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December 01, 2023RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR, 2021/2022 
Nova Scotia’s higher education research and development (R&D) spending increased by 14.3% to $498.6 million, the fastest growth among provinces from 2020/2021 to 2021/2022. Nationally, higher education sector spending on R&D totalled $16.6 billion in 2021/2022, up 4.5% from the previous year. Across Canada, all provinces except Saskatchewan and Newfoundland and Labrador reported growth in higher education R&D spending.
On a per capita basis, Nova Scotia’s higher education sector has the third largest R&D spending in the country at $498.6 per capita, behind Newfoundland and Labrador ($639.6 per capita) and Quebec ($518.2 per capita). Nationally, higher education sector spending on R&D averaged to $434.7 per capita in 2021/2022.
Nova Scotia had the largest higher education research and development spending as a share of GDP at 0.98%. Nationally Canada spent 0.66% of (2021) GDP on higher education research and development.
Nova Scotia's higher education R&D spending was on an upward trend until 2017/2018. In two of the past three years, there has been notably stronger growth for Nova Scotia's higher education R&D spending.
Since 2002, Canada's higher education R&D spending has fluctuated in a narrow range. In the last year, Nova Scotia's higher education R&D spending surpassed that of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Source: Statistics Canada, Table 27-10-0025-01 Provincial estimates of research and development expenditures in the higher education sector, by funding sector and type of science (x 1,000,000)
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