For anyone who has worked in the research and innovation space for more than a few years, the announcement of a major consultation for the federal Innovation Agenda may be viewed with a combination of skepticism and dread.

RE$EARCH MONEY would like to congratulate the National Research Council on its landmark 100th birthday.

Born in the throes of World War One, the NRC has contributed in immeasurable ways to the nation’s technological advancement, spun off several high-profile agencies and provided industry with strategic research, technical support and infrastructure from coast to coast to coast.

Alberta is the latest province to overhaul its research and commercialization activities and it’s a major change. The consolidation of four Alberta Innovates (AI) corporations into a single entity aims to amplify its scarce provincial resources while simplifying the navigation of the public innovation ecosystem.

From telecom to clean tech, Canada can rightfully boast of excellent research that fuels globally competitive innovation. The question is, who will ultimately exploit and benefit from that research and should it matter whether the innovators are Canadian or foreign-based?

In the case of telecom, Canada’s top-notch researchers, engineers and technicians are increasingly working for foreign-owned firms, from Ciena and Cisco to Huawei and Ericsson.

Innovation minister Navdeep Bains appears to understand that a key issue facing emerging Canadian tech companies is their ability to scale up without losing control or selling out to foreign buyers. After a decade of contraction, the Canadian tech sector is in serious need of a handful of large anchor firms to help brand Canada internationally and establish clusters of deep expertise and capacity to grow an economy struggling to rebound from the collapse of commodities prices.

Say what you will about the Liberal government’s deficit-fuelled Budget of social and stimulus spending, the decision to inject $1.2 billion into science, innovation, clean tech and trade is a most welcome departure from the past several years.

Clean tech and the diverse technologies that comprise the sector are shaping up as a key plank of the Liberal government’s forthcoming innovation agenda but a major fund intended to elevate Canada into the major leagues has proven to be an ill-timed bust.

It’s comes as little surprise that increased funding for fundamental research is the focus of so many pre-Budget submissions to the parliamentary Finance committee (see page 5). The front end of the research and innovation ecosystem has not fared well in recent years, increasing the odds that the reinvestment pitches by several agencies and organizations will find a receptive audience.

Other provinces would do well to look west towards British Columbia and its new Tech Strategy. Short and succinct yet broad in its scope, it aims to build upon one of the country’s most vibrant tech sectors and drive incremental economic and job growth without a huge price tag.

Canada’s research and innovation communities are expressing optimism and dread in equal measure as an S&T-friendly government takes power amidst the continuing meltdown of the commodities markets. Missteps by the previous government are coming into sharp focus, with their science, technology and innovation (STI) policy being variously described as “a lost decade” and “the dark era”.