CCI Statement on SR&ED Policy Changes Moving Forward

The federal government has announced a public consultation on draft legislation to implement a series of upcoming tax measures. For Canadian innovators, the most consequential element of this process is implementing changes to the Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) program previously announced in December 2024. In response to the draft legislation, CCI President Benjamin Bergen issued the following statement on behalf of our members:

"The Scientific Research and Experimental Development (SR&ED) tax credit is Canada’s most important economic incentive for innovation and productivity-enhancing technology development, and CCI has been calling on the federal government to modernize eligibility criteria for many years. In light of the American trade war, we are in a moment where the government must be taking all available steps to build Canadian economic capacity, to put us in the strongest possible position to protect our national sovereignty.

"We applauded the government last December when these reforms were first announced, and it’s good to see that the government is listening and moving forward. While this is a big step in the right direction, we must acknowledge the reality that we are living in a very different economic and geopolitical environment today than we were back in December of 2024.

"Canadian innovators are eager to support the government as we navigate this difficult economic environment. Homegrown scale-up technology companies can be the engine of Canadian prosperity, putting our country on a more secure, sovereign, and resilient footing. What we need is policies that help to protect and commercialize key intellectual property and ensure that Canadians benefit from homegrown innovation.

"We are eager to work with Prime Minister Carney and his team to talk about new and creative ways to ensure that Canadian government funding is used exclusively to bolster the growth of Canadian companies and ensure that our tax and trade policies do not act as unnecessary irritants in ongoing disputes."

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Media Contact

James McLeod
jmcleod@canadianinnovators.org