Thirteen Canadian universities will receive a combined $900 million in the second round of a federal competition aimed at funding scientific research that puts Canada on the world stage.
The Canada First Research Excellence Fund was launched two years ago with five priority areas in science, innovation and technology. In its first round of funding last year, CFREF awarded $350 million over seven years. The third phase of competition is expected to launch in 2021-2022, and institutions that were successful in the first two rounds are still eligible to apply.
This year, research programs that passed the peer-reviewed selection process tackle issues ranging from the ocean frontier to quantum technologies and healthy brains. A total of 51 institutions applied for funding, 30 were invited to submit a proposal and 13 winners were chosen. Winners were announced on Sept. 6 by Science Minister Kirsty Duncan. They are:
Dalhousie University
Award amount: $93.7 million
Research program: Safe and Sustainable Development of the Ocean Frontier
Laurentian University
Award amount: $49.3 million
Research program: Metal Earth
McGill University
Award amount: $84.0 million
Research program: Healthy Brains for Healthy Lives
Polytechnique Montréal
Award amount: $35.6 million
Research program: The Montreal TransMedTech (MT2) Institute: An open-innovation ecosystem for the development of next generation medical technologies
Queen’s University
Award amount: $63.7 million
Research program: Canadian Particle Astrophysics Research Centre
Université de Montréal
Award amount: $93.6 million
Research program: Data Serving Canadians: Deep Learning and Optimization for the Knowledge Revolution
University of Alberta
Award amount: $75.0 million
Research program: Future Energy Systems Research Institute
University of Calgary
Award amount: $75.0 million
Research program: Global Research Initiative in Sustainable Low Carbon Unconventional Resources
University of Guelph
Award amount: $76.6 million
Research program: Food from Thought: Agricultural Systems for a Healthy Planet
University of Saskatchewan
Award amount: $77.8 million
Research program: Global Water Futures: Solutions to Water Threats in an Era of Global Change
University of Waterloo
Award amount: $76.3 million
Research program: Transformative Quantum Technologies
Western University
Award amount: $66.0 million
Research program: BrainsCAN: Brain Health for Life
York University
Award amount: $33.3 million
Research program: Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA)