Budget 2025, which passed its confidence vote on November 17, now moves from proposal to implementation. The budget underscores the federal government’s continued investment in Canada’s research ecosystem, emphasizing talent development, international competitiveness, and innovation.
How do these measures impact the role of the humanities and social sciences (HSS) in shaping a people-centred research future? In this analysis, the Federation explores how sustained support for the research councils, new investments in global and youth talent, and an expanded focus on artificial intelligence strengthen Canada’s research and talent foundation.
This analysis also identifies gaps in federal attention to Indigenous- and Francophone-led scholarship, open access, and equitable participation across regions and disciplines to ensure that all communities benefit from these investments.
Recognizing the role of Canada’s research councils
In 2024, following the Report of the Advisory Panel on the Federal Research Support System, the government announced a phased investment of $1.8 billion in additional Tri-Agency funding over five years (Budget 2024, p.171), which appears to remain in effect, confirming federal support for research.
Budget 2025 builds on this foundation by reaffirming the central role of Canada’s research councils in advancing knowledge, innovation, and the public good. It limits reductions to two percent, even as many federal departments face savings targets of up to 15 percent over three years (p. 331).
As the two percent savings measure is implemented, reductions must be applied proportionally and transparently, with clear accountability measures to prevent further inequities in disciplinary funding. SSHRC continues to receive less than one-fifth of total Tri-Agency funding, well below its proportional share, which limits Canada’s capacity to advance evidence-informed public policy grounded in human and community needs. Ensuring equitable and inclusive funding across the three councils is critical to Canada’s research excellence and international leadership.
Attracting global talent and sustaining Canada’s strengths
Significant new funding to attract global research talent will shape Canada’s research landscape for years to come. Budget 2025 invests $1.65 billion to attract top international researchers, including:
- $1 billion over 13 years (starting in 2025-26) for an Accelerated Research Chairs initiative to recruit exceptional international researchers.
- $400 million over seven years (starting in 2025-26) for research infrastructure through the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
- $133.6 million over three years (starting in 2026-27) to support international doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows relocating to Canada.
- Up to $120 million over 12 years (starting in 2026-27) to help universities recruit international assistant professors.
To build on this momentum, equal attention must be given to strengthening Canada’s domestic research base, as initiated in Budget 2024. Sustained investment in Canadian researchers ensures that knowledge is developed and applied within Canada’s own social, cultural, and linguistic contexts, reinforcing research sovereignty and talent retention.
At the same time, balanced access across the research system remains essential. The current investments to attract global talent will likely benefit Canada’s largest research universities primarily. Ensuring that smaller and regional institutions, many of which are deeply rooted in communities, can access these opportunities would strengthen the national research fabric and extend the benefits of innovation across Canada.
Beyond attracting talent with new funding, the sector will also need more predictability and streamlined processes especially for international students to be enticed to come to Canda.
Recently on the Big Thinking Podcast, migration scholar Lisa Brunner noted that universities’ financial dependence on international student tuition has grown alongside declining public investment, leaving international students unfairly positioned as symbols of broader economic strain despite their vital role in Canada’s research system.
International students contribute to campus diversity, strengthen research networks, and often advance into graduate studies and academic or policy careers within Canada. Coordinating talent recruitment and immigration policy will be essential to maintaining inclusive, globally connected pathways from students to scholars and ensuring Canada remains a destination for research excellence.
Implementing the Capstone Research Organization
Budget 2025 states that the government will work to implement the Capstone research organization announced in Budget 2024 (p.100). This initiative aims to strengthen coordination and strategic vision across Canada’s research councils.
As detailed in the Federation’s submission to the Canada Research Coordinating Committee during Capstone consultations, its success will depend on preserving the leadership, autonomy, and disciplinary balance of the federal granting councils. Meaningful inclusion of the HSS, sustained investment in investigator-led research, and the continued advancement of equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization will be essential to ensure the new organization enhances and builds on the strengths of Canada’s research ecosystem.
Ensuring human-centred approaches to AI
The Budget’s continued focus on artificial intelligence highlights a significant opportunity and responsibility for Canada. As AI infrastructure and investments continue, it is also crucial to the security of Canadian research efforts that the HSS provide the ethical, social, environmental, and cultural insight needed to guide its development and use.
Integrating HSS expertise in AI design, governance, and implementation will help Canada lead in responsible innovation that serves people, communities, and democracy. The leadership and inclusion of diverse communities in AI research and policy are central to the human-centred approaches that define HSS scholarship.
As Budget 2025 emphasizes the importance of leveraging expertise to understand the impacts of AI, it is critical that a measurable share of AI investments be dedicated to HSS research. Doing so would complement technical development and ensure that Canada’s AI leadership is grounded in human understanding and public trust.
Enabling youth, students, and future researchers
New federal investments in youth employment and skills development (p.166-167) expand opportunities for early career training across the country, including:
- $595 million over two years, beginning in 2026-27, for Canada Summer Jobs.
- $635 million over three years, beginning in 2026-27, for the Student Work Placement Program.
- $308 million over two years, beginning in 2026-27, for the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy.
These measures expand early career experience and training opportunities across the country. Ensuring equitable access for HSS students and graduates will help Canada fully realize the potential of these new investments in talent and better prepare graduates to navigate complex social and economic challenges.
The Federation also notes changes to the Canada Student Grant program (p.217) that would limit eligibility for the Grant to students attending public and not-for-profit institutions in Canada and to public institutions abroad. While this measure reinforces accountability and the public value of education, it is essential to maintain affordability and expand access, particularly as students face rising costs of living, housing, and study.
Promoting Indigenous and Francophone research
The Budget affirms Canada’s commitment to “strengthen our shared sense of identity, history, and geography by protecting our culture, nature, official languages, and core values — and we will continue to build the country and its economy in close partnership with Indigenous Peoples” (p.153).
To fulfill this commitment, dedicated and multi-year funding for Indigenous-led research, language revitalization, and cultural heritage initiatives is essential. Such investment is required to advance reconciliation, uphold treaty and inherent rights to education, and strengthen Indigenous data sovereignty and revitalize knowledge systems within what is now Canada.
Similarly, applying a Francophone lens across federal research modernization efforts, including the new Capstone organization, would help ensure linguistic equity and fulfill Canada’s obligations under the Official Languages Act. Strengthened support for Francophone researchers, particularly in minority settings, is essential to sustaining Canada’s bilingual and culturally diverse research ecosystem.
Advancing open and equitable access to research
While Budget 2025 does not include specific measures on open access or open science, expanding equitable access to publicly funded research remains essential to a transparent and globally connected research system. Investment in open access infrastructure and publishing would strengthen public trust, support knowledge mobilization, and ensure that research supported by Canadian taxpayers is available to all.
Advancing open access is also a matter of research sovereignty. As AI evolves, maintaining public control over Canada’s research data and infrastructure will be vital to protecting integrity, accessibility, and equity in knowledge creation. The $925.6 million earmarked for sovereign AI compute capacity for public and private research (p. 92) presents an opportunity to embed open access principles, ensuring that public investment in AI infrastructure supports publicly beneficial research.
Working together for Canada’s research future
Strategic investment in research, even during fiscal restraint, positions Canada to emerge stronger from current challenges, prepares us for future challenges, and ensures that innovation remains grounded in the crucial insights and values of the HSS.
The Federation will continue to work with the government and partners to ensure that the HSS deliver maximum impact for Canadians. Ongoing consultation on initiatives such as Capstone, open access, and AI investments will help ensure the efficient and equitable implementation of human-centred values to guide innovation.
Useful links
Federal Government
Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences