Introduction

This chapter is organised around different dimensions related to research mobilisation in Canada, with a focus on the field of education and the role of universities. Major features of Canada as a country are described first to serve as a background to the chapter. The next section introduces the role of government, including current research funding agencies in Canada and issues of research quality indicators and research capacity building. Next, the chapter focuses on the strategies and mechanisms currently used by universities to share their research. The chapter concludes with a discussion about the key debates and considerations around education research mobilisation and identifies some unresolved issues that might help guide future research.

Overview of Canada

Canada is the world's second largest country in area. Canada is a large, rich, geographically and demographically diverse country with an advanced industrial and service economy. The term ‘cultural mosaic’ is commonly used to describe the multicultural nature of Canadian society. Canada has one of the highest immigration rates in the world (more than 1% per year). Nearly 20% of Canadians were born outside the country, a proportion that is increasing steadily, and these immigrants come from all parts of world (www12.statcan.ca/censusrecensement/ 2006/as-sa/97-557/p2-eng.cfm). People who come from different origins and cultural groups are able to retain their religions and customs as well as languages.

Canada also has a high-achieving education system, consistently among the highest-ranking countries on international assessments such as PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) or PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study). Mandatory school age for young people is from 5–7 to 16–18 years old depending on the province. The adult literacy rate is 99%, although Canada does not score as highly on international assessments of adult literacy as it does for school-age skills (Conference Board of Canada, www.conferenceboard. ca/hcp/details/education.aspx). English and French are both official languages at the federal level.

Canada has a federal political system. Power is divided between the federal government and provincial or territorial governments. Canada's provinces range in size from Ontario, with 13 million people, to Prince Edward Island, with about 200,000 people; the territories have even smaller populations.