File photo: Kirk Penton
Canada’s superclusters are an example of big spending for innovative purposes.

The Canadian government needs to change the way it funds innovative ventures, according to data released by the Fraser Institute on Tuesday.

Canada’s ranking on the Global Innovation Index and the Global Competitiveness Report—two key innovation indices—is the lowest it has been since 2011 and 2008, respectively.

“Canada’s relatively poor innovation performance over a rather long period of time suggests that these government-dominated, top-down programs don’t work,” Fraser Institute resident scholar and professor emeritus at Western Washington University Steven Globerman said in a press release.

The government set aside $8.2 billion for various innovation programs in its 2017 budget, the Fraser Institute reported, but its innovation performance among developed countries has deteriorated.