Research stories

Our investments support research that benefits Canadians

In CFI-funded labs and facilities across the country, researchers in all stages of their careers are making discoveries, supporting a robust innovation ecosystem and helping solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. 

Meet these 14 passionate researchers this summer!

From the Arctic to sometimes chilling spiders, three seasons of our 10,000 ways podcast are a great way to cool off this summer. Tune in and quench your curiosity for leading-edge science and the joys of discovery.
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An outdoor scene at dusk with a stone pavilion and several tipis arranged in a circle with bleachers.
article
Ontario

Wildlife ecology done “in a good way”

Researcher Jesse Popp works alongside Indigenous communities to understand their most pressing questions about biodiversity and the plants and animals on the Land
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podcast
Nova Scotia

Jan Rainey is untangling the mysteries of spider silks

The Dalhousie University researcher is looking to create synthetic versions of spider's silk that have the potential to help heal damaged nerves and damaged hearts
All podcasts
video

Transforming research instincts into a successful business (March webinar)

Part of our Future You webinar series. This webinar features a new generation of researchers who share their challenges and successes as they made the move from researcher to entrepreneur. Watch the video to gain insights and receive valuable tips on how to start your own business.
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Illustration of three men and a woman in grey suits carrying a giant watering can. From left to right: the woman is helping tilt the watering can by its neck, one man is supporting it from its base, and the other two men, one sitting on top of the other’s shoulders, is holding the handle. Water droplets pour out of the nozzle, falling onto the CFI’s circular red logo growing out of the soil. To the left of the logo, a fourth man is crouching on one knee in the dirt, holding a gardening spade
podcast

Episode four: An idea becomes reality

The fourth episode in a podcast series that traces the Canada Foundation for Innovation's unlikely origin story
Illustration of a giant grey head with an open skull cap, revealing his brain. A portion of the brain in the shape of a puzzle piece is missing. Two men in grey suits stand on top of the head. The man to the left is scratching his head, while the man on the right is carrying the CFI’s red circular logo above his head. Beneath them, a woman in a grey suit is holding up the brain’s missing puzzle piece
podcast

Episode three: The idea of CFI is born

The third episode in a podcast series that traces the Canada Foundation for Innovation's unlikely origin story
Illustration of a man in a grey suit aboard a little boat made out of newspaper. He is at sea and is looking through a nautical telescope. To the right of the boat, there is a large green dollar sign, mostly submerged under water. The top part of the dollar sign sticking out of the water has two palm trees growing on it.
podcast

Episode two: An unexpected opportunity

The second episode in a podcast series that traces the Canada Foundation for Innovation's unlikely origin story
Illustration of a man in a grey suit sitting on a unicycle with a dollar sign on it. He is balancing on a tightrope and looking down at the shark fins darting out of the water below. The sharks are waiting for him to fall.
podcast

Episode one: Fiscal Armageddon

The first episode in a podcast series that traces the Canada Foundation for Innovation's unlikely origin story
Graduate student Ewald Cheung plays the violin in McGill University music hall.
video
Quebec

Research builds my music community

Quebec music hub explores how musicians in large ensembles interact with each other, and also with their audience
A group of citizens posing for a photo in front of a city landscape.
video
Alberta

Research builds our urban community

The University of Calgary teams up with its home city to improve wastewater treatment methods
Samantha Knapp holding two children.
video
Ontario

Research builds my children’s community

Finding the genetic cause of her daughters’ illness was the key Samantha Knapp needed to tap into a community of parents going through the same thing
Albert and Logan Leyenhorst, father and son dairy farmers in Saskatchewan, posing with their herd in the barn.
video
Saskatchewan

Research builds my agriculture community

New ways of processing grain by-products to make feedstocks that are better for milk production will benefit both grain and dairy farmers across Canada
CFI origin main image
article

The Canada Foundation for Innovation: an origin story

This is the origin story of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, an organization dedicated to the future, that was born at a time when the country was heavily burdened by its past

Illustration of an explosion of dynamic colourful shapes contained within a silhouette of a person’s profile.
article
British Columbia,Newfoundland and Labrador,Ontario

Canadian research luminaries

The work of the Canada Research Chairholders supported by the John R. Evans Leaders Fund spans all disciplines, from exploring the deep ocean for mineral riches, to the search for an HIV vaccine, to the quest for quantum computing
The CCGS Amundsen, a large research icebreaker, plows through a wide stretch of sea ice. The photo is overlaid with a blue textured pattern.
article
Quebec

Tour the CCGS Amundsen

A multimedia exploration of Canada’s dedicated research icebreaker
A compilation of images representing four major science projects. The first is a dark platform lit up with bright green light; the second an angular, pointy building; the third a weather radar station with a satellite dish in a snowy field; and the last is a large red and white icebreaker surrounded by frozen water.
article
Alberta,Ontario,Quebec,Saskatchewan

Major league science

A compilation of nine unique research facilities that are helping to ensure Canada remains a world leader in research and innovation