The Current State of Health Research and Innovation in Canada
COVID-19 has showcased the strength of Canada’s health research and innovation ecosystem and the vital role it plays in our ability to protect and improve the health and wellbeing of all of the people of Canada, both in relation to pandemics like our current one and the myriad of health concerns that we continue to face every day across the country. While investments made in recent years—including throughout the pandemic—have been helping get us through COVID-19, the pandemic has also shed light on the dire consequences of an underfunded health research and innovation ecosystem.
Health research is a top priority for Canadians. A robust health research and innovation ecosystem is key to ensuring that Canada is prepared for future health crises and to protecting our future health security, social wellbeing and economic prosperity.
Canada at the international table
Source: Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Gross domestic spending on R&D
Supporting Canada’s health researchers and innovators
Both priority-driven and investigator-led research are critical elements of a dynamic and robust research ecosystem. Since 2000, support for priority-driven and patient-oriented research has steadily increased among the tri-councils, but these investments have not been matched with adequate growth in investigator-led funding for Canada’s frontline scientists,[2] leaving many researchers in Canada struggling to find funding for the health research projects that can lead to innovative health solutions. To illustrate, granting success rates at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) have declined from nearly 42% in 2000 to just 18% in 2021.[3] Bolstering support for investigator-led research is essential to redress the previous funding imbalance and promote an innovative health research ecosystem.
Doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows are integral to the advancement of health research and innovation in Canada. Federally-administered core graduate awards set a bar for Canada’s funding and quality of trainees. The number of federally-administered core graduate awards, however, has not increased since 2007, despite major increases in graduate and fellowship enrollments,[4] and early-career investigators have seen a similar drop in their success of obtaining CIHR project grants.[5] Moreover, while Budget 2019 did include additional funding for fellowships and scholarships, the value was insufficient for the system’s needs and it failed to include post-doctoral fellows as the beneficiaries of this investment. Direct enhancements to these federal awards will realize multiple returns, sending the message that Canada values and supports health research trainees.
Source: Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Funding for Canadian health research and innovation
Canada spends only 1.5% of total public expenditures on health to fund health research.
Source: Canadian Institute for Health Information. National Health Expenditure Trends, 1975-2020
Funding for Canadian health research and innovation – continued
Compared to our research hospitals and health and biosciences companies, Canada spends very little of public expenditures on health to fund health research.
Federal and provincial/territorial governments spend1.5%
of total health expenditures on health research.
Canada’s top 40 research hospitals spend a median of6.8%
of total hospital spending on health research.
The pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies on Canada’s top 100 Corporate R&D spenders spend a median of10.1%
of total revenues on R&D.
Many of Research Canada’s Members, Supporters and Partners are among the top research hospitals and health and biosciences companies supporting health research and the development of innovative health products.
Sources: Research Infosource Inc. Canada’s Top 40 Research Hospitals 2020 and Canada’s Top 100 Corporate R&D Spenders 2020; Canadian Institute for Health Information. National Health Expenditure Trends, 1975 to 2020
Into the Future
Further efforts are sorely needed to ensure Canada reverses its previous course, propelling Canadian health research and innovation into a globally competitive space.
[1] Statistics Canada. Table 27-10-0025-01 Provincial estimates of research and development expenditures in the higher education sector, by funding sector and type of science
[2] Advisory Panel on Federal Support for Fundamental Science. Investing in Canada’s Future: Strengthening the Foundations of Canadian Research. (Government of Canada, 2017).
[3] Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Project Grant: Fall 2020 Results. https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/52355.html
[4] Advisory Panel on Federal Support for Fundamental Science. Investing in Canada’s Future: Strengthening the Foundations of Canadian Research. (Government of Canada, 2017).
[5] Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Project Grant: Fall 2020 Results. https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/52355.html
