The Interim CEO and President of Universities Canada, Philip Landon, emphasises that research has a transformative effect on economies and societies, and Canada needs more of it
The rapid development of the mRNA vaccine in 2021 saved millions of lives. The development of technology behind it, the technique to deliver mRNA to human cells, however, began nearly fifty years ago.
“If we hadn’t known what we knew about the lipids in biological membranes we’d never have been able to design the right sort of systems for delivering the messenger RNA or enabling the COVID-19 vaccines,” (1) says Dr Pieter Cullis of the University of British Columbia, whose nanomedicine research played a crucial role in developing the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
Fundamental research: The anchor of innovation
Fundamental research, which aims to advance knowledge without a specific real-world application in mind, is the anchor of innovation in Canada and all advanced economies. The pandemic revealed how fundamental scientific research can lead to transformative – and in this case, life-saving – discoveries.
When Dr Cullis first started to study lipid membranes in cells, he had no idea he would discover a revolutionary new way to deliver vaccines and other therapeutics. Thankfully, prior investments in fundamental research allowed him the freedom to pursue this exploration and lay the foundations for an effective vaccine against COVID-19.
New technologies like this do not appear out of the blue. It takes years – sometimes spanning generations – of exploration, trial, and error to make a new discovery. When a discovery is made, however, it can transform the ways we live and save lives.
Countries that advance in emerging fields, such as artificial intelligence or clean energy, will also reap economic rewards for decades into the future. Knowing what is at stake, countries worldwide are deepening their research investments like never before.
Investing in fundamental research
Investing in fundamental Canadian research is also crucial to ensure we have a highly skilled, adaptable, and resilient workforce for the economy of the twenty-first century. As Canada’s economy evolves, economists predict as many as 400,000 new jobs will be added in fields that demand enhanced skills.
As early as 2025, the country could be short of 27,000 environmental workers, including engineers, physical scientists, and analysts, many of whom receive their training in labs and libraries supported by fundamental research funding.
In 2022, around 9,639 researchers completed their doctoral studies in Canada. These researchers are the next generation of innovators across academia and Canadian industry. It should alarm every Canadian that up to 40% of these researchers will leave Canada for opportunities abroad after their studies. There is a need for strong Canadian research talent; otherwise the country will struggle to meet its ambitious goals without it.
Urgently investing in Canadian research
The core funding for Canada’s federal research granting agencies is drying up, while grants for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in Canada have not increased in over twenty years, losing more than half of their value to inflation. Fundamental research grants administered through Canada’s federal granting agencies have also lost value to inflation, and the lack of renewed federal investment means the agency budgets are strapped more than ever.
To top it off, Canada’s private sector, which conducts about half of the total research in Canada, has invested less in Canada’s overall R&D capacity than other countries. Canada now faces a severe talent crunch in its research community.
Meanwhile, the United States is doubling down on its research investments, including announcing a remarkable $200 billion investment in science in 2022. Canada must make broad investments to attract and retain research talent, or else we risk losing our brightest minds to south of the border.
Earlier this year, the Government of Canada’s own Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Ecosystem revealed that Canada has systematically underinvested in research, resulting in dire consequences for our economy and our future. To turn things around, Canada must make urgent investments in support of fundamental research, including interdisciplinary, collaborative, and mission-driven projects. Canada’s future prosperity depends on it.
