Canada poaches dozens of top US researchers for its universities

What the report says

BBC World News reports that Canada is attracting a wave of academic talent from the United States through a new federal research recruitment programme backed by C$504 million in funding. The initiative will bring 64 professors to Canadian universities from around the world, and more than three-quarters of them are expected to come from US institutions. Fields highlighted include climate research, medicine and other areas tied to public health and innovation.

Among those moving is Seth Guikema, a climate resiliency researcher leaving the University of Michigan for the University of Western Ontario. He said the research climate in the US had become more difficult and that he wanted a place where his work could have practical impact. The report also says Peter Caravan, who worked at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, will continue biopharmaceutical research at the University of British Columbia. Some recruits are Canadians returning home after working abroad.

The BBC links the hiring push to uncertainty in the US research environment under Donald Trump’s administration, including criticism of universities, frozen federal grants and broader policy changes affecting academia. Canadian Industry Minister Melanie Joly welcomed the appointments and said Ottawa was making its own decisions. Academics quoted in the report said the move reflects both Canada’s growing ambition and concerns that the US may become a less attractive place for scientific work.