
2018 Federal Budget Highlights
“The Government currently supports business of all types and sizes through a vast and complicated array of programming.”
- A program review took place across 20 federal departments and agencies, making the review the first effort to date to review the entire business innovation program suite
- Government is proposing historic reform of business innovation programs to create a suite of programs that is easy to navigate
- There will be an attempt to consolidate existing innovation programs from 92 in total into 30 larger programs
- Over the next one to two years, changes will be managed to minimize disruption
- Implementation details will follow, with some elements coming online quickly and others requiring a more fundamental structural changes to be implemented at a more measured pace
- All filed applications will be honoured, with all current programs remaining in place until further details are announced
- $3M per year in new funding for 15 new Innovation Advisors to support high potential firms
- Overall government funding for innovation will increase
Four Flagship Platforms will deliver innovation funding:
- Industrial Research Assistance Program
- $700M over 5 years to IRAP, application threshold increased from $1M to $10M
- Strategic Innovation Fund ($1.2 Billion)
- Strategic Innovation Fund will move away from small project funding and just support projects greater than $10M
- Consolidate Centres of Excellence under Strategic Innovation Fund
- Canadian Trade Commissioner Service
- Regional Development Agencies (WED, FedNor, FedDev, ACOA, & CNEDA)
- $920M over 6 years directly to FedDev for Southern Ontario
- $806M over 5 years to support Innovation and Skills Plan
- $105M nationally coordinated, regionally delivered Women Entrepreneurship Strategy
- $35M in Western Canada and Atlantic Canada to transition to low-carbon economy
Labour Market Programs:
- $448.5M over 5 years to the Youth Employment Strategy. A renewed Youth Employment Strategy will be announced over the course of the next year
- $2.7 Billion over 6 years in Labour Market Transfer Agreements with provinces – Employment Programs to help Canadians prepare, find and advance in, and keep good jobs
- $46M in Pre-Apprenticeship Program over 5 years
Research Funding:
- $763M over 5 years to Canada Foundation for Innovation to provide tools to researchers & Consolidate program under the following programs:
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Council (NSERC)
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Program Performance Evaluations
- $1M per year to statistics Canada to improve performance evaluations for innovation-related programs
- $2M per year to the Treasury Board Secretariat to establish central performance valuation team to undertake innovation performance evaluations on an ongoing basis