CFI investment gives Canadian universities advantage they need to sustain leading research
TORONTO, ONTARIO — Today, the Government of Canada announced more than $5.8 million through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to support 25 Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) whose work ranges from developing new synthetic materials to optimizing carbon storage.
Karim Bardeesy, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Industry, made the announcement at the University of Toronto on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister responsible for Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions.
These contributions, made through the CFI’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), in collaboration with the CRC Program, help institutions in Canada attract and retain top researchers.
Projects are being funded through this joint program at 16 universities across the country from the University of Victoria in the west to Dalhousie University in the east. Some highlights include:
- Privacy-preserving cybersecurity (British Columbia): Ensuring privacy is a critical challenge in today’s digital landscape. While anonymization techniques aim to protect user identities online, adversaries can exploit overlapping information across datasets to expose identities. Researchers at the University of British Columbia will investigate these attacks using a CFI-funded high-performance server. This work will protect the privacy of individuals, businesses and government institutions and support Canada's digital economy and national security.
- Green hydrogen production (Quebec): Researchers at Concordia University are developing more efficient ways to produce green hydrogen — so called because it is made using renewable electricity. They will explore replacing costly precious metals typically used to catalyze hydrogen generation with more abundant, affordable materials and converting biofuel byproducts into valuable chemicals. CFI funding will upgrade their laboratory and purchase specialized equipment, which will support researcher training, industrial partnerships and support Canada’s transition to a low‑carbon economy.
- Food system optimization (Ontario): Researchers at the University of Guelph are using CFI‑funded high‑performance servers to develop new ways to process and preserve Canadian fruit. Their work will create an AI‑enabled “digital twin” that maps each stage of a fruit’s journey from orchard to table, capturing environmental and social factors affecting food loss, quality and nutrient availability. The model will show how conditions such as cold storage and consumption patterns influence nutrient retention, while providing real‑time, localized decision support for farmers, supply‑chain operators, policymakers and consumers.
Quote
“Building Canada’s resilience depends on world-class research teams making discoveries that keep our country competitive and ready to meet new challenges. Through the Canada Foundation for Innovation’s partnership with the Canada Research Chairs Program, we provide these teams with access to innovative facilities and advanced tools they need to push boundaries and deliver impact for Canadians.”
– Sylvain Charbonneau, President and CEO, Canada Foundation for Innovation
Quick facts
- Projects supported through the John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF) will also receive additional funding through the CFI’s Infrastructure Operating Fund (IOF) to cover the costs of operating the research infrastructure. The total investment of $5,815,817 million includes $1,342,112 million from the IOF.
- The CFI collaborates with the CRC Program to create competitive packages for the funding of infrastructure and research support at institutions.
- The CFI typically contributes up to 40 percent of a project’s research infrastructure costs. Research institutions secure the remaining 60 percent through partnerships with provincial and territorial governments, industry and other public, private and not-for-profit organizations.
- By attracting co-funding from strategic partners, this unique funding model optimizes the Government of Canada’s investments in research infrastructure.
Associated links
- Learn more about the Canada Foundation for Innovation
- Details on the CFI’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF)
About the Canada Foundation for Innovation
With a bold, future-looking mandate, the Canada Foundation for Innovation equips researchers to be global leaders in their field and to respond to emerging challenges. Our investments in state-of-the-art tools, instruments and facilities at universities, colleges, research hospitals and non-profit research institutions underpin both curiosity- and mission-driven research that cuts across disciplines and bridges all sectors. The research infrastructure we fund mobilizes knowledge, spurs innovation and commercialization, and empowers the talented minds of a new generation.
Related products
A full list of our funded projects, as well as stories about the facilities we fund, are available at Innovation.ca. For updates, follow us on Bluesky, LinkedIn and X @InnovationCA and subscribe to our YouTube channel to find videos about the CFI and its transformative research projects.
Contacts
Sara Frizzell
Media Relations and Social Media Specialist
Canada Foundation for Innovation
613-943-2580
sara.frizzell [at] innovation.ca (sara[dot]frizzell[at]innovation[dot]ca)
Media Relations
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
media [at] ised-isde.gc.ca (media[at]ised-isde[dot]gc[dot]ca)
Cumulative chart (May 2026)
John R. Evans Leaders Fund
Funding for infrastructure associated with a Canada Research Chair
John R. Evans Leaders Fund
Funding for infrastructure associated with a Canada Research Chair
List of approved projects by institution
| Chairholder | Project title | Maximum CFI contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Elena Baranova | Facility for Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage | $315,000 |
| Nárlon Cássio Boa Sorte Silva | Promoting Brain Health via Active Aging: from Midlife to Older Adulthood | $117,000 |
| Total | 2 | $432,000 |
| Natalya Evans | Ensuring Durable Biomass-based Marine CO2 Removal | $100,000 |
| Total | 1 | $100,000 |
| Satoshi Yoshiji | Leveraging Genomics and Proteomics for Therapeutic Target Discovery for Type 2 Diabetes and its Complications | $167,953 |
| Total | 1 | $167,953 |
| Kathryn Grandfield | Cryogenic Approaches to Characterize Biomaterials and Biointerfaces | $163,219 |
| Leyla Soleymani | Wearable Biosensing Laboratory | $196,076 |
| Total | 2 | $359,295 |
| Kyle Burrows | Microbiome-Immune Interactions in Barrier Tissues: Regulating Type 2 Immunity in Health and Disease | $200,000 |
| Total | 1 | $200,000 |
| Erin Mazerolle | Infrastructure for Brain Health Literacy Research | $65,112 |
| Total | 1 | $65,112 |
| Soodeh Saberian Ranjbar | Economics of Climate Change, Disasters and Inequality | $75,000 |
| Total | 1 | $75,000 |
| Sébastien Sauvé | System for the Rapid Analysis of Emerging Contaminants | $149,415 |
| Marie Lordkipanidzé | Platelet Function in Hemostasis and Beyond | $449,103 |
| Mariela Segura | Accelerating Infectious Disease Research through Automated Multi-omic Analyses in Immunoglycomics | $253,849 |
| Guy Rutter | In vivo High-resolution Imaging of Pancreatic Beta Cell Function Over Time | $745,535 |
| Total | 4 | $1,597,902 |
| Lele Wang | Trustworthy Information Systems | $75,001 |
| Ashley Dalrymple | Spinal Neuromodulation for Pain and Sensorimotor Function | $150,000 |
| Yanpu He | Bioinspired Immunotherapies | $150,000 |
| Total | 3 | $375,001 |
| Paula Miotto | Role of Extracellular Vesicles in Inter-tissue Communication in Health and Metabolic Disease | $130,532 |
| Daniel Onwude | A Human-Centered Hybrid Digital Twin for Sustainable Food Production and Nutrition | $146,834 |
| Total | 2 | $277,366 |
| Roberto Budzinski | Exploring Spatiotemporal Computations in Biological and Artificial Brains | $39,166 |
| Total | 1 | $39,166 |
| Saurabh Chitnis | Installation of a Single-Crystal X-Ray Diffractometer for Low-Carbon Materials Research at University of Victoria | $250,000 |
| Total | 1 | $250,000 |
| Marina Meila-Predoviciu | Reliable Structure Discovery | $100,000 |
| Dillon Browne | The FamilyPsycle Institute for Precision Mental Health | $200,000 |
| Total | 2 | $300,000 |
| Sanoji Wijenayake | Characterization of Biological Nanovesicles using Nanoparticle Tracking Technology | $74,900 |
| Total | 1 | $74,900 |
| Amanda Wager | Restorying Health and History: Archiving the Legacy of Canada’s Indian Hospitals | $60,000 |
| Total | 1 | $60,000 |
| Matthew Keough | Creating a Just-in-Time Adaptive Intervention for Heavy Drinking and Emotional Disorder Comorbidities | $100,000 |
| Total | 1 | $100,000 |
| TOTAL | 25 projects | $4,473,705 |
NOTE:
As part of this announcement, an additional $1,342,112 was awarded under the Infrastructure Operating Fund, a mechanism that assists institutions with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with the new infrastructure.