Ottawa announces 64 new research chairs in international talent attraction strategy

Sixty-four globally recognized scholars have been named the first recipients of the federal government’s new Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada program, backed by $504 million in funding over eight years. 

See the full list of Research Chair recipients.

The chairs are the first of 100 positions that will form the centrepiece of the government’s $1.7-billion Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative, an attraction strategy, initially announced Industry Minister Mélanie Joly in Dec. 2025. 

The highly competitive award provides 60 Research Chairs with either $500,000 or $1 million annually for an eight-year term, along with additional support to hire postdoctoral fellows and invest in research infrastructure. In addition, four Distinguished Research Chairs of Canada will each receive $1.5 million annually for eight years. 

“This investment in long-term, sustained research programs is unique among anything I’ve seen,” says Katy Backes Kozhimannil, an American public health researcher who accepted a chair position at the University of Calgary. 

The chairs were selected for their potential to build research capacity in areas Ottawa has identified as critical for Canada’s future, from Arctic governance and community resilience to quantum technology and maternal health. 

“Attracting top talent will deliver breakthroughs that improve Canadians’ lives,” said Minister Joly. “By expanding Canada’s talent pipeline and research capacity in areas that are vital to our prosperity and sovereignty, we are helping build the strongest economy in the G7.”

Most chairs headed for U15 universities

The first intake of research chairs, who come from 13 countries and will begin their programs in July 2027, is spread across 21 institutions. Fifty-four have accepted positions at U15 universities, Canada’s leading research-intensive institutions, with UBC receiving the most (nine), followed by the University of Ottawa (seven), and McGill University and the University of Toronto (six each).
Robert Asselin, CEO of U15 Canada, says the announcement demonstrates what can be achieved when universities are empowered to compete for world-class talent and represents “an investment in the future success of a sovereign Canada.”

For incoming researchers, the scale and duration of the funding offer an opportunity to build ambitious programs over the long term. 

Julie Lockwood, who will join McGill University from Rutgers University as the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada in Climate-Smart Invasive Species Science, says the position will allow her to work on the front lines of climate research in an environment that recognizes the seriousness of biodiversity conservation, ecosystem management and climate change. 

“Accepting this position allows me to create a world-beating research program in one of the fastest-growing environmental challenges in the world,” says Dr. Lockwood. 

She plans to leverage existing investments from the Quebec and federal governments to develop applied solutions to address climate change. “We need to be bold and innovative in our solutions,” she says, “and that’s what this position allows me to lean into.” 

For Dr. Backes Kozhimannil, who will become the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada in Maternal and Child Health Policy, the move offers an opportunity to apply expertise gained in the United States to a new health-care system. 

Her research focuses on access to maternity care, particularly in rural and remote communities, and she is looking forward to learning “what’s possible in the Canadian context,” she says. “We have very different health care systems in Canada and the U.S., but some of the same challenges in rural communities, and some of the same health equity challenges.” 

Dr. Backes Kozhimannil says she hopes to “amplify” the work of the “brilliant researchers” at the University of Calgary’s Centre for Health Policy. 

U.S. instability drives scholars to Canada 

The federal government and Canadian universities have moved quickly to roll out a program of this scale, in part to attract scholars whose research has been threatened by funding instability, policy changes and political interference in the United States following President Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024. Most of the 64 researchers in the first cohort hail from U.S. institutions, an influx touted as a “brain gain” for Canada. 

Daniel Kreiss is among them. He will leave the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to join the University of British Columbia as the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada in Democratic Communication. 

Dr. Kreiss plans to use the position to conduct comparative research on global patterns of democratic backsliding and translate findings for policymakers and the public.  

He says the chairs are “transformative in terms of research programs,” not only because they provide the resources to conduct cutting-edge research, but because they affirm the importance of higher education and science globally. 

“That means not politicizing the process of science … not weaponizing it.” Canada, he says, “very much values the integrity of the scientific process and academic freedom and peer review.” 

Chloé Arson, who was named Eddie Goldenberg Research Chair of Canada in Subsurface Energy Systems and Geomechanics at McGill University, says the political and scientific climate in the United States motivated her to accept the position in Canada.

“At present there is no large-scale funding for projects like mine,” she says. “A country cannot develop without intellectual independence, scientific independence and academic independence, which then translate into technological progress that is implemented at the economic and social levels.” Originally from France, the scientist says she’s happy to be able to pursue her career in a francophone province.

“McGill is an extremely prestigious university; its reputation precedes it. For that reason, it’s an obvious choice: an anglophone university that attracts students from around the world, who might face barriers to studying in French, and that, at the same time, embraces the francophone world by being in the province of Quebec.”

Her work focusses on green energy, one of the eight strategic research priorities of the federal government.

“The population is growing. We need more energy. How can we consume energy differently?” she asks. “Perhaps we can link certain forms of green energy with other technologies in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.”

The announcement also includes $37 million to recruit 63 Impact+ Emerging Leaders over the next year. The early-career researchers will receive awards worth $100,000 annually for six years. The program is part of the broader Impact+ initiative’s goal of bringing 1,000 highly qualified researchers into Canada’s research ecosystem.