e-4098 (Awards and honours)

The Government of Canada values the critical role of the research community, including graduate students and trainees – Canada’s future researchers – as well as researchers at all career stages, in producing the knowledge, discoveries, and innovations that help build a strong future for Canada and the world.

The Government of Canada also recognizes the importance of investing in post-secondary research, and the critical role that federal scholarships and fellowships play in nurturing and sustaining Canada’s top talent through support for career progression and increased financial security and independence.

Since 2016, Canada has committed more than $14 billion to support the valuable contributions that scientists and researchers make to the health, well-being, and prosperity of all Canadians.

In terms of targeted investments to support students and postdoctoral fellows, Budget 2019 provided $114 million over five years with $26.5 million per year ongoing, to the granting agencies to create 500 more master’s level scholarship awards annually and 167 more three-year doctoral scholarship awards annually through the Canada Graduate Scholarship program.

Budget 2019 also allocated $37.4 million over five years and $8.6 million annually to the federal granting agencies to expand parental leave coverage from six months to 12 months for students and postdoctoral fellows who receive granting council funding. The investment has helped young researchers better balance work obligations with family responsibilities, especially women who are often also primary caregivers.

To help sustain the talent pipeline during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government invested $291.6 million in income support for research trainees (students and postdoctoral fellows). The Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF) was also established as a temporary program to help Canadian universities and affiliated health research institutions. The CRCEF provided $323 million in wage support for approximately 32,000 research-related personnel, of which 29 percent were students and 10 percent were postdoctoral fellows.

Recognizing that diversity is one of Canada’s great strengths, and representation of varied cultural and social perspectives is essential to improving the scientific impact of research, the Government continues its work to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) to harness the country’s full range of talent. Acknowledging that Black researchers often face systemic barriers leading to underrepresentation in the awarding of grants, scholarships, and fellowships, Budget 2022 provided $40.9 million over five years and $9.7 million ongoing to the granting agencies to support targeted scholarships and fellowships for Black student researchers.

The Government recognizes that graduate students and trainees continue to face increasing financial pressures and acknowledges the calls from the research community to increase the value of scholarships and fellowships. Going forward, the Government will continue to work with the three federal granting agencies and the research community to explore ways in which we can better support our next generation of researchers and top talent.