The budget included a new International Talent Attraction Strategy and Action Plan to help attract top-tier international researchers and innovators, in addition to continued support for Canada's health research and innovation ecosystem.Doug Ives/The Canadian Press

Kevin Smith is the president and CEO of University Health Network. Brad Wouters is the executive vice president, science and research, of University Health Network.

We were told this federal budget would be about taking big, bold risks. In the arena that matters most for our future prosperity – science, research and a knowledge-driven economy – it delivered.

Last April, we wrote that Canada stood at a turning point. We could continue to treat talent recruitment and innovation funding as an expense justified only by outputs or we could look at science research the way our competitors do: as a strategic investment in talent, productivity and long-term economic strength.

This path, which we believe Prime Minister Mark Carney and Industry Minister Mélanie Joly have chosen, sets Canada on a clear new direction that recognizes the powerful economic contributions that can be recognized by investing in science and the next generation of Canadian researchers, innovators and........

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