The State of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Canada 2025

Summary

Over the last 20 years, the CCA has carried out a series of assessments evaluating Canada’s science, technology, and innovation performance, trends, and challenges. These reports have helped to inform national strategies, industry- and sector-focused policies and programs, and research priorities and spending. They tell a story of a country that excels in research but faces hurdles to greater innovation and productivity.

The State of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Canada 2025 builds on our flagship series with important new evidence and insights. It sets out the essential context for understanding innovation performance in Canada and how we compare internationally, assesses resources being directed toward the system, and identifies barriers and knowledge gaps for improving outcomes.

Key Findings

Canada faces a worsening productivity crisis, a shifting and potentially diminished relationship with its largest trading partner, stubbornly low private sector R&D spending, and lacklustre technology adoption across the economy.

The State of Science, Technology, and Innovation in Canada 2025 details several notable findings:

• The performance of Canada’s business and government sectors continues to decline relative to other countries when it comes to science, technology, and innovation.
• The performance of Canada’s higher education sector is a rare bright spot, producing some of the world’s top talent and research.
• Low rates of technology adoption among businesses in Canada are an area of concern, and increased adoption, first and foremost AI adoption, could transform Canada’s STI ecosystem.
• Concentrating efforts on local and sectoral areas of strength and expertise could improve science, technology, and innovation outcomes.
• Decision-makers in Canada must navigate complex and fast-moving circumstances despite incomplete and dated frameworks and metrics for critical performance indicators.

A high-performing science, technology, and innovation ecosystem is essential to the well-being of all people in Canada. Ambitious and decisive action across the ecosystem is needed to reverse declining productivity and standards of living for people in Canada. Without a coordinated and wide-ranging overhaul of innovation-related policies by all of Canada’s governments, Canada’s highly fragmented system will likely continue to underperform.

*This project was supported by the Government of Canada, through the Strategic Science Fund