In the coming decades, Canada’s prosperity will be critically dependent on our ability to innovate. Innovation results from new ideas about the way we do things, about the services we offer and the products we make. The goal is to bring those ideas forward and to turn them into something the market wants.

There is a crucial role for Science in making us more innovative: scientific research breeds new ideas. Liberals clearly recognized this when they created a host of landmark programs to stimulate research – such as, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Genome Canada and the Canada Research Chairs.

These programs have been applauded by the entire scientific community. They have allowed our scientists to equip their labs with the most modern research equipment, brought world renowned scientists to our Canadian universities, helped fund important health research and ensured that Canada played key roles in the ambitious international program to decode the Human Genome.

Technology is also crucial to innovation since it can turn promising research into marketable products. Otherwise those ideas remain on the shelf. The Blackberry, the Canadarm and the Challenger aircraft all began as ideas but required the right technology to turn them into marketable products.

Liberals understand the importance of Science and Technology and the role the federal government must play in creating the right conditions for innovation to thrive. We will continue to focus on making Science and Technology the engines of innovation that will move Canada towards a more prosperous future.

Click HERE to read Marc Garneau's Report on Science and Technology, written for the Liberal Renewal Commission.