Schools fear all the bulldozers and cranes may have been in vain if the next year’s federal budget does not allow for research money.

Last year, the budget set aside $2 billion for campus infrastructure developments and improvements. This sum was put into action immediately, spurring 536 projects to build or improve research and teaching facilities at campuses across Canada, according to the Globe and Mail.

Now, in the face of a record deficit, the concern is that these new and improved buildings will go unused without the support of research funding in the federal budget.

“The last budget […] actually cut the funding for the three granting councils by $147.9 million,” James Turk, executive director for the Canadian Association of University Teachers, explained. The councils are the principle sources of money for university research.

According to Turk, CAUT is concerned further funding cuts to research will be made in order to meet the budget goals set out by finance minister Jim Flaherty.

In 2008, Canadian universities spent over $10 billion on research, but with last year’s budget cuts, the councils have been forced to turn down about 80 per cent of grant applications, Turk explained.

“They have to tell the researcher, ‘we’re sorry, your grant went through all the approval processes, it’s clearly something invaluable to do, but regrettably, we simply do not have the money to fund you.’”

The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada has also been pressing the federal government to continue investing in research, Alison Hebbs, assistant director of communications for AUCC, said.

“We also believe that investing in innovation and research can help us emerge even stronger from the current economic difficulties,” Hebbs explained, adding “research is part of the solution.”

Both the AUCC and the CAUT believe a focus on funding education, research and innovation will ultimately aid in a recovery from the recession.

In their annual report card on Canadian quality of life as it compares with its peer countries, the Conference Board of Canada rated the nation’s innovation performance at a D.

“Almost all countries leading the […] innovation scores have government programs that encourage innovation in the national interest,” the board explained in the report, where 12 of the 17 countries ranked higher than Canada in innovation.

“Canadian companies are […] rarely at the leading edge of new technology and too often find themselves a generation or more behind the productivity growth achieved by global industry leaders,” the report said.

Turk also expressed concern over other countries leaving Canada in the dust in terms of support for research and innovation.

“The current budget that [President] Obama has tabled in the American congress proposes a six per cent increase to the funding of the two American granting councils,” Turk said. This financial bump is following an increase in funding from Obama’s stimulus plan in 2009.

The councils and schools will have to hold their breath until Thursday, when the federal government plans to reveal the details of their budget in Parliament.