This evening, I am pleased to share good news from this afternoon's federal budget announcement:
Stemming in large part from the framework provided by the Fundamental Science Review, today's budget outlines a multi-year plan for transformational renewal of Canada's research ecosystem.
The renewal is spearheaded by an increase of $1.22B in funding over five years for the Tri-Council Agencies, including $275M in a new fund for international, multidisciplinary, and fast-breaking research. In addition, these investments in fundamental research are backed by stabilizing funding for research infrastructure through the Canada Foundation for Innovation ($763M over five years).
Also of note for our community is an increase of $210M over five years for the Canada Research Chairs Program - new investment intended to support early-career researchers that aligns with our faculty renewal goals at the
U of A.
On behalf of the University of Alberta, I want to thank The Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science, for commissioning the Fundamental Science Review - it provided the template for today's investments - as well as The Honourable Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance. I would also like to extend our thanks to colleagues across our campuses and at institutions across Canada for their strong advocacy efforts over the last several months.
We will continue to assess the full implications of the budget and provide a more detailed assessment in the days ahead.
David H. Turpin
President and Vice-Chancellor
Read more:
- Universities Canada: Budget 2018 makes historic investment in Canada's research future
- U15: Significant Investments in Budget 2018 will Revitalize Canadian Scientific Research
- Government of Canada: Budget 2018