OTTAWA, February 11, 2014 — “The U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities wholeheartedly congratulates the Government of Canada on its 2014 budget and the significant investment of $1.5 billion over 10 years for the new Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
“The dramatic investment in research excellence this budget contains is the first step to ensure Canadian universities can attract and develop top domestic and international talent. This will enable us to make new discoveries we will mobilize for the benefit of all Canadians, strengthen regional and national economies and increase our country’s innovative capacity,” said U15 Chair Amit Chakma.
“We in the U15, and our colleagues in the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC) look forward to working with the federal government to finalize the details of this initiative so Canada can begin realizing the returns from this investment as soon as possible. The U15 also applauds the government’s investment of $46 million in new money for the Tri-Council granting agencies, starting in 2014, $224 million for TRIUMF, $15 million over three years for the Institute of Quantum Computing (IQC) and $8 million for Mitacs Industrial R&D fellowships.”
Budget 2014’s major investment in research excellence builds on recent government announcements, including the International Education Strategy, Canada’s Space Policy and the First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act.
“Since 2013, Canada’s research-intensive universities have been speaking with government about ways to ensure Canada continues to reap the benefits of world-class research excellence and build a stronger, more innovative country,” says Dr. Chakma. “Today marks the fruition of those efforts and the beginning of the next phase of work and collaboration with the federal government. I would like to thank my colleagues from across the university community for their work on this initiative. We look forward to the tasks ahead.”