How can Canada become a leader in innovation?
Countries that regularly outperform others on innovation not only spend more on science and technology (as a proportion of GDP) but they also institute policies that drive innovation demand and supply. To be a leader requires public policy that systematically and coherently promotes national innovation and helps cutting-edge sectors achieve their global potential. Almost all countries leading the OECD innovation scores have government programs that encourage innovation in the national interest. These programs are coherent in that they encourage not only a national supply of relevant science and technology but also firms to exploit it for competitive advantage. Innovation policies promote “creative destruction” of the old and hasten the transition to the new. Many of Canada’s industry sector policies are designed to preserve existing industrial production—such as forestry’s pulp and paper sector and auto assembly manufacturing—rather than generate new, highly innovative ones. In effect,
