Canada should take some lessons from the big top, specifically the Cirque du Soleil performers, if it wants to be among the global leaders in research and innovation, according to the first public benchmark report of the Science Technology and Innovation Council.

The report, which measures Canada against 50 other countries, notes that universities are often at the forefront but are not internationally recognized for their cutting-edge research. Young Canadians do well in science and mathematics, but the numbers going into science and engineering are low, as is the number of those in postgraduate studies. The report, aimed at universities, businesses, and governments, says that while Canada has improved, other countries are improving faster, so overall research and innovation gets a middle grade.

It suggests the Quebec-based Cirque du Soleil is an example of blending innovation, technology, and talent to become a world leader. A member of the panel that wrote the report, Heather Monroe-Blum, president of McGill University, told The Toronto Star that part of Cirque’s success was built on global recruitment. “There is no healthy civil society with strong economic success that doesn’t lead on science, technology, innovation, knowledge, education,” she said.

Universities welcomed the report. The president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, Claire Morris, said in a written statement that “Canadian university leaders strongly endorse the council’s emphasis on the need for greater collaboration between universities, colleges, governments, business, and nonprofit organizations to advance the research and innovation successes of the nation.”

The council was set up in 2007 to advise the federal government on matters of science, technology, and innovation. —Karen Birchard