Federal research awards send $13.5 million to 163 scholars at foreign institutions
Up to 20 per cent of federal doctoral awards and 30 per cent of postdoctoral awards can be held outside Canada, and the program pages set no requirement for recipients to come home.
Canada’s three federal research councils have listed 163 scholarships and fellowships worth $13.5 million to recipients with addresses outside Canada in their disclosures for April to September 2026. The councils are the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). Of the 163, 107 recipients are listed in the United States and 29 in Britain, with others in France, Australia and Switzerland. Oxford appears 15 times; Princeton, Stanford and Berkeley five times each.
All 163 are Canada Graduate Research Scholarships at the doctoral level (CGRS-D) or Canada Postdoctoral Research Awards (CPRA), part of the Canada Research Training Awards Suite that Budget 2024 funded with “$825 million over five years to the granting councils.” SSHRC and CIHR list the doctoral award at $120,000 and the postdoctoral award at $140,000, the full value of $40,000 a year for 36 months and $70,000 a year for 24 months. NSERC’s entries list $20,000 and $35,000, and eight entries of $5, which the dataset does not explain, so the $13.5 million total mixes full and partial amounts.
The rules allow it. NSERC’s doctoral page says, “You may propose to hold your CGRS D at any eligible Canadian or degree-granting institution outside of Canada,” and that “Up to 20% of all doctoral awards will be available to be held outside of Canada.” The postdoctoral page sets the share at “Up to 30%.” Holders abroad must be citizens, permanent residents or protected persons with a prior Canadian degree. Neither program page contains any requirement that the scholar return to Canada, and the data does not show what share of all awards is held abroad.
The councils are run by presidents appointed by the government. NSERC’s Alejandro Adem was reappointed for five years from October 1, 2024; CIHR’s Paul Hébert was appointed for five years from January 2, 2025; at SSHRC, Ted Hewitt’s term ended on February 28, 2026, and council chair Normand Labrie “will assume the powers of the president” while the government searches for a successor. The records name no official. Web searches found no political donations or party roles for any of the three; the Elections Canada database itself could not be queried.
Taxpayer-funded doctoral and postdoctoral awards are being held at Oxford, Princeton and other foreign institutions, and the program pages set no requirement to come home.
Sheila Gunn Reid
Chief Reporter
Sheila Gunn Reid is the Editor-in-Chief, Alberta Bureau Chief, member of the board of directors, and host of The Gunn Show at Rebel News. Sheila also serves as President of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada. A mother of three and longtime conservative activist, Sheila is the author of bestselling books, including her most recent release, Independence Blueprint: What Alberta Can Learn From Quebec.
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