Outstanding R&D conducted in world-class research institutions
The Toronto Region's unparalleled research infrastructure places it among the world's top research and development (R&D) hubs. The region's universities, colleges, institutes of technology and collaborative research centres - along with the researchers who supply the intellect and ideas - are respected the world over.
Deep connections between the research community and R&D-based industries make for a vibrant innovation economy. The sheer diversity of Ontario's research base is an asset in itself, while the Toronto Region's strongest R&D sectors represent disciplines at the leading edge of science and technology. Our expertise in emerging areas of scientific convergence is a strategic advantage for research-intensive companies.
A substantial public research and technology base is essential to any R&D economy:
- The Toronto Region has Canada's highest concentration of post-secondary institutions, many of which are top-ranked in their respective fields.
- University of Toronto is #13 of the world's most-cited institutions -- and only Canadian university in the top 20
- The region's nine universities and eight colleges/institutes of technology perform two vital functions: they educate highly skilled personnel, and they generate fundamental discoveries that can be transformed into marketable products and services.
- Ontario university R&D has outperformed its Canadian peers for the last two decades. $6.2 billion in new funding for post-secondary institutions over the next five years from the provincial government will ensure that Ontario continues to be an innovation leader.
More and more research centres that bring together public and private partners are springing up in the region, especially those aimed at adding value to fundamental scientific discoveries. The following are just a few recent examples:
- MaRS: A state-of-the-art commercialization convergence facility, home to the TRRA, that brings together capital, science and business under one roof in Toronto's downtown Discovery District.
- McMaster University Innovation Park: An R&D facility similar to MaRS that will support key industrial initiatives in areas such as advanced manufacturing and nanotechnology.
- Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics and The Institute for Quantum Computing: Leading-edge research institutes based at the University of Waterloo that are positioned to make the region a world-leading centre for quantum information processing.
- Terence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomedical Research: An open, fluid environment that encourages novel interactions and problem-solving among researchers from medicine, pharmacy and engineering at the University of Toronto.
Leading academic health sciences
The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto is Canada's largest medical school and an international leader in health research and education. It is the also the hub of one of North America's largest and most productive health sciences complexes, based on measures such as its research output, breadth of sub-specialty programs and contribution to health-care innovation. The Faculty is fully affiliated with 12 teaching hospitals, which all have national and/or international standing in their respective fields.
McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine is internationally renowned for both the breadth of its health sciences research and its innovative approach to medical education. It is affiliated with two major academic hospital systems, including eight hospital sites across Hamilton.
"Toronto's health research community is simply one of the best anywhere."
-- Dr. Alan Bernstein, Executive Director of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise in New York City, and founding President of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, (Canada's equivalent to the National Institutes of Health)
World-class researchers
The Toronto Region has an exceptional scholarly community. The international impact of our scientists' groundbreaking research is evident in how frequently other researchers cite their work.
The Toronto Region ranks above many industrialized countries when it comes to the number of highly-cited scientists per million residents.
The University of Toronto medical school alone is third in the world for the number of publications cited.
The Toronto Region has an especially strong representation of researchers in today's most strategic fields. .
What's New
University of Toronto #13 most-cited institution in global science papers ranking More
Premier's Innovation Awards honour 13 scientific achievements and award $12.95M to science and business winners More
Canada Research Chairs: 38 scientists at 6 Toronto Region universities named new or renewed Canada Research Chairs and receive $34.3 million in funding More
