Federation news
Emily Carr University of Art + Design joins the Federation
The Federation is happy to announce the addition of a new institution member: Emily Carr University of Art + Design. ECUAD fosters innovation, critical inquiry, and creative excellence through interdisciplinary learning, research, and community engagement. They are committed to advancing the creative industries by supporting diverse voices, sustainability, and global collaboration in art and design. Learn more about our new member.
EDID Progress Update 2024
The Federation released its 2024 EDID progress update. The report provides a concise summary of the Federation’s progress in advancing its 2024 Action Plan commitments to equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization (EDID). Learn more.
The Federation meets with Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development's Office to advocate for the HSS
The Federation met today with Minister Joly’s Office (Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada) to emphasize how HSS drives social innovation and Canadian talent. The discussion focused on addressing the structural underinvestment in HSS through increased federal funding, and on ensuring stronger integration of HSS expertise across the government’s research and innovation strategy.
Federation deepens strategic development efforts
This month, Higher Education Strategy Associates (HESA) continued its intensive consultation phase of strategic development with the Federation community through a series of virtual sessions. These sessions build on stakeholder surveys conducted in the spring and in-person consultations at Congress 2025.
In parallel, the Federation launched the Reimagining Congress Task Force, composed of 20 community members representing a range of disciplines, associations, institutions, equity-deserving groups, and francophone communities. The Task Force is meeting through August to explore future event models. Their recommendations will inform how the Federation supports scholarly convening beyond 2026.
Feedback gathered through these processes will inform the next phase of work, as HESA begins drafting the Federation’s new strategic plan. We are looking to HESA to complete its work by the fall, with further updates to follow. Learn more about the plan and development timeline.
EDID Initiatives Fund: Share your experience, plan your next proposal
As we prepare for the next cycle of the EDID Initiatives Fund, we are gathering feedback to help shape the program’s future. If you have applied to or engaged with the Fund, we would greatly appreciate your insights through this short survey. Please respond by Friday, August 8, 2025. Take the survey.
We are also pleased to share that the fall cycle of the EDID Initiatives Fund will be open for applications from August 15 to September 14, 2025. Learn more about the Fund.
Abstract management for Federation member associations
If your association runs a conference, issues a call-for-papers, or coordinates a peer-review process, there’s a tool already available to you through your Federation membership: Fourwaves. Designed to give scholarly associations a powerful, bilingual, and easy-to-use abstract management platform, Fourwaves will be included in several of our upcoming support packages to assist your conference activities in 2026. Learn more about the platform, and sign up for our next live demonstration on Thursday, August 21.
Federation broadcast emails moving to a new platform
Starting August 1, the Federation’s broadcast emails and general communications will be sent through our new platform, Envoke. To ensure you continue receiving Federation news and important updates about your membership, funding programs, and events, please ensure federation@federationhss.ca is added to your safe senders list. If you are currently receiving email communications from the Federation, you are all set.
We also recommend checking your inbox (and your spam or junk folder) throughout August. If at any point you’re concerned that you may not be receiving our messages, don’t hesitate to reach out to communications@federationhss.ca and we’ll be happy to support you.
Call for French copyeditor
The Federation is seeking a skilled and detail-oriented French copyeditor to provide services on an as-needed basis. This external contractor role will involve reviewing and refining French-language content to ensure accuracy, clarity, and inclusivity, while upholding the highest standards of professionalism and linguistic precision. Please contact communications@federationhss.ca to submit your interest.
Congress news
Congress in Conversation returns with 'Pride and profit: The politics of corporate allyship'
We’ve teamed up once again with The Conversation Canada to bring you another year of bold ideas and timely dialogue from Congress. In the first episode of our two-part special series, host Eleni Vlahiotis (Editor, The Conversation Canada) speaks with Dr. Daniel Conway (University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa) about the global rise of Pride branding: how it’s used, who it includes (and excludes), and what it says about activism today. Listen to the first episode now and stay tuned for the second episode in August.
Mike DeGagné Fund
Congratulations to the 25 recipients of the Mike Degagné Fund. Created by former Federation Interim Chief Administrator and former Board Chair Mike DeGagné, this fund, aimed at celebrating and amplifying the important contributions Indigenous students are making in academia, provided additional support for Indigenous students attending Congress 2025. Meet the recipients.
A look back on Congress 2025
Over 7,500 participants gathered at George Brown College last month to question, collaborate, and make the voice of the humanities and social sciences heard. Check out the Congress 2025 archive page for recaps and insights into our community’s incredible achievements! Learn more.
What's ahead for 2026
From Tuesday, June 9 to Thursday, June 11, 2026, the Big Thinking Summit in Edmonton will bring together the HSS community for a focused national gathering centred on research, graduate education, and cross-sector dialogue. More details, including how to participate and attend, will be available in the coming weeks.
For member associations holding conferences next year, we are developing new support packages designed to meet in-person, virtual, and hybrid needs. The packages will include options for a bilingual abstract management and registration system, and a virtual conference platform. Contact us at membership@federationhss.ca for more information.
Planning for future Congress events, including 2027, is ongoing through fall 2025 as part of the work of the Reimagining Congress Task Force and the Federation’s strategic development.
HSS News
Government announces support for over 9,700 leading researchers and projects nationwide – The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions, and the Honourable Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health, announced over $1.3 billion in funding to support over 9,700 researchers and research projects across Canada. Read more.
Canada’s international student program to face auditor general probe – The federal auditor general is planning to conduct a review of Canada’s international student program, which has seen a surge in admissions that critics say the country was ill-prepared to handle. Read more.
An honest look at the fiscal crisis in university education in Ontario – Ontario's universities are facing an “intractable financial situation” that requires politically viable solutions, writes University of Waterloo Professor Jeffrey Casello. Casello asserts that tuition cuts and stagnant government grants have reduced Ontario university revenues by 25% over the past decade, leaving some institutions at risk of failure. Read more (account required).
Knowledge Synthesis Grants: The Arts Transformed – SSHRC’s Knowledge Synthesis Grants competition aims at mobilizing, examining, and synthesizing social sciences and humanities research on The Arts Transformed. The resulting syntheses will identify roles the academic, public, private and not-for-profit sectors could play in promoting more inclusive and equitable societies, and could inform development of effective tools and technologies, robust policies and sustainable practices needed to support the path toward a diverse and inclusive future for all. Learn more and apply.
Who’s afraid of academic freedom? – Academic freedom is at the heart of universities’ missions, but political polarization around the world has made it a prime target for some groups and governments, and Canada is not immune. Read more.
A robot stole my internship: How Gen Z’s entry into the workplace is being affected by AI – Internships and junior roles have historically provided a predictable ladder into the workforce by providing new workers with the experience and skills needed for long-term career development. But as artificial intelligence spreads, these roles are susceptible to being replaced by automation. Read more.
When democracy teeters, where do universities stand? – University of Regina Professor Marc Spooner analyzes the threats to academia’s public mission. For him, the signs of an authoritarian turn in liberal democracies are piling up, and universities are at the front line. Read more.
Rethinking academia’s role in innovation – Universities are reinventing and restructuring themselves as engines of scholarship and research, but also of entrepreneurship and commercialization. Read more.
Vanishing data in the U.S. undermines good public policy, with global implications – Vanishing data is of dire concern for beyond the U.S., including for Canadians. The Canadian data community is closely watching U.S. events, and it led to the recent founding of the Canadian Data Rescue Project, whose focus it to support data rescue efforts in the U.S. and set up preventative life support for Canadian government data. Read more.
New University of Winnipeg project a crash course in classic and contemporary works – The University of Winnipeg is launching a first-of-its-kind course that will introduce undergraduate students to classics, religion, and literary studies all at once. Read more.
The next generation calls for a research culture focused on well-being – A recent report by the FRQ's Intersectoral Student Committee highlights the systemic pressures undermining the psychological health of the next generation of researchers and proposes courses of action to bring about lasting change in university culture. Read more (in French only).
Women in foreign land: between convictions and openness – Women engaged in equality research often face many challenges when working abroad. It is important to navigate between feminist convictions and respect for cultural differences, without falling into ethnocentrism or relativism. Read more (in French only).