The federal budget was announced earlier today.
“The investments announced today —and taken together, they are significant and represent the largest increase in funding through the granting councils in a decade— will lead to crucial research advances to address challenges to Canadian society, as well as equip graduates with the critical thinking and creative skills needed to contribute to the knowledge society," stated Antonia Maioni, President of the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.
Read the Federation's media release here.
Briefly, highlights in the budget include (text taken from the Budget Plan):
- Creating the new Canada First Research Excellence Fund with $1.5 billion in funding over the next decade to help Canadian post-secondary institutions excel globally in research areas that create long-term economic advantages for Canada.
- Providing new funding of $46 million per year for the granting councils to support advanced research and scientific discoveries, including the indirect costs of research.
- $8 million over two years to Mitacs to expand its support for industrial research and training of postdoctoral fellows.
- Federal funding for Mitacs programs will also be made available to eligible not-for-profit organizations with an economic orientation, in addition to currently eligible industrial partners.
- $10 million over two years in support of social innovation research projects at colleges and polytechnics.
- $3 million over three years to the Canadian Digital Media Network for the creation of the Open Data Institute, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
- Economic Action Plan 2014 announces the Government’s intention to refocus its Atlantic Canada-based innovation programs.
- Providing an additional $500 million over two years to the Automotive Innovation Fund, to support significant new strategic research and development projects and long-term investments in the Canadian automotive sector.
- Economic Action Plan 2014 confirms significant new investments to support the implementation of a First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act.
- $305 million over five years to extend and enhance access to high-speed broadband networks to a target speed of 5 megabits per second for up to an additional 280,000 Canadian households.