The Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science was a

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

ministry of the

Province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Founded in 2005, the ministry became part of the Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation in 2011. It intermittently became a separate ministry in again from 2013 until 2018, when it became part of the

Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade The Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade (formally known as Ministry of Economic Development and Growth) in the Canadian province of Ontario is responsible for programs to attract and retain business and economic development in ...

History

The research and innovation agenda in Ontario was previously the responsibility of the Science and Technology Division of the Ontario Ministry of Enterprise, Opportunity and Innovation (MEOI). During the Conservative governments of Harris and Eves, the province organized itself to facilitate partnerships between the

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, pu ...

and

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

. One such arrangement was a sole-source management agreement between the MEOI Science and Technology Division and the Innovation Institute of Ontario (IIO). The IIO is essentially a private corporation that was contracted to administer the $1.25 billion Ontario Research and Development Challenge Fund. The Science and Technology Division of MEOI was the subject of a provincial audit in 2003. The Provincial Auditor was particularly critical and in the report said: "A major concern was that the Ministry had committed to spending $4.3 billion without an overall strategic plan to set parameters and consistent policies for existing programs or to guide the development of new programs to meet the objectives of promoting innovation, economic growth, and job creation." At that time the division had 50 staff, had spent $1.3 billion, and had committed a further $4.8 billion primarily on research grants to universities, colleges, and research hospitals.

Funding

Research funding is also a significant source of funding for higher education. The creation of this new ministry is closely aligned with the 2005 provincial budget, and the "Reaching Higher" initiative to provide $6.2 billion in funding for higher education in 2005-2010. Funding for research and innovation is also provided by the Canadian Government, and administered through

Industry Canada Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED; ; )''Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Industry (). is a department of the G ...

. The Provincial-Federal relationship will be key to the success of the new Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, and may present an opportunity for Premier McGuinty to further the "Strong Ontario" agenda which is attempting to close the $23 billion gap between the tax dollars collected in Ontario by the Federal Government, and the amount the Federal Government returned to the province through federal programs.

Initiatives

The Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation administered these programs: *Early Researcher Awards *Green Focus on Innovation and Technology (GreenFIT) *Green Schools Pilot Initiative *Health Technology Exchange *Innovation Demonstration Fund *International Strategic Opportunities Program (ISOP) *Investment Accelerator Fund *Ontario-China Research and Innovation Fund (OCRIF) *Ontario Centres of Excellence *Ontario Emerging Technologies Fund (OETF) *Ontario Innovation Agenda *Ontario Institute for Cancer Research *Ontario's Life Sciences Commercialization Strategy *Ontario Network of Excellence *Ontario Research Fund *Ontario Tax Exemption for Commercialization (OTEC) *Ontario Water Innovation Award *Post-Doctoral Fellowship (PDF) Program *Premier's Innovation Awards

Ministers

Ministers of Research and Innovation

* Dalton McGuinty June 29, 2005 – October 30, 2007 * John Wilkinson October 30, 2007 – June 24, 2009 * John Milloy June 24, 2009 – August 18, 2010 * Glen Murray August 18, 2010 – October 20, 2011 * ''combined with Ministry of Economic Development, October 20, 2011 - February 11, 2013 *

Reza Moridi Reza Moridi (; born ) is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Ontario Liberal Party, Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 2007 to 2018 who represented the riding of Richmond Hill (provincial electoral district) ...

February 11, 2013 – June 13, 2016

Ministers of Research, Innovation, and Science

June 13, 2016 - June 29, 2018

References

External links

Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science Research, Innovation and Science