Thank you for your kind introduction and for inviting me to join you today.
It is great to see so many great thinkers and advocates of innovation policy together at this conference. I salute the conference organizers and the regional leadership who are making this important dialogue possible.
Leadership in innovation: It is a subject that I care passionately about. As the Minister of State for Science and Technology, it has been my privilege to meet with many leaders in innovation—both domestically and internationally. As a result, I have had the opportunity to deepen my appreciation of Canadian research and innovation from an international point of view. Time and again, I hear of the high praise and esteem for Canada and our researchers.
Canada's story is a promising one. In recent years, our country has built a strong reputation for its competent economic management and solid fiscal fundamentals. We weathered the recession successfully thanks to our Economic Action Plan and its significant investments in our innovation capacity, including the Knowledge Infrastructure Program and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). Our financial institutions performed well during this period. And this has not gone unnoticed. In 2011, for instance, Forbes ranked Canada the number one country in which to do business. Today, unemployment stands at 7.2 percent. Canada's economy has created almost 900,000 net new jobs since July 2009, more than 465,000 above its pre-recession peak. In sum, our economy has held up better than most.
The Harper Government is building Canada's capacity in science, technology and innovation. We are focused on creating a 21st-century knowledge economy that meets our citizens' needs and gives them the freedom and opportunity to excel in a low tax environment.
Innovation is a complex economic process. You know as well as I that it is more than a linear, cause-and-effect development of ideas into products. And understanding impediments to innovation requires an understanding of what's going on in business, post-secondary institutions and government. It requires knowing what's going on in the entire innovation system.
In 2007, our government introduced Canada's S&T strategy, which set out a long-term, multi-year framework to advance Canada's people, knowledge and entrepreneurial advantages. Through this strategy, we are redefining the way governments, business people and the research community band together to drive economic activity through science and technology.
The fact is that, since this strategy was introduced in 2007, our government has invested more than $9 billion in new funding to support science, technology and the growth of innovative firms. And it is no coincidence that the OECD ranks Canada number one among G7 nations for its higher-education research spending intensity.
This is backed up by the Council of Canadian Academies' recent report, which said Canadian S&T is “healthy and growing.” Authors of the world's top-cited scientific papers were surveyed for the report, and they ranked Canada's S&T as fourth in the world, in the same breath as the U.S., the U.K. and Germany. That is not fourth on a per capita basis or as a proportion of GDP. It is an absolute score.
Clearly, the scope of our scientific expertise is commanding the attention of the international community. Over the past decade, we have seen a net migration of researchers into the country. No doubt this is due in part to the tremendous opportunities for scientists and entrepreneurs to carry out their work in Canada. And with two Canada Excellence Research Chairs—Dr. Cory (Quantum Information Processing) and Dr. Van Cappellen (Ecohydrology)—much of that great work is taking place right here at the University of Waterloo.
Now, while discovery-driven basic research remains essential to our government's approach, we also believe in the transformative potential of science and technology in the marketplace. That is why, a few years ago, we commissioned the Expert Panel on Federal Support to Research and Development, chaired by Tom Jenkins.
Tom and his team were asked to provide advice on maximizing the effectiveness of federal support for business R&D and subsequently recommended a number of measures.
Economic Action Plan 2012 began to address many of those recommendations—for example, expanding the Industrial Research Assistance Program, transforming the National Research Council of Canada, promoting innovation through government procurement, streamlining the SR&ED tax credit and, of course, improving access to venture capital.
Promoting a more innovative economy means providing businesses with the resources and environment needed to grow. That's why we announced $400 million to increase investment in early-stage risk capital and support the creation of large-scale venture capital funds. And through Economic Action Plan 2013, we're providing $60 million to support incubator and accelerator organizations to increase their services to entrepreneurs.
Here in southern Ontario, we are seeing some great results from FedDev—the agency we created in 2009 to support economic growth in the region. Under its Southern Ontario Advantage initiatives, FedDev has committed over $420 million in funding to promising innovative projects. It has partnered with more than 5,000 organizations. And its initiatives have leveraged over $1.2 billion in additional investments—almost exclusively from non-government sources.
And to further expand access to capital, the agency is helping to stimulate private sector investments. As of last month, $196 million in angel and venture capital had been leveraged for 86 high-growth start-ups in southern Ontario. These companies are getting access to critical early-stage capital. They have access to the investor expertise they need to develop and commercialize their technologies. And with the help of these FedDev initiatives, the number of angel investors in southern Ontario is expected to increase from 250 in 2009 to 825 by next year—tripling in less than five years.
And I'm sure you're thrilled—as I am—to hear that the agency's results to date have been recognized, with renewed five-year funding starting in 2014. We do not intend to rest on our laurels. FedDev Ontario will continue to foster a culture of innovation in the Region of Waterloo and throughout southern Ontario over the coming years.
The fact is, innovative, growth-oriented businesses are vital to Canada's prosperity. I know that. You all know that. And I know Mike Lazaridis and Doug Fregin certainly do. Through their new Quantum Valley Investment Fund—and in so many other ways—they are nurturing the great promises for our future.
Ladies and gentlemen, our government gets it. We understand Canada's long-term economic growth will be driven in large measure by science and innovation. A successful innovation system requires a mix of complementary elements. R&D spending is only one of several inputs. Government's role is to establish policies and frameworks that provide the climate for private sector competition and investment. We need to encourage business strategies, improve the climate for new ventures to better commercialize university research, support areas of strength and encourage public-private research collaboration.
And we are doing just that—focusing on the conditions necessary for a healthy innovation system.
Unifying these principles is, of course, partnerships. More than ever before, successful innovations come from companies involved in partnership arrangements, whether with other firms or with knowledge institutions, which have emerged as hubs of innovation. You couldn't say that 40 or 50 years ago, when innovations generally came from big firms acting on their own.
This region—known as Quantum Valley—is a model of leadership, supporting advanced research, bringing companies together, creating a supportive climate for start-ups and attracting world-class expertise.
Now, and even more so in the future, successful economies are defined by a spirit of partnership. We all have a role to play in that, and our government looks forward to working with you. Thank you.
