As you no doubt are aware from reading this blog and others (CanadaResearchFunding.org and Don’t Leave Canada Behind), NSERC, CIHR, and SSHRC are having their budgets cut by around $148 million over the next three years. They also cut $30 million from the National Research Council.

Surely unrelated, Minister Clement Acts to Advance Automotive Research in Canada. At the bottom of the story, we find:

Automotive Partnership Canada (APC) is a five-year (2009–2014), $145-million initiative to support significant, collaborative, industry-driven research and development (R&D) that benefits the Canadian automotive industry.

APC involves funding from the following agencies:

• Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC): $85 million;
• National Research Council Canada (NRC): $30 million;
• Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI): $15 million;
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC): $5 million; and
• Canada Excellence Research Chairs program (CERC): $10 million.

Proposals funded under this initiative will be led and submitted by university or government (NRC) researchers, but they must be clearly driven by industry needs.