Science and technology in Canada

The Canadian-built Space Shuttle robotic arm (left), referred to as Canadarm, transferred the P5 truss segment over to the Canadian-built space station robotic arm, referred to as Canadarm2

Science and technology in Canada consists of three distinct but closely related phenomena:

In 2019, Canada spent approximately CA$40.3 billion on domestic research and development, of which over $7 billion was provided by the federal and provincial governments.[1] In 2018, Canada spent approximately C$34.5 billion on domestic research and development, of which around $2 billion was spent directly by the federal government in-house and an additional $5.7 billion was provided by provincial and federal sources in the form of grants.[2] This investment corresponds to about 1.57% of Canada's gross domestic product, a decline from 1.72% in 2014.[3] Canada was ranked 14th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.[4]

As of 2020, the country has produced fifteen Nobel laureates in physics, chemistry, and medicine,[5] and was ranked fourth worldwide for scientific research quality in a major 2012 survey of international scientists.[6] It is furthermore home to the headquarters of a number of global technology firms.[7] Canada has one of the highest levels of Internet access in the world, with over 33 million users, equivalent to around 94 percent of its total 2014 population.[8][9][10][11]

Some of the most notable scientific developments in Canada include the creation of the modern alkaline battery[12] and the polio vaccine[13] and discoveries about the interior structure of the atomic nucleus.[14] Other major Canadian scientific contributions include the artificial cardiac pacemaker, mapping the visual cortex,[15][16] the development of the electron microscope,[17][18] plate tectonics, deep learning, multi-touch technology and the identification of the first black hole, Cygnus X-1.[19] Canada has a long history of discovery in genetics, which include stem cells, site-directed mutagenesis, T-cell receptor and the identification of the genes that cause Fanconi anemia, cystic fibrosis and early-onset Alzheimer's disease, among numerous other diseases.[16][20]

The Canadian Space Agency operates a highly active space program, conducting deep-space, planetary, and aviation research, and developing rockets and satellites.[21] Canada was the third country to design and construct a satellite after the Soviet Union and the United States, with the 1962 Alouette 1 launch.[22] Canada is a participant in the International Space Station (ISS), and is a pioneer in space robotics, having constructed the Canadarm, Canadarm2 and Dextre robotic manipulators for the ISS and NASA's Space Shuttle.[23] Since the 1960s, Canada's aerospace industry has designed and built numerous marques of satellite, including Radarsat-1 and 2, ISIS and MOST.[24] Canada has also produced one of the world's most successful and widely used sounding rockets, the Black Brant; over 1,000 Black Brants have been launched since the rocket's introduction in 1961.[25]

  1. ^ "Spending on research and development, 2019 (final), 2020 (preliminary) and 2021 (intentions)". Statistics Canada. March 4, 2022. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  2. ^ "The Daily – Spending on research and development, 2018 intentions". Statistics Canada. December 22, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  3. ^ Schneegans, S.; Straza, T.; Lewis, J., eds. (11 June 2021). UNESCO Science Report: the Race Against Time for Smarter Development. Paris: UNESCO. ISBN 978-92-3-100450-6.
  4. ^ World Intellectual Property Organization (2024). Global Innovation Index 2024. Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship. Geneva. p. 18. doi:10.34667/tind.50062. ISBN 978-92-805-3681-2. Retrieved 2024-10-22. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  5. ^ "Canadian Nobel Prize in Science Laureates". Science.ca. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
  6. ^ McIlroy, Anne (September 26, 2012). "Canada ranked fourth in the world for scientific research". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  7. ^ "Top 250 Canadian Technology Companies". Branham Group Inc. 2014. Archived from the original on March 15, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  8. ^ "Internet Usage and Population in North America". Internet World Stats. June 2014. Archived from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  9. ^ "Global Innovation Index 2021". World Intellectual Property Organization. United Nations. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  10. ^ "Release of the Global Innovation Index 2020: Who Will Finance Innovation?". WIPO. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  11. ^ "Global Innovation Index 2019". WIPO. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  12. ^ "Lew Urry". Science.ca.
  13. ^ "Leone N. Farrell". Science.ca.
  14. ^ "Leon Katz". Science.ca.
  15. ^ Strauss, Evelyn (2005). "2005 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award". Lasker Foundation. Archived from the original on July 16, 2010. Retrieved November 23, 2008.
  16. ^ a b "Top ten Canadian scientific achievements". GCS Research Society. 2015.
  17. ^ "James Hillier". Inventor of the Week. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
  18. ^ Pearce, Jeremy (January 22, 2007). "James Hillier, 91, Dies; Co-Developed Electron Microscope". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved November 20, 2008.
  19. ^ Bolton, C. T. (1972). "Identification of Cygnus X-1 with HDE 226868". Nature. 235 (2): 271–273. Bibcode:1972Natur.235..271B. doi:10.1038/235271b0. S2CID 4222070.
  20. ^ Strathdee, C.A.; Gavish, H.; Shannon, W.; Buchwald, M. (1992). "Cloning of cDNAs for Fanconi's anemia by functional complementation". Nature. 356 (6372): 763–767. Bibcode:1992Natur.356..763S. doi:10.1038/356763a0. PMID 1574115. S2CID 4250632.
  21. ^ "Canadian Space Milestones". Canadian Space Agency. 2016. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009.
  22. ^ Angelo, Joseph A. (2009). Encyclopedia of Space and Astronomy. Infobase Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 978-1-4381-1018-9.
  23. ^ Bidaud, Philippe; Dupuis, Erick (2012). "An overview of Canadian space robotics activities". Field Robotics: Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and the Support Technologies for Mobile Machines. World Scientific. pp. 35–37. ISBN 978-981-4374-27-9.
  24. ^ "The Canadian Aerospace Industry praises the federal government for recognizing Space as a strategic capability for Canada". Newswire. March 11, 2010. Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2011.
  25. ^ Godefroy, Andrew B. (2017). The Canadian Space Program: From Black Brant to the International Space Station. Springer. p. 41. ISBN 978-3-319-40105-8.