A description of the global forces shaping the agricultural sector and potential challenges the forces create, are provided in Section 4. Section 5 outlines the economic framework that is applied in section 6 to analyze the types of agricultural research and the impacts of public sector involvement. [...] With the recent emergence of environmental concerns, health concerns, and the bioeconomy, as well as the globalization of the agricultural economy in general, the vitality of the public research sector is imperative. [...] Section 2 provides a context for the paper by providing a brief history of agriculture, agricultural policy and the role of research policy in the economic development of the sector and the overall economy. [...] The Historical Role of Agriculture In order to describe the historical role that agricultural research policy has played in the economic development of the agriculture sector and the overall economy in Canada, it is necessary to understand how agriculture evolved in Canada and the political climate that accompanied this evolution. [...] The next section of the paper briefly describes the agricultural research situation in the US, the EU, and Australia.