Canada has announced the selection of 64 researchers from 13 countries as the first cohort of Eddie Goldenberg Research Chairs, a key component of the federal government’s Canada Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative. The initiative, which represents a $1.7-billion investment in attracting top-tier international research talent, will distribute $504 million in funding over eight years to support these researchers.
The Goldenberg chairs, named in honour of the late Eddie Goldenberg, a former chief of staff to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, aim to reverse the brain drain to the United States by recruiting leading scholars from prominent institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, Duke and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Roughly two-thirds of the researchers currently hold positions at American universities, while 23 are Canadian nationals returning home.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government views the program as a strategic response to what is seen as an advanced and competitive global research landscape, citing increased difficulty for scientists in the U.S. amid political and policy challenges. Researchers say the promise of stable, long-term funding and supportive research environments in Canada were major factors in their decisions to relocate.
Among the notable appointments are Kathryn Whitehead, a Carnegie Mellon University professor specializing in nanoparticles for drug delivery, who will join the University of British Columbia (UBC) as a Goldenberg Chair in Translational Drug Discovery. Whitehead highlighted concerns about insufficient support for women’s health research and RNA therapeutics under the previous U.S. administration, underscoring the contrast with the Canadian funding commitment, which guarantees $1 million annually for eight years with an extension option.
UBC leads the participating institutions with nine chairs awarded, followed by the University of Ottawa with seven, McGill University with six, and the University of Toronto also with six. The U of T appointment includes planetary scientist Sara Seager, who relocated from MIT last year. Other high-profile recruits include Peter Caravan and Curtis Huttenhower from Harvard to UBC, Ethan Zuckerman, inventor of the pop-up advertisement, joining McGill, and nutrition scientist Kevin Hall moving to the University of Ottawa. Hall left a leadership role at the U.S. National Institutes of Health citing concerns over federal censorship of research on ultraprocessed foods.
In addition to the Goldenberg chairs, Ottawa has earmarked $120 million over 12 years for an emerging leaders program aimed at attracting early-career researchers. This program is expected to complement the larger initiative by fostering the development of new scientific talent within Canada.
Some research couples, such as Suzanne Lapi and Jonathan McConathy, are joining Canadian institutions like McMaster University from U.S. universities. They pointed to restrictive U.S. immigration policies under the Trump administration as a deterrent to recruiting international graduate and postgraduate students. Lapi, a Canadian citizen, and McConathy, an American, expressed optimism that Canada’s supportive research climate would enable them to build strong teams and attract promising international collaborators.
Researchers relocating to Canada cited restrictive visa policies and broader political uncertainties as contributing factors to their decisions. Nobel laureate Timothy Zamore described the U.S. environment as increasingly inhospitable for scientists, citing fears over visa denials and deportations for international trainees.
The Canadian government plans to announce additional Goldenberg Research Chairs in the coming months, continuing its efforts to strengthen the country’s standing in global research and innovation.