What the US SBIR Lapse Teaches Us About Canada's Innovation Vulnerability
- kybriggs
- May 12
- 1 min read
A recent six-month lapse in the US Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program highlights the economic consequences of inconsistent innovation policy. Our latest op-ed examines how the US drives technology commercialization through two core pillars: unified intellectual property (IP) frameworks and risk-tolerant capital.
Canada currently lacks both. The piece outlines how our innovation economy is hindered by:
Fragmented IP Policy: Trade secrets are managed at the provincial level, and universities lack a unified framework for commercializing publicly funded research.
Early-stage Capital Gaps: Venture capital requires fast returns, while Canadian funding remains highly risk-averse, leaving early-stage, pre-revenue startups without necessary support.
As a result, taxpayer-funded Canadian research is routinely lost to foreign markets. To fix this, Canada cannot simply import the US model. The op-ed proposes a tailored, made-in-Canada solution combining unified federal trade secret legislation with a venture philanthropy funding model to share risk and keep emerging technologies under Canadian control.
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