Question Period Note: CANADIAN INSTITUTES OF HEALTH RESEARCH

• Health researchers continue to be supportive of the recommendations made in Canada’s Fundamental Science Review report (2017). Many stakeholders have called for increased funding for fundamental science and research in Canada.

• Our Government recognizes that investing in research and supporting Canadian researchers is pivotal to addressing health issues facing Canadians, and the current pandemic has reminded us all of the importance of having access to research evidence.
• Over the last 5 years, we made historical investments toward research.
• In Budget 2018 alone, we committed nearly $4 billion over five years to support the next generation of Canadian researchers.
• This included $354.7 million over five years, with $90.1 million per year ongoing, for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to increase its support for fundamental research.
• Our government continues to invest in research that is important to the health of Canadians. Budget 2022 announced $20 million to study long-term effects of COVID-19 infections, and wider impacts on health and health care systems, and $20 million to increase our knowledge of dementia and brain health, that will be funded over 5 years through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, or CIHR.

IF PRESSED ON BUDGET 2022 INVESTMENTS…
• Budget 2022 further committed to funding important research areas including long-term impacts of COVID-19, and brain health and dementia – to name a few.
• With these continued investments, our Government demonstrates its commitment to support a vibrant, equitable and diverse research community that will help us address the major health challenges of tomorrow.

Budget 2018
Among other investments to support research, Budget 2018 provided Canada’s federal granting agencies with investments in fundamental science:
o CIHR: $354.7 million over 5 years, $90.1 million ongoing
o NSERC: $354.7 million over 5 years, $90.1 million ongoing
o SSHRC: $215.5 million over 5 years, $54.8 million ongoing

Support for Canadian Researchers in response to the pandemic
In April 2020, the Government of Canada announced comprehensive support of nearly $9 billion for post-secondary students and recent graduates. As part of this investment, the government extended expiring federal graduate research scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships, and supplemented existing federal research grants, to support students and post-doctoral fellows, by providing $291.6 million to the federal granting councils.

In May 2020, the Government of Canada announced $450 million in funding to help Canada's academic research community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Budget 2021
As part of major investments to grow Canada’s bio-manufacturing sector, Budget 2021 invested:
• $250M to create a new Clinical Trials Fund, managed by CIHR, which will support research teams and infrastructure across the country to conduct clinical trials. These trials will test new drugs, treatments, and interventions to prevent, detect, treat or manage various diseases or medical conditions.
• $250M to create a biomedical research fund to support bio-innovation-related research that straddles the health and natural sciences and connects these efforts to industrial and health system partners to enhance key bio-innovation capabilities.

Budget 2021 also committed $20 million over 5 years to support a new National Institute for Women’s Health Research, as well as $30 million dollars over two years to fund targeted pediatric cancer research.

Budget 2022
Through the 2021 mandate letters, the Prime Minister tasked all Ministers with using science and evidence-based decision-making. Therefore, through Budget 2022, the Government continued to invest in research.
For example, Budget 2022 includes an investment of $20 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, for CIHR to support additional research on the long-term effects of COVID-19 infections on Canadians, as well as the wider impacts of COVID-19 on health and health care systems.

To support the implementation of Canada’s first national dementia strategy, Budget 2022 committed $20 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, for CIHR to ramp up efforts to learn more about dementia and brain health, to improve treatment and outcomes for persons living with dementia, and to evaluate and address mental health consequences for caregivers and different models of care.

In addition, Budget 2022 committed $40.9 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $9.7 million ongoing to the federal granting councils to support targeted scholarships and fellowships for promising Black student researchers.

To reinforce Canada’s competitive advantage as a destination choice for world-class research, Budget 2022 announced $38.3 million over four years, starting in 2023-24, and $12.7 million ongoing for the federal granting councils to add new, internationally recruited Canada Excellence Research Chairs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Finally, through Budget 2022, the federal government also announced $34.6 million over five years, starting in 2022-23, and $8.4 million ongoing, to enhance Canada’s ability to protect our research, and to establish a Research Security Centre that will provide advice and guidance directly to research institutions.

KEY FACTS
• In Budget 2018 alone, the federal government committed nearly $4 billion over five years to support the next generation of Canadian researchers. This included $354.7 million over five years, with $90.1 million per year ongoing, for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to increase its support for fundamental research.