David Naylor is president emeritus of the University of Toronto. He has served on federal panels addressing funding and governance of support for extramural academic research and industrial research and development.
Two days later, Tej Parikh at Britain’s Financial Times weighed in. Before joining FT as an editorialist, Mr. Parikh was chief economist at Britain’s Institute of Directors and lead economist at Fitch Ratings, a competitor with Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s. The headline and subhead of his commentary speak volumes: “Why isn’t Canada an economic giant? The North American nation has vast potential, yet underperforms on the global stage.
Accordingly, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Chrétien government engaged in a substantive dialogue with universities about their role in catalyzing a more diversified and innovative economy. The result was a series of major investments by the federal government commonly referred to as the Innovation Agenda.
During the fiscal crisis of 2008-09, the capital needs of universities and colleges were included in stimulus spending with some welcome refurbishment of research facilities. But otherwise, there was little growth in operating or personnel funding for independent research. Younger researchers were squeezed hardest. However, there was growing concern and frustration throughout Canada’s scientific and scholarly community.
Nonetheless, the 2018 budget provided a meaningful multiyear lift for countless researchers at different career stages. Since then, the world has been through a terrible pandemic where research played a crucial role in containing the toll of COVID-19.
It’s not because of the lack of hours worked; Canadians work longer hours than citizens in many other countries. We need to work smarter, and that depends heavily on business leadership. It means that businesses must invest in new and more efficient equipment and in employee training, and create or adopt innovative processes that enhance the production and delivery of goods and services.
Considering these woeful numbers, it’s pretty clear that Canada’s challenges lie more with demand for research ideas and for research-savvy personnel than on the supply side, except insofar as funding shortfalls limit output. Other data shred the mythology that universities and colleges are inhospitable places for partnerships with industry.