Like a team owner at a free agent press conference, Ottawa was puffing its chest yesterday after stealing some of the U.S.’s top brainiacs.
What happened: The federal government has awarded more than $500 million in funding to 64 world-leading scholars who will relocate to work in Canada, primarily from prestigious U.S. schools like Harvard, MIT, and Stanford. The professors will tap into a $1.7 billion funding pool that the feds rolled out last year to lure top academics from the States.
Among the academic A-listers coming to Canada are Harvard chemist Peter Caravan (a pioneer of radiology research), University of North Carolina’s Brian Kuhlman (whose work was connected to the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), and digital media scholar Ethan Zuckerman, who invented the pop-up ad (and deeply regrets it).
Why it’s happening: The Trump administration has made major funding cuts to universities, gutted federal research institutes, and tightened its immigration policies. That’s led many top scholars to look elsewhere for more funding and security to conduct their research.
Prominent nutritionist Kevin Hall, who worked at the U.S. National Institutes of Health, left the role after claiming federal officials censored his work on ultraprocessed foods. He’s now heading to the University of Ottawa.
Why it matters: Canadian universities have been slipping down global rankings and have had a difficult time turning academic research into commercial success stories. Tapping into the talent pool at some of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions could help reverse those trends.—LA
