Let's talk : coordinating economic development spending in Canada

Summary: Governments in Canada spend roughly $20B a year on a variety of economic development, R&D, and innovation programs. The spending is designed to spur economic growth, increase productivity and foster private sector innovation. This is an enormous public expenditure, larger than the oft-debated Equalization program and higher than the annual expenditures of the governments of Manitoba and New Brunswick combined. Government efforts to promote economic development are diverse, ranging from direct supports like cash grants and preferential tax treatment, to indirect supports like export promotion and research centres. What they have in common, however, is that with occasional exceptions (such as the auto sector, energy development or centres of excellence) these programs are almost always designed and delivered in isolation from one another, with little to no effort to align the priorities or design of federal, provincial and municipal initiatives.