Announcement of 2010 Discovery Grants Competition Results and Postgraduate Scholarships Program, Postdoctoral Fellowships Program and Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships Program

Speaking Points

The Honourable Tony Clement, PC, MP
Minister of Industry

École Polytechnique Montréal
Montréal, Quebec
April 9, 2010

Check Against Delivery

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

It is a great pleasure for me to be here at l'École Polytechnique de Montréal today, and I would like to thank you for joining me on this special occasion.

On behalf of our Government, I am pleased to announce funding for research conducted by Canada's brightest scientists and engineers, many of whom study and teach right here. And I am equally pleased to announce scholarships that are being awarded to the research stars of tomorrow.

These are investments in Canada's future — a future where the knowledge economy provides opportunities. A future where, by putting our nation's collective brain power to work, we will generate jobs, grow an innovative economy and plant the seeds for a brighter tomorrow.

Last year, Canada's Economic Action Plan provided close to $5 billion in additional support for science and technology — a historic level of new funding commitments in a federal budget. This year, we are continuing to build on these investments by providing funding of nearly $1.4 billion. Research and innovation create the jobs of tomorrow today, while strengthening the economy and improving the quality of life of Canadians.

The investments made through the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's (NSERC's) Discovery Grants Program play a very important role in generating new knowledge and support the development of a critical national resource — Canadian talent in science and engineering. About half of Discovery Grants Program funds go toward training the students who will become Canada's next generation of scientists, technology leaders, entrepreneurs and science educators.

The flexibility of the Discovery Grants Program is what makes it so effective. Science does not always follow predictable directions. In fact, major groundbreaking discoveries often come unexpectedly, when talented researchers follow a hunch. It allows researchers the freedom to pursue the most promising directions indicated by their results.

But whether it's one year down the road, or in some cases several decades, we can point to those original discoveries and see the impact they had on advancing our understanding of the world and our quality of life.

There is also a clear connection between scholarships and a successful future. Support for our young people means that we maintain the supply of a critical national resource — Canadian talent in science and engineering.

So I'm very pleased to be able to announce that our Government will invest $350 million this year through NSERC's Discovery Grants Program. This funding supports the ongoing work of more than 10 000 researchers based at universities across the country, including 2000 whose funding was renewed in the 2010 competition.

And I'm equally pleased to announce $122 million in scholarships that are being awarded this year through NSERC's Postgraduate Scholarships and Postdoctoral Fellowships programs and through NSERC's share of the Canada Graduate Scholarships Program.

As Minister of Industry, I am always amazed at the fields of studies pursued at our universities. Your research brings concrete results, new knowledge, new skills, new partnerships and new business opportunities that are focused on the priorities of Canadians. That is why our Government continues to invest in our research institutions — to improve Canada's economic advantage and quality of life.

The investments we are announcing today will go towards the development of new energetic polymers and novel metal-hybrid compounds. It will be used to analyze and test the security vulnerabilities of web applications. And some of it will be dedicated to researching braced steel frame solutions to create earthquake-resistant structures. These are just a few examples of the many research projects we are funding.

Canada has great potential to make a difference in the world through science and technology. Our university researchers and students are second to none, and our public-sector research capacity is among the strongest in the world.

We have every right to be proud of the achievements of our scientists and engineers. With the support of investments such as the one we are announcing today, the seeds they are sowing through basic research and training today can flourish into future success.

Thank you.