According to Euroconsult, even during the pandemic governments spent a record $92 billion in 2021 on their space programs, up 8% over the previous year. How did Canada fare?
The Euroconsult Governments Space Report was released yesterday. While only a short summary was made available, you need to purchase the report for full access to the data, there was enough basic information to at least compare Canada’s spending to other nations when combined with other data we have.
But first a few more numbers from the report. According to Euroconsult, civilian space budgets account for $53 billion of the $92 billion total which translates into to 58% of total spending. Defense spending was $39 billion. The report also provides forecasts through 2030 and by the looks of one of the two graphics provided, the total expenditures by 2030 should reach $115 billion.
Canada and spending
The table to the right lists the top 30 countries by spending for 2021 in millions. Canada ranks 12th at $490 million. Note that this is US dollars. Using today’s exchange rate, that’s approximately $620 million Canadian.
Of the $620 million, we know that the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) planned spending for 2021-22 was $403.6 million. The balance, $216.4 would be for defense and other civil government departments such Natural Resources Canada etc. who have some space program spending.
I’ll note here that the CSA planned spending for 2022-23 as outlined in their report from last year was listed as $386.5 million. If that holds it would actually be a decrease in spending. In fact, that same report had the CSA budget decreasing for the next two years.
Having said that, the new CSA planned spending report for 2022-23 will be available sometime in March at which time we’ll see what the actual upcoming planned spending is. At the moment we’re still waiting on the CSA Departmental Report from 2020-21 that outlines what was actually spent in 2020. That report is usually available by December the following year but the government has yet to release any departmental results from 2020.
It should also be noted that the Liberal government did commit $2.05 billion over 24 years in 2019 for a Moon program that includes rovers and the Lunar Gateway. In its 2019-20 budget the CSA had projected spending $221 million in its fiscal year 2021-22 and $265 million in 2022-23 on Moon programs. While some spending has happened, it’s not been close to those projected numbers.
Which brings us to Canada’s place in overall spending. Canada now ranks 12th in spending according to the Euroconsult data. That ranking has been slowly falling. In the last decade India, South Korea and the United Kingdom have all been increasing their spending at a higher percentage than Canada and surpassed Canada in the rankings.
Looking just below Canada in the rankings, countries like Spain and Australia are up-and-comers to keep an eye on having increased their percentage of spending in the last few years.
So what do the numbers really mean projecting forward? Clearly Canada’s Moon program will push its spending up. By how much per year is yet to be determined. Canada also needs to decide on what commitment it will make to the International Space Station beyond its commitment which ends in 2024. There’s also other potential big ticket programs being considered for astronomy, a follow-on to the RADARSAT Constellation Mission, a Space-Based Earth Observation program etc. So while Canada seems poised to remain near its current ranking, that will depend on whether the government follows through on new spending.
I’ll note that the House of Commons resumes sitting on January 31st, likely just virtually. When it does, the Standing Committee on Finance will continue its pre-budget consultations that include presentations from select organizations. We’ll have an update shortly on this topic on what if anything the space community has put forward for the committee’s consideration.