A U.S. brain drain could be Canada's brain gain

CBC

30-03-2025

Over the last few months, academics and scientists in the U.S. have been scrambling to keep their footing on swiftly eroding ground, amid massive Donald Trump-ordered funding cuts and new restrictions.
But although a weakening of the American scientific community has far-reaching impacts on the global academic landscape, experts say one side effect could be top talent from the U.S. coming to Canada.
Already, some researchers, academics and scientists are making the journey — and some provinces and organizations in Canada are looking to reap the benefits.
"The more questions and concerns emerge in the United States, the more opportunity there is for Canada to try and reassert its leadership in the world as a global research powerhouse," said Gabriel Miller, president and CEO of Universities Canada.
A dominating force in academia
The U.S. has long been a dominating force in the academic world, home to many of the most highly regarded universities in the world. But Trump has begun an aggressive campaign in his second term, increasingly targeting academia and scientific organizations in a bid to cut government spending and move against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Over the last few months, the administration has slashed federal funding and restricted leading institutions from communicating with international counterparts. Trump has also issued executive orders that led to many organizations, like the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, deleting scientific data sets and censoring language.
Most at risk are researchers whose work goes against the stated goals of the new administration. The Environmental Protection Agency terminated grant agreements worth $20 billion US for clean energy and climate-friendly projects earlier this month, and Canadian researchers applying to receive U.S. grant funding are now being asked to confirm that their projects contain no "DEI" elements, among other politically charged inquiries.
"It's kind of an attack to what we're used to in university, academic freedom and the opportunity to inquire about any kind of topic," Rémi Quirion, Quebec's chief scientist, told CBC News.
Against this backdrop, some academics in the U.S. have already decided to take their skills up north. Jason Stanley, a philosophy professor, recently left a position at Yale University to join the University of Toronto, citing a "far-right regime" under Trump.
Two other Yale historians also made the same move earlier this year. Timothy Snyder and Marci Shore, who are married, are on leave from Yale and slated to begin teaching courses at U of T's Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy in the fall.
Snyder is the best-selling author of The Road to Unfreedom and On Tyranny, 20 Lessons From the 21st Century, the latter of which is about the need to stand up to authoritarianism when it threatens democracy.
They're not the only American experts eyeing a switch to Canada. Though there isn't specific data at the moment, several in the Canadian research community, including university leaders and professors, are reporting increased interest from scientists working or training in the U.S., said Mona Nemer, Canada's chief science adviser.
A U.S. crisis could be a Canadian opportunity
Earlier this month, Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge announced that the province was actively looking to recruit scientific talent from the U.S. who are wary of what he called "the climate-skeptic directions that the White House is taking."
"Every crisis brings opportunities," he said at an event held by the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations.
For researchers in this field and others targeted with cuts, Canada could be an appealing alternative, said Quirion.
In Quebec in particular, academic freedom is legally guaranteed, he said. (However, this came with its own controversy, as the law's creation was prompted by a debate over whether a professor should be suspended for saying a racial slur in a lesson.)
Other provinces are also looking to attract U.S. workers. Both Manitoba and B.C. have launched campaigns within the last two months to attract more U.S. health-care professionals.
Jennie Massey, a partner with executive search firm KBRS in New Brunswick, told CBC News earlier this month that she'd received 14 applications the morning after Trump's inauguration. Most were from academics looking to join Canada's universities and colleges, she said.
Court challenges and backlash may have caused the U.S. administration to reverse some recent funding freezes, but the impacts on the field are lasting.
"If your grant is stopped for a few months, it's really hard to basically keep coming back and keep the momentum on the research topic," Quirion said.
"Very quickly you lose competitiveness or you lose interest also because you don't get enough support for that research project."
Complications in pulling U.S. talent
An ironic twist is that as some regions seek to woo more U.S. talent, Canada has been trying to cut down on international students and new permanent residents.
In October, the federal government announced a reduction in immigration levels in a bid to relieve pressure on the housing market. Under this plan, more than 40 per cent of new permanent residents in 2025 will be temporary residents already living in Canada.
A cap on international students, announced last year, has also triggered job cuts, lower enrollment and program cancellations at some post-secondary institutions due to the loss of revenue from international students' tuition fees, potentially impacting their ability to acquire new teaching talent.
At this moment, Canada needs to invest more in pathways for U.S. talent to come to this country, Quirion said.
Existing pathways could be expanded on, he suggested, citing the Canada Excellence Research Chair, which supports Canadian universities with investments of $10 million over seven years to attract researchers.
And the question of handling academic freedom is still contentious in some regions of Canada. Earlier this month, Alberta exempted post-secondary institutions from a bill that would have required them to get provincial approval before entering into agreements with the federal government, after pressure from academic organizations. And a debate is currently unfolding in Nova Scotia over a proposed bill which critics say would give the government too much control over university funding.
Still, Canada has a unique opportunity right now, Miller said.
"The benefit of this moment is the reminder to Canada that we should treasure our outstanding research being done in universities and that we can take advantage of this moment to reassert that we're gonna be leaders and that we're gonna win in the global competition for talent.