Canada scores ‘D’ in innovation: report

Canada is losing ground to other nations as an innovator, according to a new report by the Conference Board of Canada.

The report, entitled “How Canada Performs”, gives Canada a ‘D’ ranking in innovation, when compared to 17 of the world’s wealthiest countries.

The Conference Board has been assessing Canada’s quality of life for more than 12 years in its annual benchmarking report.

“Canada is not taking the steps to ensure that science can be successfully commercialized and used as a source of economic advantage,” the report said.

“Canada’s weakness in innovation has been masked by good fortuneprivileged access to the U.S. market, a low dollar and, now, high commodity prices,” the report continued. “Canada produces science that is well respected around the world. But, with some exceptionssuch as the BlackBerryCanada does not take the steps that other countries take to ensure that science can be successfully commercialized and used as a source of advantage for innovative companies seeking global market share.”

According to the report, Canada’s deteriorating transportation infrastructure, its longer hospital wait times, and the collective sense of urgency about the affordability of social programs are all directly linked to Canada’s lagging productivity, which in turn is linked to its innovation problem.

“This year’s report card on Canada tells the story of a gifted country underperforming in almost all subjects,” the report said. “For quite a few years, the Conference Board has been sounding the alarm that Canada is slipping to the back of the gifted class, and that future prosperity is at risk.”

Details of the report can be accessed at this link.

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