OTTAWA – Prime Minister Jean Chrétien today announced the first 195 recipients of the Canada Research Chairs Program. Budget 2000 allocated $900 million to help Canadian universities attract and retain the best researchers and achieve research excellence in health, natural sciences, technology, social sciences and humanities. Two thousand Canada Research Chairs will be established by 2004-05.
“By retaining top-level researchers at our universities and attracting others from beyond our borders, the Canada Research Chairs Program, will help Canada stay at the forefront of the global knowledge-based economy, ” said the Prime Minister. “The work of these gifted individuals will help sustain our unmatched quality of life and build new Canadian prosperity in the 21st Century. I warmly congratulate all recipients and I am particularly pleased that some of our best Canadian researchers are returning home to further their work.”
The Canada Research Chairs Program, part of an overall plan to encourage Canada’s innovation, will:promote leading-edge research and innovation in universities;provide exciting opportunities for Canadian researchers; and,attract the best research minds in the world to Canadian universities.
The first 195 recipients include 15 researchers from outside Canada, seven of whom are returning Canadians. Their appointments represent an initial $213 million investment in areas of expertise ranging from history through pain control to software engineering.
Budget 2000 also provided additional funding to the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), to help it meet the infrastructure needs of the new Canada Research Chairs. Over the next five years, the CFI will allocate $250 million for leading-edge equipment needed by the research chairs.
