The Canada Excellence Research Chairs transfer payment program is a tri-agency program that includes the following initiatives:

• The Canada Excellence Research Chairs
• The Canada Impact+ Research Chairs
• The Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders

The Canada Excellence Research Chairs (CERC) program support Canadian universities in their efforts to build Canada’s growing reputation as a global leader in research and innovation. The program awards funding to world-renowned researchers and their teams to establish ambitious research programs at Canadian universities.

The Canada Impact+ Research Chairs (Impact+) and the Canada Impact+ Emerging Leaders programs are one-time initiatives designed to support Canadian universities in attracting world-leading researchers whose work addresses critical national and global challenges. Impact+ Chairs will receive long-term funding and institutional support to advance ambitious and transformative projects in Canada’s strategic priority areas, build and maintain exceptional research teams, and collaborate with partners across sectors and borders. Universities may also request additional funding to recruit international early career researchers as part of the Emerging Leaders initiative.

The CERC and Impact+ initiatives are administered by SSHRC on behalf of CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC.

This transfer payment program does not have repayable contributions.

Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research is internationally competitive,

Canada has a pool of diverse and highly skilled people in the natural sciences and engineering,

Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research knowledge is used.

• Strengthen Canada’s ability to attract the world’s top researchers.
• Build a critical mass of expertise in priority areas identified by the government at Canadian institutions.
• Create a competitive environment to help Canadian institutions attract a cadre of world-leading researchers, collaborators, partners and research users from diverse sectors, nationally and internationally.
• Contribute to the branding of Canada as a location of choice for world-leading research, science and technology development.

The  Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) supports Canada’s postsecondary institutions in their efforts to become global research leaders. CFREF helps competitively selected Canadian postsecondary institutions turn their key strengths into world-leading capabilities. This program is administered by SSHRC on behalf of CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC.

This transfer payment program does not have repayable contributions.

Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research is internationally competitive,

Canada has a pool of diverse and highly skilled people in the natural sciences and engineering.

• Institutions develop ambitious and focused strategies.
• Canadian postsecondary institutions excel globally in research areas of strategic relevance to Canada.
• Institutions contribute to creating long-term economic advantages for Canada.

NSERC's portion of the Canada Graduate Scholarships (CGS) program provides financial support to high-calibre scholars who are engaged in Master's or doctoral programs in the natural sciences or engineering. This program is a tri-agency program and is administered by each respective agency (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC).

The decrease in 2026-27 results from the transfer of funds to the Canada Research Training Awards Suite. Transfers planned for 2027-28 and 2028-29 will be completed at a later date.”

There is no repayable contribution under this TPP.

• Rising enrollment in Canadian graduate programs.
• Reduced time required for CGS scholarship recipients to finish their degrees compared to the national average in their respective fields.
• Strengthened Canadian universities' ability to draw in top-tier, promising individuals who are poised to become the future leaders in research.

NSERC’s portion of the Canada Research Training Award Suite (CRTAS) supports the next generation of innovators in natural sciences and engineering by providing funding and high-quality research training, cultivating research skills, fostering creativity, and empowering researchers to make significant contributions to Canada’s research ecosystem, economy and prosperity. Three types of funding opportunities are offered through the suite:

• Canada Graduate Research Scholarship—Master’s program
• Canada Graduate Research Scholarship—Doctoral program
• Canada Postdoctoral Research Award program

Under CRTAS, the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards is a one-time initiative that will support the recruitment of international doctoral and postdoctoral researchers in eight priority research areas, securing the current and future talent to drive innovation and growth in Canada’s strategic industries.

The CRTAS program, including the Impact+ awards, is a tri-agency program and is administered by each respective agency (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC).

This transfer payment program does not have repayable contributions.

• A range of excellent students and postdoctoral researchers are supported and recognized
• Students and postdoctoral researchers can concentrate more fully on their research and training
• Students and postdoctoral researchers transition to careers where they use their research skills and expertise
• Ultimately, Canada’s research capacity is strengthened through a pool of diverse and highly skilled people.

The objective of the CCI Program is to increase innovation at the community and/or regional level by enabling Canadian colleges to increase their capacity to partner with local or regional organizations, primarily small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) but including other organizations from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors.

The suite of CCI Program grants support applied research, training, and knowledge and technology transfer activities. The colleges collaborate with partners in areas where the college has recognized expertise and that meets local or regional needs and have the potential to increase innovation in the community. Supported activities range from applied research and training to knowledge and technology transfer, providing assistance in adaptation and adoption of research outputs by partners, and technology demonstration and development projects for these partners.

• The CCI Program is contributing to outputs and/or outcomes of the agencies’ Departmental Results Framework and Performance Information Profiles as follows:
• NSERC: Supports Departmental Result #3, “Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research knowledge is used”.
• Supports the NSERC Program “Research Partnerships”.

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, through grants, fellowships and scholarships, promotes and supports research and research training in natural sciences and engineering to develop talent, generate discoveries, and support innovation in pursuit of economic and social outcomes for Canadians.

The purpose of the Grants and Scholarships transfer payment program is to support:

Research Training and Talent Development program provides grants, scholarships and fellowships to attract, retain and develop the next generation of scientists and engineers, as well as to promote science to Canadian youth to encourage an early interest in science and engineering. The training support provided at all postsecondary levels helps Canada develop a talented, skilled and inclusive workforce.

The Discovery Research program provides grants to researchers and universities to maintain a diverse and competitive research base in Canada and support global excellence and leadership in discovery research. The creation and advancement of knowledge generated by these grants are necessary to fuel a strong, globally competitive research and innovation system in Canada. Funding provides researchers with the flexibility to explore and innovate, train students in the art of creative and critical thinking for tomorrow’s challenges, purchase or develop research equipment, and facilitate national and international research collaborations.

The Research and Technology Partnerships program supports research partnerships between postsecondary researchers and public, private, and not-for-profit sector partner organizations to bring new ideas, products and services closer to market. The program enhances the investments in research by adding value and supporting innovation on the path from research-to-research users. These partnerships also allow partner organizations to access the knowledge base supported through the Discovery Research program.

• Academia and public institutions
• Individual or sole proprietorships

Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research is internationally competitive,

Canada has a pool of diverse and highly skilled people in the natural sciences and engineering,

Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research knowledge is used.

Discovery Research,

Research Training and

Talent Development, Research Partnerships

The expected results of the program include:

• Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research is internationally competitive;
• Canada has a pool of diverse and highly skilled people in the natural sciences and; engineering
• Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research knowledge is used

The Lab-to-Market program supports experiential training opportunities for students and researchers, allowing them to explore the commercial potential of their work and encourage their development into scientific entrepreneurs.

There is no repayable contribution under this TPP.

• Institutions participating in Canada’s Lab-to-Market grants collaborate to establish inclusive and collaborative entrepreneurship training networks.
• Networks establish connections within the innovation ecosystem.
• Students and researchers are equipped with new tools, knowledge, and skills in entrepreneurship to transform their research into innovation and transfer it to the Canadian organizations from all sectors (can include private, public, not-for-profit, and health services). They apply the entrepreneurial knowledge and skills acquired.
• A national training ecosystem is established.

The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program is tri-agency program designed to attract and retain world-class doctoral students by offering them a significant financial award. This financial award assists students during their studies at Canadian universities. Vanier Scholars demonstrate leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health-related fields. This program is administered by CIHR on behalf of CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC.

As announced in Budget 2024, Tri-Agency administered scholarship and fellowship programs have been streamlined into the Canada Research Training Awards Suite (CRTAS). The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships program was discontinued in 2025-26, and its resources will be incrementally consolidated into the CRTAS.

There is no repayable contribution under this TPP.

• Establishment of a Canadian doctoral scholarship that is internationally competitive and internationally recognized.
• Enhance capacity of Canadian universities to attract the best and brightest students from Canada and the world with the potential to become leaders in the next generation of researchers in Canada.
• Attract top students from other countries who will bring with them new knowledge and ideas and enrich the Canadian learning environment.
• Retain Canada's top doctoral students in the face of intense international competition for the brightest researchers.
• Promote and brand Canada as a home of research excellence and Canadian Universities as world-class institutions of research and higher learning.
• Establish effective research collaborations and networks between Canada and the recipients' home countries.

Not applicable.

The Vanier CGS program was discontinued in 2025-26 and an evaluation was completed to maintain compliance with section 42.1 of the Financial Administration Act as per the Policy on Results. No evaluations are planned for the Vanier CGS program as it is no longer an ongoing program and the average annual planned spending over 5 years is less than $5 M.

The  Canada 150 Research Chairs Program provides Canadian universities with a one-time investment to attract top-tier, internationally based scholars and researchers (including Canadian expatriates) to Canada. This program is administered by SSHRC on behalf of CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC.

This transfer payment program does not have repayable contributions.

Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research is internationally competitive,

Canada has a pool of diverse and highly skilled people in the natural sciences and engineering.

• Strengthened research capacity in Canada through the recruitment and retention of top-tier, internationally based scholars and researchers.
• Enhanced reputation of Canada as a global centre for science, research and innovation excellence.
• Improved capacity of universities to generate and apply new knowledge.
• Improved training and development of highly qualified research personnel.

The Indigenous Innovation and Leadership in Research Network Grants grant program is to support Indigenous-led research and increase self-determination and/or capacity in federally-funded research activities. This program is administered by SSHRC on behalf of CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC.

This transfer payment program does not have repayable contributions.

Not-for-profit organizations and charities

Academia and public institutions

Indigenous recipients

Canada has a pool of diverse and highly skilled people in the natural sciences and engineering,

Canada’s natural sciences and engineering research knowledge is used.

• Partnerships are established to advance Indigenous research.

• Indigenous research talent is supported.

• Indigenous research knowledge is produced and mobilized.

• Capacity for Indigenous research and self-determination is increased.