Ottawa region's share of federal S&T expenditure drops slightly - StatsCan

The Ottawa region's status as the dominant locale for federal S&T spending has slipped a notch with the provinces increasing their share from 63% to 67% between 1997-98 and 2003-04. Ottawa accounted for $2.64 billion of the $8.0 billion in FY03-04 that can be attributed geographically. A further $800 is either not identified by region or was paid to foreign performers, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada

Much of the increase in expenditures was captured by Ontario, which benefitted from higher spending by two federal agencies - the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences and the Sustainable Development Technology Fund. Ontario's share of federal S&T jumped 28.9% from FY02-03 to FY03-04 to $2.0 billion, accounting for 38.2% of the total outside the Ottawa region. When added together, Ontario and Ottawa's share of federal S&T expenditures is 58.7% of the $8.0-billion total for FY03-04.

Quebec trails behind Ontario with FY03-04 federal outlays of $1.33 billion or a 16.7% share, down from $1.4 billion or 18.5% in FY01-02. But it fares far better when considering the S&T funding the federal government spends internally, with $314 million compared to Ontario's $350 million. In total the federal government spends nearly $1.1 billion internally, compared to nearly $2 billion in the higher education sector and $717 million through the business sector.

NATURAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES BREAKDOWN

The natural sciences account for $6.2 billion or 77.6% of all federal S&T expenditures, with the remainder falling within the social sciences ($1.8 billion). Ontario accounts for $1.8 billion in natural sciences S&T, followed by Quebec ($1.2 billion), British Columbia ($521 million), Alberta ($419 million), Nova Scotia ($225 million), Manitoba ($174 million) and Saskatchewan ($146 million).

The majority of social sciences S&T is spent in the Ottawa region ($1.2 billion), followed by Ontario ($242 million) and Quebec ($148 million). The remaining $211 million is spread across the remaining provinces.

Federal grants and contracts in the natural sciences account for $716 million or 8.9% of total federal S&T spending. Technology Partnerships Canada is listed under the grants category and is the largest single source at $288.4 million. It is followed in the grants category by the National Research Council's Industrial Research Assistance Program ($82.3 million), the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency ($24.6 million), Canada Economic Development - Quebec Regions ($18.7 million) and Western Economic Diversification Canada ($9.7 million). Grants listed as 'Other' amount to $83.5 million.

Contracts account for $175 million in S&T spending, and the Canadian Space Agency is the largest single source at $88.7 million, followed by the Department of National Defence ($68.2 million) and 'Other' ($15.1 million).

As expected, Ontario and Quebec dominate federal grants and contracts awarded to the higher education sector. Of the $1.9 billion awarded, Ontario accounted for $716 million (37.2%), followed by Quebec ($513 million/26.7%), British Columbia ($261 million/13.6%), Alberta ($220 million/11.4%), Nova Scotia ($58 million/ 3.0%), Saskatchewan ($51 million/2.7%) and Manitoba ($44 million/2.3%).

Of the $717 million in federal S&T spent by the business sector, Ontario accounts for $318 million, followed by Quebec ($222 million) and British Columbia ($65 million).

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