The Canada Foundation for Innovation empowers Canada Research Chairs with research infrastructure support
OTTAWA, ONTARIO — Today, the Government of Canada announced close to $11 million in research infrastructure funding through the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to support the work of 43 Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) at 27 universities across the country.
These contributions, made through the CFI’s John R. Evans Leaders Fund (JELF), will help universities attract and retain top researchers, while the partnership with the CRC program maximizes the impact of Government of Canada investments by supporting both the research and the equipment to carry it out.
Projects being funded through this joint program range from developing more robust and secure artificial intelligence models to finding ways to reprocess waste from mining operations to extract more value and reduce environmental impacts. Some highlights include:
- Stronger, longer-lasting materials for the aerospace industry (Quebec): Aerospace and marine industries need durable materials that can withstand extreme conditions such as high heat, pressure and friction. Researchers at the Université de Sherbrooke are exploring new metal alloys that combine the strengths of multiple elements to create protective coatings for components like engines, propellers and landing gear. Using CFI-funded equipment, they will test these coatings to ensure they extend the life of conventional materials under repeated hot-cold cycles or in salty ocean environments.
- Thin, flexible and affordable solar panels (British Columbia): Solar technology with a crystal structure borrowed from the mineral perovskite is more flexible, customizable and potentially more affordable to manufacture than traditional silicon-based panels. To push the technology forward, researchers at the University of Victoria will use CFI-funded equipment to precisely cut and connect these solar cells so they work together as one big unit for commercial-scale projects. By focusing on perovskite solar modules, the research team is developing solutions that could reduce Canada’s reliance on imported solar technology and strengthen the country’s position in the rapidly growing cleantech market.
- Modern soil testing for sustainable agriculture (Nova Scotia): Traditional soil testing is slow and costly, making it challenging for farmers and governments to regularly monitor soil health. Researchers at Dalhousie University are using CFI-funded light-based technologies to rapidly and affordably analyze soil properties, including nutrient content and carbon storage — a key factor in climate change. They are leading a nationwide initiative to build the Canadian Soil Spectral Library, which will modernize Canada’s soil data infrastructure, improving our ability to track this finite resource, support precision agriculture and contribute to global soil science.
Quote
“Our partnership with the Canada Research Chairs program ensures that Government of Canada investments have the greatest possible impact. By attracting and retaining top researchers and providing them with the cutting-edge tools and infrastructure they need to pursue bold ideas and advance innovation in areas that matter most, we’re working together to build a more resilient Canada.”
– Sylvain Charbonneau, President and CEO, Canada Foundation for Innovation
Quick facts
- These research infrastructure investments are part of $690 million of Government of Canada funding being announced today, which supports science, researchers and students. Read about the other research initiatives being announced here.
- 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 and maintaining the research infrastructure. The total investment of $10,979,852 includes $2,533,812 from the IOF.
- 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 (October 2025)
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 |
| Val Andrew Fajardo | Establishing a Muscle Contractile and Calcium Measurement Core Facility at Brock University | $143,256 |
| Janelle Joseph | Racial Justice, Health and Sport | $88,432 |
| Total | 2 | $231,688 |
| M Reza Kholghy | System for Thermogravimetric Analysis of Powders at Extreme Environments | $89,000 |
| Total | 1 | $89,000 |
| Elvis Dohmatob | Robustness and Fairness in Large Language Models | $109,000 |
| Total | 1 | $109,000 |
| Mita Dasog | Advanced Materials Design for Water-Energy Sustainability | $400,000 |
| Brandon Heung | Towards the Canadian Soil Spectral Library: Infrastructure for Reducing the Cost and Time for Soil Analysis | $75,453 |
| Total | 2 | $475,453 |
| Amanda White | Studio For Environmetally Engaged Creative Research and Practice | $74,883 |
| Total | 1 | $74,883 |
| Maryam Daryalal | Sequential Decision-making Under Uncertainty | $154,075 |
| Total | 1 | $154,075 |
| Marisa Young | The Advanced Research on Mental Health and Society Lab | $75,000 |
| Total | 1 | $75,000 |
| Katleen Robert | 4D Oceans Benthic Imagery | $75,000 |
| Total | 1 | $75,000 |
| Julia Riley | Quantifying Ectotherm Energetics in a Time of Rapid Environmental Change | $50,000 |
| Jenny Pui Shan Wong | FTIR Spectrometer for Centre of Aerosol Chemistry and Toxic Impacts | $50,000 |
| Total | 2 | $100,000 |
| Felix Nwaishi | An Integrated Ecosystem Research Laboratory for Analysis of Environmental Samples from Indigenous Monitoring Programs | $439,769 |
| Total | 1 | $439,769 |
| Emily Oby | NHP Models of Health and Disease | $200,000 |
| Kristine Spekkens | Atomic Gas in Galaxies as a Cosmological Probe | $250,000 |
| Total | 2 | $450,000 |
| Michael Olson | Cytoskeleton Regulation and Function | $152,000 |
| Total | 1 | $152,000 |
| Hélène Carabin | Canada Research Chair in Epidemiology and One Health | $81,565 |
| Ravi Rungta | Fast 3D multi-photon imaging of neurovascular interactions | $726,955 |
| Total | 2 | $808,520 |
| Sima Alidokht | Sustainable Tribological Coatings Using Multi-Principal Element Alloys (MPEAs) for Harsh Environment Applications | $159,598 |
| Total | 1 | $159,598 |
| Mathieu Lapointe | Protection des ressources en eau et de l’environnement bâti | $139,999 |
| Total | 1 | $139,999 |
| Lucie Coudert | Reprocessing of mine and metallurgical waste | $115,000 |
| Total | 1 | $115,000 |
| Etienne Audet-Walsh | Canada Research Chair Tier 2 in Metabolic Vulnerabilities of Cancer | $223,830 |
| Amelie Petitclerc | Intergenerational Databases and Biobank | $70,000 |
| Total | 2 | $293,830 |
| Julie Prytulak | Advanced Mass Spectrometry for Metal Isotopic Compositions | $700,000 |
| Fang-Yeu Poh | Molecular and Phenotypic Characterization of High-Risk Oral Premalignant Lesions for Actionable Prevention Strategies | $167,156 |
| Purang Abolmaesumi | AI-Driven Ultrasound for Cardiovascular and Cancer Diagnostics | $151,478 |
| Xin Tang | AI Platform for Multi-Modal Single-Cell Biological Data Analysis | $240,000 |
| Total | 4 | $1,258,634 |
| Alexandra Tetarenko | Unraveling how black holes power explosive outflows | $71,233 |
| Amy Mack | Digital Extremism | $123,435 |
| Total | 2 | $194,668 |
| Xiangfei MENG | Transforming Mental Health and Multimorbidity Care: Leveraging AI, Digital Phenotyping, and Advanced Statistics | $100,828 |
| Total | 1 | $100,828 |
| Omar El-Halfawy | Infrastructure support for the CRC in Chemogenomics and Antimicrobial Research | $205,779 |
| Kerri Finlay | Water in a Changing Environment | $170,176 |
| Kelvin Tsun Wai Ng | Waste Management System Design (WMSD) Laboratory | $83,140 |
| Total | 3 | $459,095 |
| Arinjay Banerjee | Discovering Molecular Determinants of Viral Tolerance in Reservoir Bat Species | $157,744 |
| Total | 1 | $157,744 |
| Tricia McGuire-Adams | Heath Education and Resurgence Theory (HEART) Lab | $100,000 |
| Diane Haakonsen | Mechanism and Function of Stress Response Silencing in Health and Disease | $682,564 |
| Katherine Stewart | Stem Cell Biology | $614,692 |
| Total | 3 | $1,397,256 |
| Makhsud Saidaminov | Laser scriber for perovskite solar modules | $120,000 |
| Dominique Trischuk | Detector Readout Infrastructure for the Inner Tracker Upgrade of the ATLAS Experiment at the Large Hadron Collider | $150,000 |
| Marie-Eve Tremblay | Complementary Equipment to Study the Neurobiology of Healthy Cognitive Aging | $350,000 |
Saurabh Chitnis | Installation of a Single-Crystal X-Ray Diffractometer for Low-Carbon Materials Research at University of Victoria | $250,000 |
| Total | 4 | $870,000 |
| Kate Ratliff | Canada Research Chair in Intergroup Attitudes | $50,000 |
| Total | 1 | $50,000 |
| Patrick Moynihan | Secretion of immunogenic molecules by pathogenic mycobacteria | $190,000 |
| Total | 1 | $190,000 |
| Aimi Hamraie | Critical Design Lab | $75,000 |
| Total | 1 | $75,000 |
| TOTAL | 43 projects | $8,446,040 |
NOTE:
As part of this announcement, an additional $2,533,812 was awarded under the Infrastructure Operating Fund, a mechanism that assists institutions with the incremental operating and maintenance costs associated with the new infrastructure.