Spending on research and development in the higher education sector, 2022/2023
Released: 2024-11-01
$18.1 billion
2022/2023
8.7% 
(annual change)
Research and development (R&D) spending in the higher education sector reached $18.1 billion in 2022/2023, up $1.4 billion from the previous year, with notable increases seen in both fields of research. The natural sciences and engineering field saw the largest gain as spending increased by $1.1 billion to $13.6 billion. Meanwhile, social sciences, humanities and the arts rose by $376 million to $4.5 billion.
Research and development spending up across all funding sectors
R&D in the higher education sector is funded through multiple channels. These include business enterprises, the foreign sector, private non-profit organizations, provincial governments, the federal government and higher education institutions themselves.
The increase in R&D expenditures in 2022/2023 spanned all six funding sectors, marking the first occurrence of widespread growth since 2019/2020. In 2022/2023, the largest increase in funding occurred in the higher education sector itself (+$565 million to $8.9 billion), followed by funding from the private non-profit sector (+$349 million to $2.1 billion).
In 2022/2023, funding from the federal government (+$221 million to $4.3 billion) was also notable as it rebounded following a decrease in the previous year.
Chart 1
Higher education research and development expenditures by funding sector, 2012/2013 to 2022/2023
Ontario sees the largest growth in research and development spending
R&D spending plays a pivotal role in shaping regional innovation ecosystems often with significant impacts on local economies.
Regionally, the largest increase in R&D spending in 2022/2023 was seen in Ontario (+$683 million to $7.3 billion), followed by Quebec (+$291 million to $4.7 billion) and Alberta (+$147 million to $1.9 billion).
Together, Ontario (40.4%) and Quebec (26.2%) accounted for most of the R&D expenditures in 2022/2023.
Canada's research and development intensity continues to outrank the G7 average
Globally, Canada's higher education R&D intensity continued to rank above the average of the G7 countries in 2022/2023. Measured as the ratio of R&D expenditures relative to the nominal gross domestic product, higher education R&D intensity for Canada declined from 0.66 in 2021/2022 to 0.64 in 2022/2023.
Chart 2
Higher education research and development intensity comparisons across G7 countries, 2020 to 2022
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Note to readers
Concepts for expenditures on research and development in the higher education sector
The higher education sector is composed of all universities, colleges of technology, and other institutions that provide formal tertiary education programs, as well as all research institutes and centres, experimental stations, and clinics that are operated under the direct control of higher education institutions.
Higher education research and development (HERD) is a large component of Canada's overall gross expenditures on research and development (R&D). Science and technology (S&T) activities conducted by higher education institutions produce knowledge that seeds innovations in the other performing sectors of the economy. Moreover, HERD spending increases the capacity of S&T activities that researchers are able to perform in all sectors of the Canadian economy.
Total expenditures on R&D are classified into two fields of science: natural sciences and engineering and social sciences, humanities and the arts.
There are six funding sources for R&D expenditures in the higher education sector: business enterprises, private non-profit organizations, the federal government, provincial governments, the foreign sector and internal funding from the higher education sector.
The R&D intensity of a country is the ratio of R&D expenditures to gross domestic product (GDP). This can also be calculated for the sectors of a country's economy. This indicator facilitates comparisons both over time and between countries.
To better understand the concepts and definitions relating to R&D expenditures in the higher education sector, please consult the Frascati Manual 2015: Guidelines for Collecting and Reporting Data on Research and Experimental Development, The Measurement of Scientific, Technological and Innovation Activities, OECD Publishing, Paris.
References
Main Science and Technology Indicators (MSTI database). (2024). On this page, under "Related files," download the Excel Workbook and search for "HERD as a percentage of GDP" in the "List of tables" tab.
Contact information
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