| Conseil national de recherches Canada | |
_logo.svg){kind=logo} | |
 | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1916; 109 years ago (1916) |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Canada |
| Headquarters | Ottawa,Ontario, Canada |
| Employees | 4200 (approximately) |
| Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
|
| Key document | |
| Website | nrc.canada.ca |
TheNational Research Council Canada (NRC;French:Conseil national de recherches Canada)[1] is the primary national agency of theGovernment of Canada dedicated to science and technologyresearch and development.[2] It is the largest federal research and development organization in Canada.[3]
TheMinister of Industry is responsible for the NRC.[4]
NRC is anagency of theGovernment of Canada, and its mandate is set out in theNational Research Council Act.[5]
Under the Act, the NRC is responsible for:
Approximately 4200 people across Canada are employed by the NRC.[6] In addition, the NRC also employs guest workers from universities, companies, and public and private-sector organizations.
The National Research Council was established as the Honorary Advisory Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in June 1916,[7] under the pressure ofWorld War I. In both Britain and Canada, the onset of the war had disrupted scientific and industrial supply chains, and drawn political and public attention to a perceived failure of government to coordinate research and development. Following the founding of the BritishCommittee for Scientific and Industrial Research in 1915, the Honorary Council was founded to advise the Canadian government on matters of science and industry.[8]
Within its first years, the Council, chaired byUniversity of Toronto BiochemistArchibald Macallum, focused on scientific solutions to manufacturing, agricultural and energy issues connected to impact of the war. In 1918, The Honorary Council completed a report on the state of Canadian research which criticized the lack of central organization and funding available to Canadian researchers, and proposed a National Research Institute with its own government-run laboratories to conduct research.[9]
Early on, the Council was commonly referred to as the National Research Council (NRC), and it adopted this as its official name in 1925.Henry Marshall Tory served as the first NRC President from 1928-1935. Early projects for the NRC included research into the fungal grain diseaseWheat Rust, the resistance of concrete to deterioration, and the use oflignite coal as a viable fuel source.[10] The Council also provided funding for university scientists conducting research.[11] In 1932, laboratories were built onSussex Drive inOttawa and the Medical Research Committee was formed with Dr.Frederick Banting as the inaugural Chair.
With the impetus ofWorld War II, the NRC grew rapidly and for all practical purposes, became amilitary science and weapons research organization. It undertook a number of important projects, which included participation with theUnited States andUnited Kingdom, in the development of chemical and germ warfare agents, the explosiveRDX, the proximity fuse,radar, and submarine detection techniques. Many inventions and innvoations during this period and beyond drew upon the skills of engineerGeorge J. Klein, who is often touted as the most productive inventor in Canada during the 20th century. A special branch, known as the Examination Unit, was involved with cryptology and the interception of enemy radio communications. According to theCanadian Security Intelligence Service website, the NRC headquarters in Ottawa "was a prime espionage target" during theCold War.[12] The NRC was also engaged inatomic fission research at theMontreal Laboratory, and later theChalk River Laboratories in Ontario.
Post-WWII, the NRC reverted to its pre-war civilian role, and a number of wartime activities were spun off to newly formed organizations. Military research continued under a new organization, theDefence Research Board, while inventions with commercial potential were transferred to the newly formedCanadian Patents and Development Limited; and atomic research went to the newly createdAtomic Energy of Canada Limited. Foreign signals intelligence gathering officially remained with the agency when, by Order in Council, the Examination Unit became the Communications Branch of the NRC in 1946. The CBNRC was transferred to theDepartment of National Defence in 1975, and renamed theCommunications Security Establishment. During the 1950s, the medical research funding activities of the NRC were handed over to the newly formedMedical Research Council of Canada.
On 1 May 1978, with the rapid post-war growth of Canadian universities, the NRC's role in university research funding in the natural sciences was passed under the GOSA Act to theNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
In the 1980s, the NRC was responsible for selectingthe first Canadian astronauts.[13] The first Canadian in space,Marc Garneau, flew on the Space ShuttleChallenger on missionSTS-41-G in October 1984. The NRC's role in the space program was transferred to theCanadian Space Agency following its foundation in 1989.
From 1994 to 2004, the NRC was led byArthur Carty whose "energetic leadership and clear vision have made the Council a major player in the development and expansion of new frontiers of scientific exploration."[14] In 2004, Carty was chosen by Prime MinisterPaul Martin to serve as the firstNational Science Advisor of Canada.[15] He was succeeded at NRC by Pierre Coulombe.[16]
In April 2010,John McDougal was appointed President of the NRC by theHarper government[17] The tenure ofJohn McDougall was marked by budget cuts and controversies (see "Controversies" below). Under his, andMinister of State (Science and Technology)Gary Goodyear's leadership, the NRC became a "toolbox for industry" with dented basic-research infrastructure, according to a formerClerk of the Privy Council.[18]
In 2015,Kirsty Duncan was installed as Minister of Science in the newTrudeau government. The focus of the NRC shifted toward partnerships with private and public-sector technology companies, both nationally and internationally.[19] John McDougall left suddenly in 2016[20] andIain Stewart became the new President of the NRC.[21]
In August 2020 underMinister of Innovation, Science and IndustryNavdeep Bains and President Iain Stewart, the NRC announced it was building theBiologics Manufacturing Centre, a facility that can produce vaccines and other biologics.[22] The construction of the facility was started as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Canada's inability to produce COVID-19 Vaccines.[23]
In September 2020, President Iain Stewart was shuffled to the troubledPublic Health Agency of Canada,[24] and in December 2020 Bains named Mitch Davies to fill the vacancy.[25] In October 2021, Iain Stewart returned to his position as President of the National Research Council.[26] In January 2024,Mitch Davies was appointed as President of the National Research Council following the retirement of Iain Stewart.[27]
See also: Complete list ofNRCan Presidents.
Divisions of the NRC include:[28]
The NRC highlights 12 research centres[30] and 9 collaboration centres[31] on its website:
TheNRCIndustrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) was introduced in 1947 to support product developments in small to medium-sized businesses.[37] The NRC provides grants and financial support to companies looking to bring new and innovative technologies to the market.[38] More than 250 field staff and 130 offices across Canada provide businesses with access to the program.[39] In In 2012, the program became international by joiningEureka, the largest international collaboration network for industrial R&D.[40]
Some of the many innovations by NRC personnel included theartificial pacemaker, development ofcanola (rapeseed), one of the firstelectric wheelchairs forquadriplegics,[41] theCrash Position Indicator, and the Cesium Beamatomic clock. For the 75th-year anniversary in 2022, NRC provided a detailed history of IRAP on its website.[40]
The current fleet (2025) according to NRC's website is:[42][43]
Designed and built by NRC
SeveralNobel laureates have been associated with the NRC at various points of their careers, including:
Under the tenure of Prime MinisterStephen Harper from 2006 until 2015, Canadian Government research organizations began to restrict the ability of government scientists to communicate with the public.[15]
In 2010, the Minister of State for Science and TechnologyGary Goodyear appointedJohn McDougall, a former President and CEO of theAlberta Research Council petroleum engineer, as President of the NRC. His appointment was followed by several controversies.
In 2011, McDougall began to oversee a change in research focus away from basic research and towards industry-relevant research.[45][46] This included the development of multiple programs which shifted the research budget out of existing projects and into a number of focused programs.[47]
In 2012, National Research Council environmental scientists "were barred from discussing their work on snowfall with the media."[48]
In 2012, the Harper government introduced the budget implementation bill (C-38) entitled "Jobs, Growth and Long-term Prosperity Act Bill". Environmental groups argued that science was being gutted and silenced to open the way for development in ecologically sensitive areas in the north.[49] In June 2012, the federal opposition made a motion in parliament,[50]
That, in the opinion of the House, Canadian scientific and social science expertise is of great value and, therefore, the House calls on the Government to end its muzzling of scientists; to reverse the cuts to research programs atEnvironment Canada,Fisheries and Oceans Canada,Library and Archives Canada, National Research Council Canada,Statistics Canada, and theNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada; and to cancel the closures of theNational Council of Welfare and theFirst Nations Statistical Institute.
In October 2012, McDougall and his appointee as VP Business Management, Dr. Ian Potter, served termination notices to all of the NRC's Business Development Officers (BDOs) across Canada, which ultimately impacted the majority of the NRC's intellectual property management, patenting, and business development activities conducted at the various NRC's research centres in Canada.[citation needed]
The transformation of the NRC into a research and technology organization focusing on "business-led research" was part of the Harper government'sEconomic Action Plan 2013.[2] On 7 May 2013, the NRC launched its new "business approach" in which it offered four business lines: strategic research and development, technical services, management of science and technology infrastructure and the NRC-Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). With these services, the NRC intended to shorten the gap between early stage research and development and commercialization.[2]
During McDougall's tenure as president, there was a drop in research publications and new patents from the NRC as the scientific staff was cut significantly.[51][52] An article published in April 2016 and based on information from the office of the Minister of Science gave the following figures for the period 2011–2015:
In the five years from 2011 through 2015, the number of studies in academic journals were 1,889, 1,650, 1,204, 1,017 and 549, respectively. (Figures from 2010 and earlier are generally in the 1,200 to 1,300 range.) The number of patents over the period 2011 to 2014 (with no figure available for 2015) are: 205, 251, 128 and 112, respectively. The years before 2011 averaged 250 to 300 patents per year.[53]
In September 2016, the office of the Minister of Science released figures showing that from 2010 to 2015, the number of research officers at the NRC fell by 26 per cent, and the number of scientists and engineers of all kinds fell by 22 per cent.[54]
In March 2016, John McDougall sent a three-sentence email to NRC employees, announcing that he was going on personal leave.[20] Subsequently, NRC management announced that two major projects he had led would be abandoned: re-branding the NRC as "CNRCSolutions" – though colourful "CNRCSolutions" T-shirts and "branding books" had already been distributed,[55] and re-organizing its three research divisions into five research divisions.[56] Ian Potter abruptly resigned in 2018 after 16 months of private language training in his home town Edmonton.[57]
McDougall's tenure as president included the period during which the NRC contaminated the water table in the Eastern Ontario community of Mississippi Mills, without informing its inhabitants.[citation needed] In January 2014, NRC employees at the fire-safety testing facility in Mississippi Mills were told to start drinking bottled water.[58] In December 2015, 23 months later, residents of Mississippi Mills with homes near the facility were warned by the NRC that their well-water was contaminated with toxic chemicals called perfluorinated alkyl substances, often found in firefighting foam.[59] In July 2016, Acting President Maria Aubrey formally acknowledged that the NRC'sNational Fire Laboratory was the source of the groundwater contamination in Mississippi Mills.[60] In December 2016, it was reported that owners of homes near the lab in Mississippi Mills were launching a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the NRC over water contamination.[61]
In 2014 the NRC's computer network was the target of a cyber attack by Chinese infiltrators, which resulted in the NRC's IT network being shut down for an extended period of time.[62]
Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is a USA-lead, proposed extremely large telescope (ELT) that has become controversial due to its planned location onMauna Kea, which is considered sacred land according to the native Hawaiians, on the island of Hawaii in the United States.[63]
On April 6, 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Canada would commit $243.5 million over a period of 10 years.[64] The telescope's enclosure was designed byDynamic Structures Ltd. in British Columbia.[65]
The project became subject to blockades[66] and a group of Canadian academics have called to divest Canadian funding from the project. On July 20, 2019 with an online petition onChange.org.[67]
As of 2025, Canada did not divest[68] but a new location for the TMT in Las Palmas (Spain) has now been selected.[69]
Specialized agencies and services which have branched out of the NRC include:
Goodyear, the minister of state for science and technology, has presided over the most retrograde federal Science and Technology policy in memory. During his tenure, the government shuttered the office of theNational Science Advisor, blocked asbestos from a UN hazardous chemicals list on which it clearly belongs, gutted theFisheries Act, gutted theNavigable Waters Protection Act, set out to weaken theSpecies at Risk Act, killed the long-form census, erodedEnvironment Canada's ability to monitor climate change, earned an international reputation for muzzling scientists and, at a great potential cost, defunded the world's leading freshwater research centre... At the same time, changes to our science-funding regime and a makeover of the National Research Council, Canada's science agency, into a tool box for industry have dented our basic-research infrastructure and damaged our prospects for innovation.
Around the same time when the FBI was asking for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's help in detaining Su Bin, according to The Globe and Mail, Canada was responding to a massive attack by state-sponsored Chinese hackers who had penetrated the network of its National Research Council, which leads the country's research and development efforts. (China denied the accusation.)
Time signal authorities | |
|---|---|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
45°26′46″N75°37′01″W / 45.44623°N 75.61698°W /45.44623; -75.61698
