It's an exciting time for Canada's universities. Over the coming year, the University of Toronto and many other institutions will be welcoming new faculty colleagues and trainees supported through the Canada Impact+ Research Talent Initiative. These recruits include some of the world's leading established and emerging researchers, including talented Canadians returning home.
The Canada Impact+ initiative is a $1.7 billion federal investment over 12 years to attract and support more than 1,000 leading international and expatriate researchers. It is a strategic investment in the people who drive Canada's research and innovation enterprise: scholars whose discoveries advance knowledge, improve health outcomes, strengthen communities and create economic opportunity. By attracting exceptional researchers from around the world, Canada is reinforcing its position as a destination of choice for global talent. Impact+ recipients are joining institutions that have built exceptional research environments and extensive international networks, strengthening Canada's role as a global leader in discovery and innovation. Together, we will strengthen Canada's role as a global leader in research and innovation.
The program’s design includes a critical investment in the ecosystem that supports researchers to succeed. In addition to $500,000 or $1 million annually for eight years for the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada[1] awards, funding is available from the Canada Impact+ Research Infrastructure Fund. Research Chair awards also support the recruitment of early-career researchers, building talent pipelines in critical sectors such as advanced digital technologies, climate resilience and health. Each appointment brings international collaborations and networks that strengthen Canada's ability to compete for global research opportunities, including Horizon Europe.
The months since the federal government announced the Impact+ initiative in December 2025 have been a period of remarkable activity and collaboration with government to realize the ambition of this strategy. Universities have rapidly mobilized to recruit the world’s best scholars, and I am eagerly anticipating the announcement of the first group of Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada to learn more about them and their research. Like my colleagues across Canada, I am preparing to welcome successful candidates once the awards are announced.
I am also looking forward to the arrival of 650+ talented recipients of the Canada Impact+ Training Awards, from 72 countries, including 54 Canadians returning home to advance their training and research careers. At the University of Toronto, we are proud to welcome 90 of these emerging researchers who will be mentored by outstanding faculty at U of T and our affiliated hospitals. These awards support PhD students and postdoctoral fellows while strengthening the research programs that rely on highly skilled trainees. By investing in the next generation of talent, the Canada Impact+ Research Talent Initiative recognizes that emerging scholars are essential to the success of Canada's research enterprise. These trainees will develop important skills during their tenure in Canada and will be ambassadors for our institutions and companies, whether they choose to make their home here or elsewhere in the world.
Our work as expert scientists, scholars and teachers is grounded in independent inquiry, driven by curiosity and the desire to solve the grand challenges of our fields and bring forward innovative solutions. The Canada Impact+ Research Talent initiative is a significant endorsement of this mission. We are fortunate to live in a country that continues to support independent inquiry at a time when many researchers around the world face growing uncertainty about the future of research funding and support.
This program is indicative of what’s needed from our federal government: a sustained commitment to ambition in building and developing Canada’s research community. To be on par with the leading research systems in the world, Canada must continue to expand on its long-term financial commitment to discovery science and cultivate a world-leading research and innovation enterprise across our universities and hospitals. Only then will we truly lead in delivering new knowledge, medicines, technologies and the transformational discoveries that can change our lives. Talent, unlike Canada’s natural resources, can and does move. Sustained, internationally competitive investments in the full costs of research – people, operating expenses, infrastructure and indirect costs – are essential to meeting Canada’s ambition to be at the forefront of discovery and innovation.
A warm welcome to all the Impact+ awardees. We are delighted that you have chosen to make Canada your home, and we look forward to the discoveries, innovations and collaborations you will bring to our institutions and communities.
[1] The Canada Impact+ Research Chairs program was renamed the Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs of Canada to honour the late Eddie Goldenberg’s decades of contributions to shaping Canada’s research ecosystem, including his recent advocacy for major federal investments to attract global research talent to Canada.
About Leah Cowen
Professor Leah Cowen is Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives. She leads the University of Toronto’s research and innovation enterprise, representing the University to key stakeholders in government, industry, and the community. She oversees the development and implementation of policies that improve research and innovation at U of T. She is a professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics. Her research examines the biology and evolution of fungal pathogens, which have a staggering impact on human health. Her lab seeks to develop new strategies to thwart drug resistance and treat life-threatening infections.
Professor Cowen is the Canada Research Chair in Microbial Genomics & Infectious Disease, co-Director of the CIFAR Fungal Kingdom: Threats & Opportunities program, and the co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Bright Angel Therapeutics, a company that leverages state-of-the-art technologies for the development of novel antifungal therapeutics.
