The Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (Impact+ Training Awards) is a targeted, one-time initiative designed to recruit international or returning Canadian doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers to Canada.

 

 

It is important to note that nominations must align with the identified priority areas and these are intended to be interpreted broadly so that relevant work from a range of disciplines, from across the Tri-agencies, may be considered.

 

 

 

 The Impact+ training awards will be processed by the agencies in two phases with separate deadlines: 

• Wave 1 submission deadline: March 4, 2026 before 8:00 pm (ET). 

• Wave 2 submission deadline: To be announced, deadline expected summer 2026.   

 

 

 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. For more information, please refer to the list of agency-specific eligible funding opportunities (see question 17). As well, for the purposes of this initiative, "eligible active grants" are those that received a payment or have a planned payment in the 2025-26 or 2026–27 fiscal year (April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2027).  In addition, as per the nominating institution’s policies, nominators must be eligible to supervise doctoral students and/or postdoctoral researchers.  It is also important to note that although the nominator’s research grant does not have to specifically be within one of the eight identified priority research areas, they must be able to facilitate the nominee conducting research in one of the identified areas. In addition, an eligible doctoral degree or postdoctoral research program must be predominantly research oriented.

 

Nominees can hold any citizenship, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada). Nominees cannot have a current affiliation with a Canadian institution and must be currently studying or working abroad.  In addition, nominees’ research areas must be within one of the eight priority research areas.

To be eligible to be a nominee for the doctoral award, nominees: 

• Must be eligible to enroll in a doctoral program at the nominating institution in Canada as of the award activation date. 

• Cannot hold a tenure or tenure-track appointment or be on leave from such an appointment concurrently with the Impact+ training award (some exceptions apply; see the Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide for details).   

To be eligible to be a nominee for the postdoctoral award, nominees must: 

• Be qualified to undertake postdoctoral research at the nominating institution in Canada as of the award activation date. 

• Hold or expect to hold a doctorate or health professional degree before the start date of the award. 

• Not hold or be on leave from a tenure-track or tenured faculty position.   

 

In most cases, Impact+ training awards must be held at the nominating institution for at least one year. After one year, they are portable but must still be held in Canada at a Canadian institution and still be aligned with the priority research areas.