Canada faces a hinge moment. In a rapidly shifting geopolitical landscape, strengthening domestic industries is essential to protecting our economic sovereignty.

Canada ranks among the lowest investors in research and development in the OECD. To remain competitive, we must adopt new approaches that better leverage R&D. While we have one of the most educated populations and world-class research institutions, we have struggled to translate academic excellence into industrial strength. Other nations have successfully bridged this gap—now it is Canada’s turn.

TICAN enhances innovation by embedding top graduate talent within Canadian firms to develop breakthrough technologies. Modeled on globally successful approaches like Germany’s Fraunhofer Institutes and the United States’ DARPA, TICAN is designed to increase the speed, scale, and impact of commercialization.

By subsidizing and connecting firms with the country’s best talent, TICAN de-risks R&D investment and accelerates the path from lab to market. The program works directly with companies to understand their technology goals and match them with the right expertise, supported by a brain trust of leading minds across AI, engineering, life sciences, and other advanced fields.

TICAN delivers a stronger return on innovation investment. Firms bring real-world R&D challenges, and graduate talent works to solve them as part of their advanced degrees.

For an investment of $45,000, companies realize 1.5–2.3x returns through talent cost savings alone. When R&D output and retained intellectual property are included, total returns conservatively reach 3–5x per placement.

Critically, industry partners can commercialize the IP—ensuring that Canadian-made innovations contribute directly to national economic growth.

TICAN accelerates technology development in the sectors where Canada must compete most urgently, from life sciences to electric vehicles and beyond. These industries are foundational to supply chain resilience, export growth, and long-term economic sovereignty.

By connecting exceptional R&D talent to firms in these priority areas, TICAN strengthens Canada’s industrial base while building a highly skilled workforce. With nearly 90% of graduates hired on after the program, TICAN aligns talent with industry needs, positioning Canada as a global leader in developing the technologies the world needs