Researchers in Canada are pushing back against a 15% budget cut that Prime Minister Mark Carney plans to impose on most government departments. They argue that reducing spending on scientific research would go against Carney’s own emphasis on investing in the country’s future.
“The prime minister has made the case himself that there’s a difference between investments in our future and day-to-day operational spending,” says Robert Asselin, CEO of U15 Canada, a group of research-intensive universities. “I think it’s clear that research is foundational to our future.”
Carney launched the spending review shortly after his election in April to deal with economic shocks from tariffs imposed by the United States and to ramp up military spending. He has asked each government department to identify potential savings to be included in this year’s federal budget, expected in the fall, which will detail spending plans covering several years into the future. The budget normally comes out in the spring but was delayed this year by the election and economic uncertainty about tariffs.
More: https://www.science.org/content/article/canada-plans-15-budget-cut-scientists-are-alarmed
