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Highlights

1. In 2007, firms performing research and development (R&D) dedicated $15.8 billion to industrial R&D spending up from $15.4 billion the previous year. Reported growth in R&D expenditures between 2005 and 2006 was flat while the estimated growth between 2006 and 2007 was 2.7% (Table 1-1  Total intramural research and development expenditures – By industry).
2. The six leading industries performing R&D in 2007 continued to be information and cultural industries ($1.7 billion), communications equipment ($1.4 billion), scientific research and development (1.3 billion), computer system design and related services (1.3 billion), pharmaceutical and medicine ($1.1 billion), and aerospace products and parts ($1.0 billion). Together these industries represent half (49.5%) of industrial R&D expenditures (Table 1-1  Total intramural research and development expenditures – By industry).
3. Industrial R&D expenditures related to health showed almost no growth, an estimated $1.8 billion for 2007. R&D expenditures in the information communication technologies (ICT) industries showed modest growth attaining an estimated $6 billion (Table 1-2  Total intramural research and development expenditures – In the pharmaceutical and medicine industries and Table 2  Research and development expenditures and personnel in information and communications technology).
4. R&D expenditures by ICT industries from 2002 to 2007 represent four out of every 10 dollars spent on industrial R&D in Canada down from the high of five out of every 10 dollars in 2000 (Table 2  Research and development expenditures and personnel in information and communications technology).
5. R&D activities provided employment to 137,686 full-time equivalents in 2005, up (8.9%) from 126,431 in 2003. Scientists and engineers accounted for 81,955 full-time jobs or 60% of the R&D personnel. Technicians, administrators and support staff comprised the remaining 55,731 full-time equivalents (Table 4  Number of full time equivalent personnel engaged in research and development, by occupational category and by degree level).
6. The four most important provincial contributors to gross domestic product are the provinces in which the highest levels of industrial R&D spending occur. The largest amount spent on R&D by industry occurred in Ontario ($8.0 billion or 52%) followed by Québec ($4.2 billion or 27%), British Columbia ($1.5 billion or 9%) and Alberta ($1.1 billion or 7%) (Table 1-3  Total intramural research and development expenditures – By provinces).
7. R&D performers in Canada continued to allocate the most important share of their research and development dollars to new ($5.7 billion or 40%) and improved ($3.2 billion or 22%) product development while basic research was allocated 4% of industrial R&D dollars attaining $0.6 billion in 2005 (Table 5  Distribution of current intramural research and development expenditures by type of activity).