The relationship between intellectual property (IP) development, retention, and commercialization and foreign direct investment (FDI) is a key priority for Canadian innovators and policymakers. FDI is one way to bring new capital, infrastructure, labour, and ideas to Canada. The relative contribution of IP intensive industries to national economies has risen internationally, and IP provides one lens through which to study the impact of FDI on Canadian innovation, R&D, and business ecosystems. This study finds that while FDI and IP are sometimes directly related, such as in the purchase of strategic IP or the development of IP as part of FDI, the actions of foreign multinational enterprises (FMNEs) and Canadian companies in such circumstances are much more likely
to be determined by other incentive structures such as market access, cost and availability of talent, private investment opportunities, or R&D subsidies. Furthermore, the impact of FDI on Canadian innovation and IP depends on technology subsector, lo
