Manitoba Budget balances books and provides modest increase in R&D funding

A balanced Budget containing small increases in S&T-related funding and an Action Strategy for Economic Growth set the stage for a June 3 election call by premier Gary Doer’s NDP government. Most of the $1.1 million in new R&D funding goes to the Manitoba Research and Innovation Fund (MRIF), the provincial matching body for Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) awards.

The MRIF will receive $800,000 in addition to its $7-million annual allocation, while $350,000 goes to support post-doctoral students in the medical field.

“We have modest means,” says Tim Sale, minister of the Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology (MEST). “Most of the funding goes for matching CFI.”

The Doer government also maintained its string of balanced Budgets, although this year the surplus is razor thin ($4 million) and its commitment of $96 million in annual debt repayment was achieved by drawing on the province’s Fiscal Stabilization Fund.

The new Action Strategy for Economic Growth foregrounds the province’s efforts to enhance its knowledge-based industries and highlight its R&D tax credit. The tax credit costs the treasury approximately $7 million annually in foregone revenue.

Prior to the Budget, MEST announced a $3-million investment in health research through the Manitoba Health Research Initiative. The funding will be distributed to CancerCare Manitoba ($278,000), the Univ of Manitoba ($1.45 million), St Boniface General Hospital Research Centre ($666,000), Health Sciences Centre Research Department ($454,000) and the Manitoba Institute of Child Health ($150,000).

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