The federal budget is boosting the spending base on post-secondary education by $800 million a year, starting in 2008, to develop Canada’s competitive advantage in the knowledge economy.

Budget documents said federal funding will increase by 3% a year thereafter.

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says Canada needs a knowledge advantage with the best-educated, most-skilled and most flexible work force to compete in the modern global economy.

“We are helping create the next generation of leaders,” Flaherty says.

To make post-secondary education more accessible, the budget is eliminating the $4,000 annual contribution limit to registered education savings plans.

The lifetime RESP contribution limit moves to $50,000 from $42,000.

And to further advance Canada’s knowledge economy, Flaherty says, Ottawa is putting up $1.3 billion in new money for science and technology research.

Among the beneficiaries in this category are:

> The Canada Foundation for Innovation, which gets $510 million to support modernizing research infrastructure at universities, colleges, research hospitals and other non-profit institutions;

> Labour market training, which will get $500 million more a year, starting in 2008/09 to help people not now eligible for training under the Employment Insurance program to get the skills employers want;

> Genome Canada, which gets an additional $100 million immediately to extend promising research projects and sustain funding for regional genome centres and related technology platforms;

> Highly educated and skilled immigrants who can’t find work in their chosen fields will get a Foreign Credential Referral Office, which will be created with a $13 million investment over two years;

> Canadian-educated foreign students will be beneficiaries of $34 million over the next two years to help them stay in Canada as permanent residents.