Strengthening Canadian research and innovation

VICTORIA, BC, April 19, 2024 /CNW/ - Gen Z and millennials are the engine of our economy. Everything that is created, built, served, and sold in Canada is increasingly being done by millennials and Gen Z. They're the young parents, the students doing cutting-edge research, the young entrepreneurs with startup ideas. Canada's success depends on their success.

To secure Canada's competitive edge, we need to support and empower tomorrow's problem solvers and make sure every generation reaches their full potential. That's why we're investing in cutting-edge research – to create more good jobs, including in innovation and technology – while making education more affordable.

The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today highlighted an over $4.6 billion package of measures from Budget 2024 to strengthen Canadian research and innovation.

Here's what we're doing:

Providing $2.6 billion in core research grant funding, scholarships, and fellowships to support our researchers and their ground-breaking discoveries:

• This includes $1.8 billion in core research grant funding for a 30 per cent increase over five years of Canada's core research grant programs that support faculty-led research projects. It will indirectly support thousands of graduate student and post-doctoral fellows with their research, including their work on climate action, health emergencies, artificial intelligence, and psychological health.
• And $825 million over five years to the granting councils to increase the annual value of master's and doctoral students' scholarships to $27,000 and $40,000, respectively, and post-doctoral fellowships to $70,000. To make it easier for students and fellows to access support, the enhanced suite of scholarships and fellowship programs will be streamlined into one talent program. This new program will also increase the number of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows benefiting from research scholarships and fellowships by approximately 1,720 each year.
• This funding will also provide $30 million over three years for Indigenous researchers and their communities, which would be distributed with $10 million each for First Nation, Métis, and Inuit partners.
• To provide better co-ordination across the federally funded research ecosystem, we will bring together our three research funding organizations within a single new capstone research funding organization. The granting councils will continue to exist within this new organization, and continue supporting excellence in investigator-driven research, including linkages with the health portfolio.
• Together, these measures will play a critical role in not only supporting Canadian researchers in solving the world's greatest challenges – but building a generation of highly educated, highly skilled individuals as a foundation of Canada's future economic growth and prosperity.

Investing $1.3 billion to keep post-secondary education affordable:

• This funding will extend for an additional year the increase in full-time Canada Student Grants from $3,000 to $4,200 per year, and interest-free Canada Student Loans from $210 to $300 per week. This includes increases to other Canada Student Grants by 40 per cent.
• It will also increase the housing allowances used by the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program when determining financial need, which will provide additional student aid to approximately 79,000 students each year.
• These investments will make sure that our younger generations can access quality post-secondary education at an affordable cost.

Investing $734 million to support Canada's world-leading research infrastructure and institutes:

• Supporting TRIUMF, Canada's sub-atomic physics research laboratory, located at the University of British Columbia. This investment will upgrade infrastructure at the facility, keep Canada at the forefront of physics research, and enable new medical breakthroughs and treatments, from drug development to cancer therapy.
• Investing in CANARIE, a national not-for-profit organization that manages Canada's ultra high-speed network to connect researchers, educators, and innovators.
• Providing funding to Saskatoon-based Canadian Light Source, helping scientists and researchers to continue making breakthroughs in areas ranging from climate-resistant crop development to sustainable mining processes.
• Supporting the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute, headquartered at Queen's University. This funding will help engineers, researchers, and scientists innovate in areas like clean technology and medical imaging.
• Investing in the University of Saskatchewan's Centre for Pandemic Research, advancing the study of high-risk pathogens to support vaccine and therapeutic development.

These investments will unlock and accelerate economic growth for Canada. We're creating opportunities, boosting innovation, and accelerating economic growth – and that's just some of the things that we are proposing in Budget 2024. Alongside these measures, we're building more homes faster, investing in health care, and making life more affordable to make sure every generation can get ahead.

Quotes

"Budget 2024 is about ensuring fairness for the next generation. With these historic investments, we're investing in Canadian students, researchers, and innovators so they can solve the problems of tomorrow. This will unlock massive economic growth and make Canada stronger, fairer, and more prosperous."

— The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

"Our government is securing the future of top-tier research and innovation in Canada by investing in younger generations today. This is about fostering homegrown research talent and encouraging Canadian brainpower to scale-up their innovative ideas in Canada ‒ all as part of our work to help younger generations get ahead."

— The Hon. Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

"Today's research is tomorrow's economy. That's why Budget 2024 supports Canadian researchers at the forefront of discovery and innovation as they continue to position Canada as a global leader in science research. These investments reflect the ambition and vision of our next generation of researchers."

— The Hon. François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry

Quick Facts

• The investment of $1.3 billion for affordable education includes:
• An estimated total cost of $1.1 billion in 2024-25 for the increased student grants and loans, which will be available for the 2024-25 school year.
• An estimated cost of $154.6 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, and $32.3 million per year ongoing to modernize shelter allowances.
• The investment of $734 million for Canada's research infrastructure and institutes includes:
• $399.8 million over five years, starting in 2025-26, for TRIUMF.
• $176 million over five years, starting in 2025-26, for CANARIE.
• $83.5 million over three years, starting in 2026-27, for Canadian Light Source.
• $45.5 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, for the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle Physics Research Institute.
• $30 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, for the University of Saskatchewan's Centre for Pandemic Research at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization.
• Since 2016, the federal government has committed: more than $16 billion to support scientific discovery, develop Canadian research talent, and attract top researchers from around the planet; and over $2 billion to foster growth across Canada's AI ecosystem and digital infrastructure.
• Since 2016, the federal government has supported more than 638,000 post-secondary students per year, on average, with more than $38.4 billion in up-front grants and interest-free loans – enabling young Canadians to pursue their education, regardless of their background. To ensure this support keeps up with the cost of an education, the government permanently increased Canada Student Grants by 50 per cent to $3,000. As outlined above, Budget 2024 announced the government's intention to extend for an additional year the increase in full-time Canada Student Grants from $3,000 to $4,200 per year, and interest-free Canada Student Loans from $210 to $300 per week.
• The Government of Canada's Budget 2024 was tabled in the House of Commons by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on April 16, 2024.
• Budget 2024 investments in Canadian research build on existing federal support, including:
• The Strategic Science Fund, which announced the results of its first competition in December 2023, providing support to 24 third-party science and research organizations starting in 2024-25.
• Canada recently concluded negotiations to be an associate member of Horizon Europe, which would enable Canadians to access a broader range of research opportunities under the European program starting this year.
• The steady increase in federal funding for extramural and intramural science and technology by the government, which was 44 per cent higher in 2023 relative to 2015.
• Budget 2024 also includes a $2.4 billion package of measures to accelerate job growth in Canada's AI sector, boost productivity by helping researchers and businesses develop and adopt AI, and ensure this is done responsibly. Learn more.

Related Products

• Backgrounder: Economic Growth and Productivity
• Backgrounder: Fairness for Younger Generations

Associated Links

• Fairness for Every Generation
• Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation

This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca

SOURCE Prime Minister's Office