Government of Canada optimizes approaches to support the next generation of researchers

Canada is at the forefront of addressing global challenges through innovative research. To meet evolving needs, the government is enhancing support and expanding investments to ensure the country remains a leader in science and research.

Today, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced the creation of a new harmonized program to support graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. The Canada Research Training Awards Suite will consolidate 11 existing scholarship and fellowship programs at the three federal granting agencies into a single suite of programs, streamlining the way Canada supports the next generation of research talent. This will reduce the administrative burden on researchers, allowing them to focus on what matters—their research—while also fostering better collaboration and coordination across the granting agencies: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

The three federal granting agencies have also made significant strides in enhancing coordination, expanding and strengthening their collaboration, and building their capacity to implement innovative, harmonized policies and programs that leverage the unique strengths of each organization.

Here are a few highlights:

• Enhanced international coordination and engagement: The granting agencies have enhanced global partnerships, driving collaborative initiatives across artificial intelligence, quantum, and Arctic research, benefiting Canada.
• Targeted international interdisciplinary calls: The New Frontiers in Research Fund supports interdisciplinary research tackling global challenges, with over 800 Canadian-led projects and 783 team members from 58 countries.
• Open access policy: The agencies will require any peer-reviewed publications arising from agency-supported research to be freely accessible, ensuring wider reach and equity in research dissemination.
• Impact focus: The agencies strengthened research partnerships to maximize social, health and economic benefits for Canadians, including the Lab to Market grants for entrepreneurship and commercialization.

Combined with this harmonization of talent programs into the new awards suite, the government is increasing both the number and the value of graduate scholarships and postdoctoral fellowships. With an investment of $825 million over five years provided in Budget 2024 and an additional $199.8 million per year ongoing, the number of students and postdoctoral researchers receiving awards will grow by approximately 1,720. As well, an increase to award values came into effect in September 2024. Further details on how students and postdoctoral researchers can apply for the new awards suite will be made publicly available in the coming months.

Work is also under way to implement a new, modern and user-friendly application portal for researchers and students to apply for funding opportunities. The Tri-agency grants management solution will replace over a dozen outdated and complex application systems, streamlining them into one digital platform that will be used across the granting agencies.

The new program and the portal are part of Canada’s ambitious plan to strengthen and modernize the federal research support system. As announced in Budget 2024, this plan aims to bring greater strategic vision and coordination to the system while preserving those features that have led to Canada’s strong record of research excellence.