The federal government is consulting on the design of a new $2-billion research agency it’s modelling on a bureau of the U.S. defence department that helped develop the internet and autonomous-vehicle technology.

It will be a “moonshot approach to science and innovation,” Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne said in an interview with The Logic. But some policy experts question whether the proposed program, prompted by the recommendations of a prominent business lobby, will be able to address Canada’s long-running innovation challenges.