QUESTION PERIOD — Innovation, Science and Economic Development
Research Funding
November 15, 2022
My question is for Senator Gold. Health research is the foundation for improved health outcomes for all Canadians, yet our health research ecosystem is in jeopardy. Investment lags significantly behind other OECD countries, and we’re seeing our best and brightest leave Canada for careers elsewhere. For example, the per cent of health spending allocated to research in the U.S. is 4.7%, in Australia 3.3%, in Canada 1.5%.
In the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Spring 2022 Project Grant competition, only 19% of applications were successful — not because they weren’t excellent but because there wasn’t enough funding. In the U.K., the rate was 35%. We’re lagging behind and we can’t continue to do this.
Health care organizations and top-notch researchers have been calling for a doubling of the funding for our Tri-Council. Will the Government of Canada heed this call for urgent action and commit to doubling the current funding to the Tri-Council in the upcoming budget?
Thank you for your question. The government recognizes that investing in research and supporting Canadian researchers is pivotal and vital to address the health issues facing Canadians, and the pandemic through which we are living has reminded us of the importance of having access to solid research evidence.
I note that Budget 2018 provided $354.7 million over five years and $90.1 million per year ongoing for the CIHR, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, to increase its support for fundamental research. The government as well continues to invest in research that’s important to the health of Canadians. Budget 2022 announced $20 million to study long-term effects of COVID infections and wider impacts on health and health care systems, and $20 million as well to increase our knowledge of dementia and brain health that we funded over five years through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Budget 2022 additionally committed to funding important research areas including long-term impacts of COVID-19, to name a few. With these continued investments, the government demonstrates its commitment to supporting a vibrant, equitable and diverse research community to help address the health challenges of today and tomorrow.
According to the International Monetary Fund — and here I want to thank Senator Galvez’s office for the research — in 2019, Canada provided our coal industry subsidies worth over $7 billion. At the same time, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research received about $1.2 billion. This doesn’t make sense.
Masters-level graduate students who work in research labs make about $19,000 a year, and PhD students about $21,000 annually. As you know, the low-income cut-off for a single person in 2021 was just over $24,000. Does the government not think that investing in our best and brightest young researchers is as important as subsidizing our coal industry?
Thank you for the question. Over the last years, as I’ve mentioned, the government has made historical investments toward research. I won’t repeat the figures that I gave before, but in Budget 2018 alone, the government committed nearly $4 billion over five years to support the next generation of Canadian researchers. It’s clearly an important priority for the government.
The government remains committed to strengthening Canadian researchers with resources and strengthened infrastructure and research networks.
