Conservative Party’s plan to create DARPA-like research agency gets support of business groups

Note: Research Money will be covering each party's innovation platform in the coming weeks as part of our 2021 election coverage.

Some prominent business groups are welcoming a Conservative innovation policy calling for a new Canadian advanced research agency.

The Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) and Business Council of Canada (BCC) expressed support for the Tories’ plan to launch an organization modelled after the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Program Agency (DARPA).

The Conservatives unveiled their policy last week before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called a federal election for September 20. They followed up with the release of a full economic platform on Aug. 16.

“We're hopeful that it does take on more that (DARPA) type of shape and form, but there is a little bit of concern that it is somewhat similar to the superclusters initiative, which did have a grand vision of a heavy investment in a handful of key projects, but which ultimately was relatively disappointing for the tech ecosystem,” said CCI executive-director Benjamin Bergen.

Last October, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux reported that the regional research and development supercluster program, created by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government in 2018, is creating roughly 14 jobs for every $1 million of combined federal and private investment, and is unlikely to meet its economic-growth projections. The supercluster program aims to generate $1 billion in private-public investment and 50,000 new jobs over a decade.

The Trudeau government has refuted the figures, contending that the program is on track to achieve its aims.

Ottawa needs to be a buyer, say CCI and BCC

Bergen said a new Canadian advanced research agency needs to ensure that it helps to create intellectual property controlled by domestic technology firms, provide a “roadmap to commercialization” and ensure that Ottawa is a buyer of the new technologies.

"Any member company of CCI will tell you that they'd much rather actually have the government purchase and procure their product, if they can, rather than just be a graduate agency that's giving them a tax rebate or a straight-up grant,” said Bergen.

Bergen also said he supported O’Toole’s plan for a review of all federal research and development programs to ensure that Canadian tax dollars benefit Canadian innovators and workers first — and are not sent off to foreign multinationals.

"As Canadians, we really should be making sure that every (taxpayer) dollar invested isn't wasted or squandered in potentially supporting foreign firms, said Bergen. "Definitely, a commitment to making sure that the dollars are properly spent is a critical piece to ensuring that every dollar goes towards trying to make $1 into $2 — and, ultimately, leading to, hopefully, a more prosperous and economically sustainable country."

He also said that the Tories’ plan to introduce flow-through shares — based on a model used in the mining sector — “have the ability to unlock a lot of additional capital here in Canada.”

BCC had previously called for a DARPA-like agency

In a letter to federal budget decision-makers republished in March by the C.D. Howe Institute, BCC senior vice-president of policy Robert Asselin specifically called for a DARPA-like agency to streamline Canada's ability to commercialize ideas, create an IP pipeline for businesses and do "transformative applied research."

“Fundamentally, DARPA is about two things: Imagining the future and solving problems,” he wrote in the letter. “To be clear, a Canadian version will not solve Canada’s innovation challenges on its own, but it is a key ingredient in a complex recipe.”

The BCC declined to comment on the new Conservative policy. In a bid to stay neutral, the nonpartisan group is not commenting on any issues during the election campaign, said a BCC spokesman. But he confirmed that the organization supports the Tories’ call for a new DARPA-like agency.

In the March letter, Asselin said he wants it to be led by a respected scientist and allow the country’s best researchers and industry leaders to collaborate on a time-limited basis.

“DARPA works because it is fully independent of political and bureaucratic interference,” he wrote.

Asselin also argued for a DARPA-like agency in a March 1 letter sent to Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. He contended that a Canadian version of DARPA would turn more research into company revenue and help firms scale up. Like the CCI, the BCC wants Ottawa to be a buyer of new technology, but to steer clear of running the proposed agency.

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