Highlights

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

Spending on research and development in the higher education sector 2008/2009

The higher education sector comprised of institutions such as universities and affiliated research hospitals, experimental stations and clinics, spent $10.9 billion on research and development (R&D) in 2008/2009, up 7.3% from 2007/2008 (table 1).

When adjusted for inflation, spending reached $9.0 billion in 2002 constant dollars, up 3.2% from the previous year (table 1).

Higher education institutions continued as the leading source of funding for their R&D performance, providing $5.1 billion or 46% of total funding in 2008/2009 while the federal government remained the second largest contributor at $2.8 billion or 26% of total funding (table 1).

Spending on higher education R&D in the natural sciences and engineering (including health sciences) was $8.7 billion, up 7.3% from 2007/2008 (tables 6, 7). In the social sciences and humanities R&D spending increased 7.4% to $2.2 billion (table 5).

Roughly two-thirds (67%) of R&D spending in the higher education sector took place in Ontario and Quebec (table 3), the two provinces with the highest concentration of universities and research hospitals.