The latest data on industrial R&D is out and New Brunswick’s amount increased to $76 million compared to $62 million last year. Since 1999, total industrial R&D spending has doubled – the best growth rate in Atlantic Canada.
But there are two points to be made here:
1) NB is seventh in the country in this category (better than last). On a per capita basis, New Brunswick’s industry spent $101 per person in 2004 compared to $567 in Quebec and $594 in Ontario. BC was at $307 and Alberta at $273 – so you can see that NB in Atlantic Canada is the best of a bad lot.
2) Don’t forget we are only talking about industrial R&D here. The government spends far and away more on R&D than the private sector in Atlantic Canada. When you look at