Harvard and MIT scholars head north as Mark Carney offers millions

Canada has awarded 64 global scholars with C$504 million ($362 million) in funding to relocate their work to Canadian universities and advance projects in areas such as health and artificial intelligence.

Some 48 of the researchers were poached from the US, including from elite institutions such as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The other 16 researchers are coming from 12 other countries, including the UK, Germany, China and Japan.

“While certain countries are cutting research and turning their back on academic freedom, we’re doubling down on science and we’re doubling down on research,” Industry Minister Melanie Joly said in Vancouver on Thursday.

Canada’s effort to lure top research talent contrasts with recent U.S. federal funding cuts that, combined with tightening immigration policies and clashes between the Trump administration and top-tier universities, have led some scholars to look for opportunities elsewhere.

Joly noted that 23 of the research chairs are also Canadians returning home.

The announcement is part of an initiative Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government unveiled last year to boost Canadian universities, earmarking C$1.7 billion over 12 years to recruit more than 1,000 researchers. The bulk of that money — C$1 billion — was dedicated to attracting as many as 100 world-leading research chairs to schools across the country.

Robert Asselin, chief executive officer of U15 Canada, which represents the country’s leading research universities, said the government’s ability to attract these scholars reflects the strength of Canada’s post-secondary institutions. He also said policy changes in the US left scientists feeling less supported, helping Canada’s effort to attract them.

“That was absolutely a reason why they wanted to come to Canada. So we seized the opportunity and I’m really happy this happened,” Asselin said.

Among the new research chairs is Sara Seager, a renowned planetary scientist whom the University of Toronto already announced would be leaving MIT to return to her alma mater. Canada has also signed MIT professor James LeBeau, a materials scientist.

Brian Kuhlman, a researcher from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, whose work was referenced in connection with the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, will be joining the University of British Columbia as a research chair.

Also heading to UBC is Curtis Huttenhower, a professor of computational biology and bioinformatics at Harvard whose research focuses on the intersection of microbes and human health.

The Canadian government also promised last year an accelerated immigration pathway for H-1B visa holders after the Trump administration decided to charge $100,000 for the visas. It has yet to roll out that program.

Other major world economies are also seeking to attract top scholars open to leaving the US. The European Union has also launched its own €500 million ($583 million) initiative to attract global researchers and scientists.

The new research chairs will receive funding over eight years to work on projects in priority fields set out by the Canadian government, including in health, advanced digital technologies and the environment.

“New chairs and their teams will advance transformational research projects that can be applied and/or commercialized by connecting with receptors in industry, government and society, while also developing the next generation of highly qualified personnel,” the government said about the initiative last year.

The government is set to announce the next round of chairs in the coming months.