VICTORIA, BC, April 19,
2024 /CNW/ - Gen Z and millennials are the
engine of our economy. Everything that is created, built, served,
and sold in Canada is increasingly
being done by millennials and Gen Z. They're the young parents, the
students doing cutting-edge research, the young entrepreneurs with
startup ideas. Canada's success
depends on their success.
To secure Canada's competitive
edge, we need to support and empower tomorrow's problem solvers and
make sure every generation reaches their full potential. That's why
we're investing in cutting-edge research – to create more good
jobs, including in innovation and technology – while making
education more affordable.
The Prime Minister, Justin
Trudeau, today highlighted an over $4.6 billion package of measures from
Budget 2024 to strengthen Canadian research and innovation.
Here's what we're doing:
Providing $2.6 billion in
core research grant funding, scholarships, and fellowships to
support our researchers and their ground-breaking
discoveries:
- This includes $1.8 billion in
core research grant funding for a 30 per cent increase over five
years of Canada's core research
grant programs that support faculty-led research projects. It will
indirectly support thousands of graduate student and post-doctoral
fellows with their research, including their work on climate
action, health emergencies, artificial intelligence, and
psychological health.
- And $825 million over five years
to the granting councils to increase the annual value of master's
and doctoral students' scholarships to $27,000 and $40,000, respectively, and post-doctoral
fellowships to $70,000. To make it
easier for students and fellows to access support, the enhanced
suite of scholarships and fellowship programs will be streamlined
into one talent program. This new program will also increase the
number of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows benefiting
from research scholarships and fellowships by approximately 1,720
each year.
- This funding will also provide $30
million over three years for Indigenous researchers and
their communities, which would be distributed with $10 million each for First Nation, Métis,
and Inuit partners.
- To provide better co-ordination across the federally funded
research ecosystem, we will bring together our three research
funding organizations within a single new capstone research funding
organization. The granting councils will continue to exist within
this new organization, and continue supporting excellence in
investigator-driven research, including linkages with the health
portfolio.
- Together, these measures will play a critical role in not only
supporting Canadian researchers in solving the world's greatest
challenges – but building a generation of highly educated, highly
skilled individuals as a foundation of Canada's future economic growth and
prosperity.
Investing $1.3 billion to
keep post-secondary education affordable:
- This funding will extend for an additional year the increase in
full-time Canada Student Grants from $3,000 to $4,200
per year, and interest-free Canada Student Loans from $210 to $300 per
week. This includes increases to other Canada Student Grants by 40
per cent.
- It will also increase the housing allowances used by the Canada
Student Financial Assistance Program when determining financial
need, which will provide additional student aid to approximately
79,000 students each year.
- These investments will make sure that our younger generations
can access quality post-secondary education at an affordable
cost.
Investing $734 million to support Canada's world-leading research infrastructure
and institutes:
- Supporting TRIUMF, Canada's sub-atomic physics research
laboratory, located at the University of
British Columbia. This investment will upgrade
infrastructure at the facility, keep Canada at the forefront of physics research,
and enable new medical breakthroughs and treatments, from drug
development to cancer therapy.
- Investing in CANARIE, a national not-for-profit
organization that manages Canada's
ultra high-speed network to connect researchers, educators, and
innovators.
- Providing funding to Saskatoon-based Canadian Light Source, helping
scientists and researchers to continue making breakthroughs in
areas ranging from climate-resistant crop development to
sustainable mining processes.
- Supporting the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian Astroparticle
Physics Research Institute, headquartered at Queen's University.
This funding will help engineers, researchers, and scientists
innovate in areas like clean technology and medical imaging.
- Investing in the University of
Saskatchewan's Centre for Pandemic Research, advancing the
study of high-risk pathogens to support vaccine and therapeutic
development.
These investments will unlock and accelerate economic growth for
Canada. We're creating
opportunities, boosting innovation, and accelerating economic
growth – and that's just some of the things that we are proposing
in Budget 2024. Alongside these measures, we're building more homes
faster, investing in health care, and making life more affordable
to make sure every generation can get ahead.
Quotes
"Budget 2024 is about ensuring fairness for the
next generation. With these historic investments, we're investing
in Canadian students, researchers, and innovators so they can solve
the problems of tomorrow. This will unlock massive economic growth
and make Canada stronger, fairer,
and more prosperous."
— The Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau,
Prime Minister of Canada
"Our government is securing the future of top-tier research and
innovation in Canada by investing
in younger generations today. This is about fostering homegrown
research talent and encouraging Canadian brainpower to scale-up
their innovative ideas in Canada ‒
all as part of our work to help younger generations get ahead."
— The Hon. Chrystia
Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance
"Today's research is tomorrow's economy. That's why Budget 2024
supports Canadian researchers at the forefront of discovery and
innovation as they continue to position Canada as a global leader in science research.
These investments reflect the ambition and vision of our next
generation of researchers."
— The Hon. François-Philippe
Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry
Quick Facts
- The investment of $1.3 billion
for affordable education includes:
-
- An estimated total cost of $1.1 billion in 2024-25 for the increased
student grants and loans, which will be available for the 2024-25
school year.
- An estimated cost of $154.6
million over five years, starting in 2024-25, and
$32.3 million per year ongoing to
modernize shelter allowances.
- The investment of $734 million
for Canada's research
infrastructure and institutes includes:
-
- $399.8 million over five
years, starting in 2025-26, for TRIUMF.
- $176 million over five years, starting in 2025-26, for
CANARIE.
- $83.5 million over three
years, starting in 2026-27, for Canadian Light Source.
- $45.5 million over five
years, starting in 2024-25, for the Arthur B. McDonald Canadian
Astroparticle Physics Research Institute.
- $30 million over three years, starting in 2024-25, for the
University of Saskatchewan's Centre for
Pandemic Research at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease
Organization.
- Since 2016, the federal government has committed: more than
$16 billion to support scientific discovery, develop Canadian
research talent, and attract top researchers from around the
planet; and over $2 billion to foster growth across
Canada's AI ecosystem and digital
infrastructure.
- Since 2016, the federal government has supported more than
638,000 post-secondary students per year, on average, with more
than $38.4 billion in up-front
grants and interest-free loans – enabling young Canadians to pursue
their education, regardless of their background. To ensure this
support keeps up with the cost of an education, the government
permanently increased Canada Student Grants by 50 per cent to
$3,000. As outlined above, Budget
2024 announced the government's intention to extend for an
additional year the increase in full-time Canada Student Grants
from $3,000 to $4,200 per year, and interest-free Canada Student
Loans from $210 to $300 per week.
- The Government of Canada's
Budget 2024 was tabled in the House of Commons by the Deputy
Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on April 16, 2024.
- Budget 2024 investments in Canadian research build on
existing federal support, including:
-
- The Strategic Science Fund, which announced the results of its
first competition in December 2023,
providing support to 24 third-party science and research
organizations starting in 2024-25.
- Canada recently concluded
negotiations to be an associate member of Horizon Europe, which
would enable Canadians to access a broader range of research
opportunities under the European program starting this year.
- The steady increase in federal funding for extramural and
intramural science and technology by the government, which was 44
per cent higher in 2023 relative to 2015.
- Budget 2024 also includes a $2.4 billion package of measures to
accelerate job growth in Canada's
AI sector, boost productivity by helping researchers and businesses
develop and adopt AI, and ensure this is done
responsibly. Learn more.
Related Products
- Backgrounder: Economic Growth and Productivity
- Backgrounder: Fairness for Younger Generations
Associated Links
- Fairness for Every Generation
- Budget 2024: Fairness for Every Generation
This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca
SOURCE Prime Minister's Office