The mRNA technology behind many of the vaccines keeping us safe from COVID-19 is the product of decades of research, some of which first began at the University of British Columbia. One of the key lessons of COVID-19 is that fundamental science and research is vital to our long-term well-being and prosperity.
A re-elected Liberal government will:
- Add 1,000 Canada Research Chairs to help attract and retain top talent at Canadian universities and support graduate research, with a focus on improving gender and racial equity among Canadian faculty, promoting inter-disciplinary research, and reinforcing Canada’s world leading capabilities in life sciences and bio-medical research.
- Establish a $75 million a year fund for colleges and universities to help commercialize leading research, including identifying and securing patent rights for research done within their institutions and connecting researchers with people and businesses to help put these innovations into action and grow our economy.
- Drawing on Canada’s contribution to mRNA science and vaccines, introduce a new $100 million a year fund to pursue moonshot research into high-impact illnesses where a vaccine may be possible.