First century of Canada The office of the registrar general of Canada has traditionally been associated with the responsibility of overseeing corporate affairs, by virtue of its function in registering all
letters patent. From
Confederation to 1966, the
secretary of state for Canada was the registrar general. Between 1966 and 1995, the office was held by the
minister of consumer and corporate affairs. The
National Research Council of Canada was established in 1916, under the pressure of
World War I, to advise the government on matters of science and industrial research. In 1932, laboratories were built on
Sussex Drive in
Ottawa. The
economic development function of the portfolio can be traced from the office of the minister of trade and commerce, which was created in 1892. The post of minister of industry briefly existed, between 1963 and 1969, as a successor to the post of minister of defence production. It was merged with the
trade and commerce portfolio in 1969. The post of
minister of industry, trade and commerce existed between 1969 and 1983. During that time, separate posts of
minister of regional economic expansion (1969 to 1983) and
minister of regional industrial expansion (1983–1990) also existed. In 1990, the post of minister of industry, science and technology was created. University funding was a problem for the government of Canada over the first three-quarters of the 20th century. In 1967 the passage of the
Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act (FPFAA) replaced the policy of direct federal grants to the universities with a system of transfers to the provincial governments to support the operating costs of universities, which are a provincial responsibility under the 1867
British North America Act. Over the course of seven years, from 1970, the so-called Lamontagne Report on
A Science Policy for Canada detailed the work of the Senate Special Committee on Science Policy.
1977 GOSA Act In 1977 the funding of university research in
Canada was formally separated from the NRC, under the
Established Programs Financing Act Several legally-distinct bodies were created to disburse federal government monies: the
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the
Canada Council, the
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the
National Research Council, the
Defence Research Board, the Medical Research Council (latterly renamed to the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research) and the
National Library of Canada each nurture the related trade. or "Tri-Agency". The effect of the GOSA Act was dramatic, as reported by Rogers and McLean: "since 1979-80, federal support for self-initiated, non-contractual research in education has increased from C$126,000 to more than C$1.7 million" in 1986. The present system grants directly to faculty members for research projects under such policies as the
Canada Research Chair programme, and provides capital funds on a "shared-cost basis" for large infrastructure projects, such as buildings or laboratories. Fisher and Rubenson write that "both types of funding are disbursed by federal granting agencies [such as the Tri-Council bodies] on a competitive basis and awarded in accordance with federal criteria, which includes merit and national interests", observance of human rights and the general direction of state. "Furthermore, these policy decisions are set within a science and technology policy that emerged from competing definitions of science, utility, and the "public good". At the policy level, the interests of capital are privileged under the guise of serving the
national interest." The name of the office was changed back with the swearing-in of the cabinet of
Mark Carney on 13 May 2025 after the
2025 Canadian federal election. == List of ministers ==