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. 

A launchpad to success for SmartChutes

How the Research Facilities Navigator helped one company find the liftoff they needed toward commercialization
Read the success story
Two students wearing disposable gloves each hold a small metal object as they stand in front of a large TRUMPF TruPrint 2000 machine.
article
Ontario

Giving industry an additive manufacturing edge

Putting 3D printing power to work for civilian, military and dual-use applications
All articles
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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All stories

Tour guide and taxi driver, Bill Baker, poses in front of the synchrotron beamlines inside the Canadian Light Source
video
Saskatchewan

Research builds my local community

Saskatoon cab drivers introduce visitors to their city’s pride and joy: the Canadian Light Source
Andrew Pelling, wearing a microphone, points to a slice of apple in a petri dish.
article
Ontario

Growing body parts from plants

Inspired by movies like Little Shop of Horrors and The Matrix, Andrew Pelling’s University of Ottawa lab is all about taking the most audacious ideas and turning them into reality
A man stands beside a river with his arm resting on a set of long-range observation binoculars.
article
Quebec

Research builds my Arctic community

The research icebreaker CCGS Amundsen is a hub for research in natural, health and social sciences in Canada’s North
A young woman in blue and an older woman wearing a brown jacket and necklace that looks like a pouch with leather fringe sit side-by-side in a room in front of a patterned wall hanging
article
Manitoba

Research is built by my Indigenous community

The Indigenous Health Law Centre at Brandon University gathers traditional healing knowledge to inform better health policy for and with Indigenous Peoples in Canada
A group of women posing for a photo.
article
British Columbia

Research builds my healing community

A group of breast cancer survivors became each other’s cherished friends and support network after participating in a study at the University of British Columbia on the effects of exercise on their recovery
Jacqueline Mboko, an interpreter for London's Cross Cultural Learner Centre, holding a red binder posing for a photo outside.
article
Ontario

Research builds my Canadian community

A research partnership led by Western University looks at ways of providing services to immigrant families that will help them more easily settle into their new home
A vector graphic of a crane pulling out the CFI logo from a head symbol with the top half missing.
article

Our 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
A vector graphic of opened head symbol with researchers and research infrastructure inside over the CFI logo on red background.
podcast

The CFI's 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 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