Waterloo, ON – Today, the Hon. Erin O’Toole, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives, introduced his plan to unleash Canadian innovation as part of Canada’s Recovery Plan.

Canada’s Conservatives have a plan to strengthen Canada’s position as a world leader in technology, and end the innovation drain.

Currently, Canada’s weak performance in commercializing research and development puts us at just 17th in the world for innovation, according to the 2020 Global Innovation Index. Canada’s Conservatives have a plan to strengthen Canada’s position as a world leader in technology, and end the innovation drain.

“Canada has all the great advantages that should make it the best place on earth to launch an innovative product and grow an innovative business,” said O’Toole. “But far too often, Canada loses our best and brightest to places with fewer barriers and more opportunity.”

To unleash innovation, Canada’s Conservatives will:

• Incentivize Canadian companies to develop their products here by cutting the income tax rate in half for new patented technologies developed in Canada. This will give Canadian technology companies some of the lowest tax rates in the world.
• Make it more attractive to invest in small tech start-ups by introducing the use of flow-through shares, based on the model that has made Canada a world leader in mining financing.
• Fix the broken Scientific Research & Experimental Development (SR&ED) program, currently an administrative nightmare that fuels consultants and advisory firms instead of research and development. Canada’s Conservatives will move the administration of this program from the CRA to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, simplify the application process, and make it easier for software development to qualify.
• Review all of the Government of Canada’s research and development programs to ensure that Canadian tax dollars benefit Canadian innovators and workers first, not sent off to foreign multinationals.
• Establish the Canadian Advanced Research Agency to fund major cutting-edge technologies, such as carbon capture and storage, hydrogen fuel, small modular reactors, electric vehicle development, and pharmaceutical research and production.

“Make no mistake, the next great breakthrough – and the one after that – will come from right here in Canada,” O’Toole concluded. “With Canada’s Recovery Plan we will secure the future of Canadian innovation.”