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October 17, 2025RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR, 2023/2024 
Nova Scotia’s higher education research and development (R&D) spending increased by 4.5% to $579.1 million from 2022/2023 to 2023/2024. Nationally, higher education sector spending on R&D totalled $19.0 billion in 2023/2024, up 7.2% from the previous year. Across Canada, all provinces except Saskatchewan reported growth in higher education R&D spending. The fastest gains were reported in Prince Edward Island and Manitoba.
Nova Scotia's higher education R&D spending was on an upward trend until 2017/2018. In four of the past five years, there has been notably stronger growth for Nova Scotia's 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 $549.9 per capita, behind Quebec ($564.4 per capita) and Newfoundland and Labrador ($557.4 per capita). Nationally, higher education sector spending on R&D averaged to $474.1 per capita in 2023/2024.
Nova Scotia had the largest higher education research and development spending as a share of GDP at 0.97%. Nationally Canada spent 0.65% of (2023) GDP on higher education research and development.
Since 2002, Canada's higher education R&D spending has fluctuated in a narrow range. Nova Scotia's higher education R&D spending (as a share of GDP) has been the highest in the country since 2005/2006, except for the years between 2018/2019 and 2020/2021 when Newfoundland and Labrador was higher.
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)