Science and Research Committee on Oct. 29th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

I call this meeting to order.

Welcome to meeting number 12 of the Standing Committee on Science and Research. The committee is meeting to study the private sector investment in research and development in Canada.

I would like to make a few comments for the benefit of the witnesses and all the members. Please wait until I recognize you by name before speaking. For those participating by video conference, click on the microphone icon to activate your microphone, and please mute yourself when you are not speaking. For those on Zoom, at the bottom of your screen you can select the appropriate channel for interpretation: floor, English or French. I will remind you that all comments should be addressed through the chair.

I would like to welcome our two witnesses for today's first panel.

We are joined by Michael McDonald, vice-president of external and member relations at Colleges and Institutes Canada, and also by Dugan O'Neil, vice-president of research and innovation at Simon Fraser University, who is joining us by video conference.

Welcome to both of our witnesses.

Each witness will have five minutes for opening remarks. After that, we will go to rounds of questions.

Before we begin, MP Baldinelli would like to say something.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

It's just routine House measures that I'd like to introduce. All the whips have agreed on wording for the addition of “associate members”. I'd like to seek unanimous consent that this occur.

The whips have all agreed to this. The wording is this:

That, notwithstanding the usual practices of the committee concerning access to and distribution of documents,

a. up to three associate members of the committee per party be authorized to receive the notices of meetings and notices of motion and be granted access to the digital binder;

b. that the associate members be designated by the offices of the whips of each recognized party and sent to the committee clerk; and

c. that the provisions of this motion expire as of January 26, 2026.

That has been agreed to by all the whips. I'd like to seek unanimous consent.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

What is the will of the members? Do we have consent to adopt it?

(Motion agreed to)

It's adopted.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Second, Madam Chair, I have also been speaking with my colleague Mr. Noormohamed, and I just spoke to my Bloc colleague. A number of us have additional witnesses who would like to appear for this study. I'm seeking unanimous consent to see if we could extend this motion of study for two more meetings. Can I seek the consent of the committee for that?

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Are the members good with that?

Mr. Blanchette-Joncas.

[Maxime Blanchette-Joncas, Bloc, Rimouski—La Matapédia, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I just want to remind you that, historically, we used to rotate the topics of study. I would also remind you that we started this Parliament by continuing a study that was supposed to be completed in the previous Parliament. It was a study proposed by the Bloc Québécois, for which my colleagues gave their support; I thank them for that. Then we did a study on antimicrobial resistance, which was proposed by the Liberals. We are currently conducting a study on commercialization, which was also proposed by the Liberals.

Personally, I'm prepared to listen to proposals and I'm open to compromise, but right now, we're once again extending the second consecutive study proposed by the Liberal Party. By my count, there isn't a lot of rotation if we're doing two studies in a row proposed by the same party.

It may be fairer to give all the parties that represent the committee a chance to propose topics for study. I am opposed to extending this study because of this principle of fairness and to enable the other parties to also propose topics for study.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, MP Blanchette-Joncas.

MP Baldinelli.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Madam Chair, for the information of the committee members, my intent is to table the motion for a study on AI that we have placed on notice. My intent is to bring that forward on Monday.

I'm aware that my Bloc colleague has some amendments he'd like to propose. Having read it, the Conservatives are supportive of those amendments. We look forward to putting that forward on Monday, if that helps to assure my colleague in any way of what we will be moving to next.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

We do not have unanimous consent on this.

I will leave it up to the members. Would you like to debate this, or should we go to the witnesses and deal with the extension afterwards?

We don't have unanimous consent, so we will move to our witnesses, starting with Mr. McDonald.

Please go ahead. You have five minutes for your opening remarks.

[Michael McDonald, Vice-President, External and Member Relations, Colleges and Institutes Canada]

Madam Chair and members of the committee, thank you for inviting Colleges and Institutes Canada, CICan, to appear for this study.

CICan is the national and international voice of Canada's publicly funded colleges, institutes, CEGEPs and polytechnics across the country.

The message I want to convey today is simple: The college applied research ecosystem is an asset that is already deployed to support national priorities, support industries and communities in economic transition and stimulate the commercialization, productivity and competitiveness of Canadian businesses. This ecosystem has the potential to be one of the most important drivers of economic innovation in Canada.

As many have pointed out before this committee, Canada is at a turning point. We are facing complex and unprecedented social and economic challenges with significant impacts, including a lack of affordable housing, poor productivity performance and technological changes. Consider the development of artificial intelligence, for example. In short, our jobs and prosperity are at stake. At times like these, it is critical to find ways to take full advantage of Canada's research and innovation ecosystem to find solutions to these challenges. Our system is part of those solutions.

Due to their unique approach to partner-led research, which is moving at the speed of business and allowing firms to retain the intellectual property, colleges have a proven method for generating tangible economic and social benefits from research dollars for Canadians. Colleges offer one of the most accessible and open gateways to place-based R and D support for Canadian businesses, hosting close to 500 research centres and labs across the country. Every one of these centres has tailored expertise to meet the needs of its community and is working with businesses today. This makes colleges essential players in local and regional economic development.

Colleges train the talent needed to support innovation in Canadian industry, with more than 28,000 students participating in applied research projects annually. We are also proud partners working with our colleagues in the university system.

Most importantly, businesses buy in to college research. Colleges attract $1 of private sector contribution for nearly every dollar of federal funding in applied research.

These features have allowed colleges to punch above their weight in terms of their research impact. In the last year alone, colleges supported nearly 9,000 partners on over 8,500 projects in key economic sectors, resulting in close to 9,000 new products or processes in key sectors of the economy. Critically, 99% of this work was done with Canadian firms.

Despite these results, colleges receive less than 4% of federal research funding, and many tri-council programs, including impact-oriented programs, are either not open to the college system or the college system is not fully eligible for them.

That small proportion of funding and the success of a Canadian-built and Canadian-serving ecosystem are at risk. Budget 2023's three-year top-up investment in the college and community innovation program, which is the main funding vehicle for college research, is expected to expire in 2026. Without a commitment to sustain investments in this program and intentionally reimagine federal funding programs to better leverage our system's expertise, the support we provide to businesses and communities and the transition role we play with the university system across this country are in jeopardy.

To ensure that we can build upon the proven expertise and capacity of the college system, CICan proposes two recommendations.

First, the government should reinvest $485 million over five years in the college and community innovation program and commit to establishing baseline annual funding for the program at $215 million by 2030. This would enable the system to continue the work with thousands of new business partners during this critical moment in this country's history.

Second, the federal government should work with the tri-agencies and the Canada Foundation for Innovation to ensure full eligibility for colleges in all impact-oriented research funding programs, including emergent programs, to be supported by the new capstone organization.

The colleges and institutes system is here to support Canada's need for innovation at this time.

I want to thank you for your time, and I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you.

Now we will proceed to Mr. O'Neil for five minutes.

Please, go ahead.

[Dugan O'Neil, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, Simon Fraser University]

Thank you, Madam Chair and committee, for the opportunity to address you all today.

I welcome the chance to speak about how best to promote and grow private sector investment in research and development in Canada, with a specific focus on Canadian universities.

As many of you will know—

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Can I please interrupt? There is an issue with the interpretation.

We'll suspend for a minute.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Mr. O'Neil, please start from the beginning.

[Dugan O'Neil]

Okay.

Thank you, Madam Chair and committee, for the opportunity to address you all today.

I welcome the chance to speak about how best to promote and grow private sector investment in research and development in Canada, with a specific focus on Canadian universities.

As many of you will know, Simon Fraser University is a leading research university based in British Columbia. SFU has more than 35,000 students across three campuses in Burnaby, Surrey and Vancouver. Since 1965, we have a demonstrated record of helping business and academia commercialize their great ideas.

At Simon Fraser University, we recognize that fostering collaboration among industry, government and academia is essential to strengthening Canada's competitiveness. Our innovation strategy serves as a national model for how universities can bridge the gap between discovery and commercialization. Our research partnerships enable companies to anchor and grow in Canada by leveraging SFU's expertise, infrastructure and talent.

At SFU, we recognize that the pipeline for scalable deep tech ventures begins in our research labs, and we purposefully bridge the research-to-innovation continuum with innovation education, IP support, stipends, incubation, and prototype and fabrication supports.

For example, our invention to innovation program, or i2I, now expanded nationally through the NSERC- and Mitacs-supported i2I network, equips scientists and engineers from across the country with the entrepreneurial and innovation skills needed to move ideas from the laboratory to market. Alumni include founders of Ionomr, Photonic, Cloudburst and PINA Creation.

Our VentureLabs accelerator has supported more than 1,400 technology companies, contributing over $600 million in capital formation and job creation across the country.

SFU also makes our world-class infrastructure available to academic and industry users across the country. For example, we are home to the Cedar Supercomputing Centre, which hosts Canada's most powerful academic supercomputer. This supercomputer empowers Canadian companies and public institutions to harness world-class AI infrastructure for dual-use purposes, while safeguarding our sovereignty, security and sustainability. It enables advances in artificial intelligence, clean technology, health sciences, cybersecurity and more. Capabilities like this are critical to maintaining Canada's digital and economic sovereignty, ensuring that Canadian data, innovation and intellectual property are developed and safeguarded at home.

Together, these initiatives demonstrate how sustained public investment in research, when aligned with private sector partnerships, delivers measurable returns for Canada's economy, global competitiveness and long-term prosperity.

We have three recommendations.

Number one is to establish national innovation priorities across government. The Government of Canada should invest in transformative innovation missions such as AI, quantum, and dual-use technologies. By establishing its national innovation ambition, setting milestones and committing significant funding over a multi-year horizon, the government sends a clear message to private capital to invest in specific high-growth areas and focuses the efforts of SMEs, industry and innovators.

Number two is to implement federal procurement targets for emerging technologies. The Government of Canada should dedicate a fixed minimum percentage of its procurement budget toward emerging technology solutions from Canadian SMEs. Strategically leveraging its purchasing power shifts government from being a piecemeal “first customer” toward guaranteeing an early market in priority emerging technology areas. This approach helps SMEs de-risk R and D investment and attract private capital by ensuring that a substantial government market exists, spurring sovereign and secure technology development and competitiveness, aligned with the buy Canada policy.

Number three is to seamlessly support the research-to-innovation continuum. The Government of Canada should advance a build-for-scale strategy to help researchers become powerful originators of value-creating companies and develop innovation champions. Better supporting the research-to-innovation continuum, as outlined in the Bouchard report in 2023, aligns researcher incentives with national innovation priorities through funding programs, entrepreneurial training, wet lab commercialization facilities, prototypes vouchers and de-risking process scale-up. Strengthening this continuum secures Canadian science leadership and enables researchers to scale innovations that drive economic growth and competitiveness.

I thank the committee members and the chair, once again, for the opportunity to address you today, and I look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

Thank you, Mr. O'Neil.

With that, we will start our first round of questioning. We will begin with MP Baldinelli for six minutes.

Please go ahead.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses for being with us today.

I'm going to begin with Mr. McDonald.

On Monday, we had Marc Nantel, vice-president of research, innovation and strategic enterprises at Niagara College, appear. Niagara College is Canada's number one research college. On Monday, at the science and research committee, MPs learned how public institutions like Niagara College are turning research into real-world results, driving local growth and creating opportunities. In 2024-25 alone, Niagara College was able to leverage over $9 million in funding from a variety of sources to accomplish many great things in our community and for businesses that came to it for help. It worked with 166 unique industry and community partners on a total of 235 projects.

With regard to the applied research approach that colleges and CEGEPs undertake, I find it to be more responsive and more community-based. As you indicated, it's punching above its weight, if you consider that it's receiving only about 4% of the tri-council funding.

Why do you think this is so, and what recommendations would you make to help better create an atmosphere, an ecosystem, where innovation in Canada leads to growth in job creation here in Canada?

[Michael McDonald]

That's a fantastic question.

Again, Niagara College is a flagship institution, being able to demonstrate how the college system is able to...through a very clear mission of serving its partners directly and serving their needs and questions. When you think about what a college applied research system is, at its core it centres a partner's problem at the research institution. If a business comes in and is experiencing a challenge, it's their problem at the forefront that is being tackled. This system is responsive to the critical needs that industry is encountering at that moment, which allows for those vectors around commercialization or use to be really centred in the research initiative.

Now, this is an important part of the research continuum within the country, and it is one that, when anchored in other relationships.... Again, we've seen that there's real opportunity for requiring colleges and universities to have clear partnerships around commercialization opportunities and for mandating those kinds of opportunities. It's where we think we can provide even stronger results within a system.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

Thank you.

As we were preparing for this committee, we were looking for background materials. We found, from Statistics Canada, this document that was released on September 29, 2025. It's the “Survey on Research Activities and Commercialization of Intellectual Property in Higher Education, 2023”. In its findings, it states, “Colleges and CEGEPs more likely to provide support to small and medium-sized enterprises” and that “1 in 10 [research] partnerships (11.1%) and contracts (10.0%) were held with colleges or CEGEPs.”

Again, only 4% of tri-council funding is received. You talked about the baseline funding that you would like to see and the additional funding provided in the upcoming budget.

What is kind of disappointing to me is that this report, which was released in September.... When you go to the website today, it says “Date modified: 2025-10-14” and “This release has been removed from our website.” Do you have any idea why it may have been removed from the website by the government?

[Michael McDonald]

At this point, I would probably direct that question to the fine folks at ISED or Statistics Canada with regard to details. However, we think the original report really did highlight quite clearly the clear contribution role that the college system was playing in its communities in a really anchored and clear way to be able to establish the value of the system. We look forward to those results being released again, hopefully soon.

[Tony Baldinelli, Conservative, Niagara Falls—Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON]

That's great. Thank you.

We heard in our earlier testimony, and we hear again today, that we have the talent and that we're providing about $10 billion in public financing to support these efforts. However, we learned that only 12% of patents filed in Canada come from Canadians, while over 87% of our innovation is foreign-owned. Worse, only about 5% of patents created at Canadian universities ever become licensed, meaning that 95% of public research lies dormant in what we call the valley of death. This costs our economy nearly $75 billion per year.

We own ideas, but we fail to commercialize them. How do we work to rectify that?

[Michael McDonald]

That's a fantastic question.

Within the college system, ensure that intellectual property development and the work that surrounds it stay anchored to the nature of innovators. We have fantastic researchers across the country, but being able to bridge the gap from being a researcher at a university or another research institution to being able to transition that, potentially, into a product or service with a clear economic return is an incredibly difficult ask across the full spectrum.

We need to recognize that bringing things into market by helping firms currently in the process of coming up with services and products is a core place where we know demand exists for that innovation. Anchor that effort to that specific point so we are able to help the small business owners who are, right now, dealing with a challenge. That is a way to shift much of our conversation to a place that has real, practical solutions for this. That's one of the bridges the college system provides so fantastically here.

At the end of the day, a lot of really smart people are going to have to go through this process. Make sure that those who are really talented—our entrepreneurs and SMEs—are the ones who are seeing their problems at the forefront of our research investments. It's important for communities across the country to see the returns and the value of research, and to make sure everyone in the country, no matter where they are, can see that return.

[The Chair, Liberal, Salma Zahid]

The time is up.

We will now proceed to MP Noormohamed for six minutes.

Please go ahead.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you to the witnesses.

Mr. O'Neil, one thing we've heard time and again, including from some of the great tech minds at SFU, is that there is a real gap in terms of access to capital for projects that need commercialization. You have great innovation that doesn't get to see the light of day because early-stage capital is harder to get here than it is in other jurisdictions.

What do you think needs to happen in order to unlock, particularly in this case, private early-stage capital for researchers? Is it a question of making sure the capital is there? Is it also a question of making sure they have access to folks who know how to operationalize tech and build a business and an entire ecosystem around the research itself? What do we need to see? What are you hearing from professors and researchers, and where do you think we should invest the time and energy to make sure they have the supports they need to build these [Technical difficulty—Editor] today?

[Dugan O'Neil]

Thank you. That's a fantastic question.

We have lots of evidence of companies or great ideas that started in Canada but have not stayed. Indeed, one of the reasons they end up not staying is easier access to capital in other jurisdictions. In particular, we're very close to a very large jurisdiction with lots of money. Here on the west coast, we're not that far from Silicon Valley. There is a movement of Canadian companies relocating to the U.S. because of, essentially, holes in the Canadian system. We're not filling out the full continuum between having a great idea and having a company that can scale up. Access to capital is definitely one of the keys.

To your point, it's a whole ecosystem that has to be built for Canadian companies so they can stay in Canada while they grow. That includes capital. It also includes access to infrastructure and various types of supports. For example, at Simon Fraser University, we have a laboratory where 200 companies come in on a regular basis to use equipment largely purchased with federal and provincial funds, which is shared among university academics and those companies. This accelerates the production of new products by those companies, but it also gives them a certain local stickiness that allows them to overcome some of the barriers they have.