Research and Development Funding

Spending on research and development has increased by more than two-thirds in the Maritime provinces over a 10-year period ending in 2004, the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission announced today, June 21.

The commission has released statistics on research and development funding in each Maritime province and university. The data updates the report, R and D Funding in Atlantic Universities, released in 2005.

The tables are available for download from the commission's website, www.mphec.ca , and include statistics on gross domestic expenditure on research and development, research and development expenditure in the higher-education and business-enterprise sectors, and research and development income from the three granting councils, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canada Research Chairs Program, and provincial governments.

Between 1995 and 2004, expenditures on research and development in the Maritimes increased by 68 per cent to $708 million from $421 million. Expenditures increased $38 million from 2003.

Of the $708 million, Nova Scotia at $446 million accounted for nearly two-thirds of that total, followed by New Brunswick at $222 million and Prince Edward Island at $40 million.

In the Maritimes, the higher-education sector has a greater proportion of research and development funding than the national average, but business enterprise expenditures lag.