Call for Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards Program EOIs

 
 The government of Canada recently launched their Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards program which "is a targeted, one-time initiative designed to recruit international or returning Canadian doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers to Canada."  
 
This program will invest in research by supporting doctoral student or postdoctoral fellow nominations that align with the following research priority areas:
 
• Advanced digital technologies (including AI, quantum and cybersecurity)
• Health, including biotechnology
• Clean technology and resource value chains 
• Environment, climate resilience and the Arctic 
• Food and water security 
• Democratic and community resilience 
• Manufacturing and advanced materials 
• Defence and dual-use technologies  
 
All eligible Canadian institutions will receive an allocation of nominations of doctoral and/or postdoctoral awards.  The program will be made up of two waves (March 4, 2026 deadline and expected summer deadline). Lakehead University's allocation for the March 4 round is 2 PhD students and 2 postdoctoral fellows. Note that postdoctoral fellows successful under this program will be appointed at Lakehead under our postdoctoral fellows policy.
 
Under this program,  a nominator must be a faculty member at an eligible institution and be the primary grant holder on an active grant from an eligible funding opportunity from one of the three federal funding agencies at the time of nomination. Please refer to the list of agency-specific eligible funding opportunities (see question 17).  As well, Nominees (doctoral students and postdocs) can hold any citizenship, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada). However, nominees cannot have a current affiliation with a Canadian institution and must be currently studying or working abroad.
 
This initiative will be jointly managed by the Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Office of Research Services.  Faculty members interested in applying to this opportunity to invite a PhD student or postdoctoral fellow to Lakehead are required to complete an internal expression of interest by January 27, 2026. For additional details regarding our internal call, deadlines and processes for the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards, please click here.