Statistics Canada conducts yearly surveys to determine the levels of Canadian R&D. These data are broken down by type of funder of the R&D activities as well as by performing sector.
Growth in inflation adjusted R&D expenditures in Canada have been trending upwards over the 2010-2018 period, and while 2019 saw a decline in expenditures, the reported planned spending for 2020 (in nominal dollars) would have seen inflation adjusted values slightly increase over the 2019 levels. Figures below display the anticipated 2020 pre-pandemic distributions for both funding sources and performers of R&D activities.
Two things are evident from the statistics in these Figures. First, the business enterprise sector is the largest funder and performer of natural science and engineering related R&D activities in Canada. Second, the higher education sector is the second largest performer of natural science and engineering R&D. The distribution across groups is consistent with the previous year’s patterns.
Data Source: Statistics Canada. Table 27-10-0273-01 Gross domestic expenditures on research and development, by science type and by funder and performer sector (x 1,000,000)
