization will have an annual budget of CAD $462 million ($359.7 million) by 2023.

Source: Nature
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