Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is much more focused on his government’s response to COVID-19 than on science and innovation priorities, judging by the PM’s updated mandate letter to the minister of innovation. The letter mentions the world “innovation” once, compared with more than a half-dozen references to COVID-19 and the federal response to the pandemic
Topic: national data strategy
Federal government must improve “catastrophic” innovation performance, say innovation experts and business groups
Innovation experts and business groups are stepping up calls for the federal government to fix a “weak and out of balance” innovation ecosystem. Canada continues to lag other countries in innovation performance and productivity, according to international indexes.
Ottawa defends innovation performance and initiatives to strengthen ecosystem
Innovation Science and Economic Development Canada, in a detailed response to growing criticisms, defends the federal government’s innovation performance, policies and programs.
The Short Report – August 26, 2020: Ottawa wants a data-driven approach to housing, federally backed Newfoundland startup launches prototype, and more
The St. John’s, Newfoundland-based tech startup Avalon Holographics launched its first-generation prototype display; the federal government will launch the first round of its $300-million Housing Supply Challenge, focused on the provision of reliable housing data; Alberta Premier Jason Kenney put Doug Schweitzer at the head of his new ministry of Jobs, Economy and Innovation; and more.
Report: New federal agency needed to support scaleups and deploy digital technologies
Canada needs a new innovation agency to support tech scale-ups and drive adoption of digital technologies across all sectors, says a new report by innovation policy expert David A. Wolfe.