Canadian R&D funding and spending stagnant for 2014

A 6.9% decline in federal funding of R&D is the main contributor to a stagnant year for Canadian R&D in 2014, according to the latest data from Statistics Canada. The agency released a brief report on a projected $30.6 billion in Canadian R&D spending this year, down marginally from $30.7 billion in 2013. Federal performance of R&D dropped $170 million to $2.3 billion while its funding of R&D declined 1.9% to $5.8 billion. Business R&D spending slumped another 0.9% to $15.4 billion (well off its 2007 high of $16.8 billion) while higher education R&D spending increased 1% to $12.4 billion. The private non-profit sector was the sole bright spot in this year's data, increasing its R&D spending by 5% to $169 million. Its funding of R&D increased 1% to $1.2 billion. Foreign support for R&D increased marginally to $1.8 billion….