The Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CIRTA) is a targeted, one-time initiative designed to recruit international or returning Canadian doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers to Canada. These awards support key priority areas, helping to build capacity, strengthen the research ecosystem and enhance Canada’s global competitiveness.
These awards are a part of the International Talent Attraction Strategy and Action Plan announced in Budget 2025 - Canada Strong, which committed $1.7 billion to the recruitment of international talent to Canada. Specifically, the Impact+ Research Training awards investment is $133.6 million to fund an additional 600 doctoral and 400 postdoctoral awards within the Canada Research Training Awards Suite (CRTAS), administered by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). This initiative aims to support the next generation of innovators by providing funding and high-quality research training, cultivating research skills, fostering creativity and empowering awardees to make significant contributions to Canada’s research ecosystem, economy and prosperity.
The Impact+ Research Training Awards will invest in research in eight priority areas:
- Advanced digital technologies (including AI, quantum and cybersecurity)
- Health, including biotechnology
- Clean technology and resource value chains
- Environment, climate resilience and the Arctic
- Food and water security
- Democratic and community resilience
- Manufacturing and advanced materials
- Defence and dual-use technologies
This is a one-time investment by the Government of Canada. There will be two waves of allocations to the university. The deadline below is for the first wave of allocations, with additional allocations for the second wave still to be announced but with an expected deadline in summer of 2026. York has received an allocation of 7 doctoral awards and 4 postdoctoral awards for the first wave.
Nominations will be full-time faculty members with active TriCouncil Research Grants and must align with the identified priority areas. These are intended to be interpreted broadly so that relevant work from a range of disciplines aligned with any of the tri-council agencies may be considered.
For more information, see the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CIRTA) Q&A site.
$40,000 per year for 36 months (3 years) at the doctoral level
$70,000 per year for 24 months (2 years) at the postdoctoral level
York’s first-wave allocation is 7 doctoral awards and 4 postdoctoral awards
Nominators and nominees are encouraged to review the Eligibility Checklist (.pdf) before starting the application process.
For Nominators
A nominator must be a faculty member at an eligible institution and be the primary grant holder on an active grant from an eligible funding opportunity from one of the three federal funding agencies at the time of nomination. Refer to the list of agency-specific eligible funding opportunities. For the purposes of this initiative, eligible active grants are those that received a payment or have a planned payment in the 2025-26 or 2026–27 fiscal year (April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2027).
As per the nominating institution’s policies, nominators must be eligible to supervise doctoral students and/or postdoctoral researchers. Nominators must not be currently deemed ineligible to hold and/or apply for funds by CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC, for reasons of breach of policies on responsible conduct of research, such as ethics, integrity or financial management policies. Nominators must have accounts in good standing with CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC.
While the nominator’s research grant does not have to specifically be within one of the eight identified priority research areas, they must be able to facilitate and supervise the nominee conducting research in one of the identified areas.
For Nominees
Nominees can hold any citizenship, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada). Nominees cannot have a current affiliation with a Canadian institution and must be currently studying or working abroad. Participation of Canadian citizens in this initiative is intended for those who have previously left Canada for research and/or work experience and who wish to return to Canada to continue their research.
Nominees’ research areas must be within one of the eight priority research areas listed above.
For Doctoral nominees:
- Must be eligible to enroll in a doctoral program at the nominating institution in Canada as of the award activation date.
- Cannot hold a tenure or tenure-track appointment or be on leave from such an appointment concurrently with the Impact+ training award (some exceptions apply; see the Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide for details).
- There is no limit on the number of months completed in a doctoral degree for eligibility to the Impact+ training awards.
For Postdoctoral nominees:
- Must be qualified to undertake postdoctoral research at the nominating institution in Canada as of the award activation date.
- Must hold or expect to hold a doctorate or health professional degree before the start date of the award.
- Must not hold or be on leave from a tenure-track or tenured faculty position.
- There is no limiting window of time following completion of a doctoral degree for eligibility to the Impact+ training awards.
Other restrictions
- Nominees can only be nominated by one nominator (cannot have multiple proposed supervisors or locations of tenure).
- International students/researchers already working or studying at a Canadian institution are not eligible for the Impact+ training awards. Instead, they can apply for the CGRS-D or CPRA.
- Nominees cannot be currently holding another scholarship or postdoctoral research award from the three agencies or be currently benefiting from tri-agency funds from a supervisor’s grant.
- Doctoral: Cannot have previously held doctoral-level scholarship from one of the three agencies.
- Postdoctoral: Cannot have previously held a postdoctoral-level award from one of the three agencies.
Research program eligibility
An eligible doctoral degree or postdoctoral research program must be predominantly research-oriented.
Agency review
The agencies will review submitted nomination forms for eligibility of the nominators and nominees.
Equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI)
The three agencies are acting on evidence that achieving a more equitable, diverse and inclusive Canadian research enterprise is essential to creating the excellent, innovative and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding and to respond to local, national and global challenges. This principle informs the commitments described in the Tri-Agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) and is aligned with the objectives of the Tri-Agency EDI Action Plan.
Self-identification data and consent provided with nominations may be used to determine eligibility for additional awards or priority funding opportunities designated for specific underrepresented groups.
Research Security
Due to the list of priority research areas, recipients of the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards are likely to participate in research that aims to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area, as defined under the Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC Policy).
While the STRAC Policy does not apply to scholarship and fellowship programs, such as the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards, nominators who are a recipient of a grant that is subject to the STRAC Policy requirements — or who are expecting to apply for such a grant in the future —should be aware that these requirements may extend to their prospective nominees. Prospective nominees who have an active affiliation with or are in receipt of financial or in-kind support from a Named Research Organization must terminate this relationship before joining any research team that is supported by a grant in scope of the STRAC Policy and that aims to advance a Sensitive Technology Research Area. Consult the Tri-agency Guidance on the STRAC Policy for more information on the requirements that apply to federal grants subject to the STRAC Policy.
Where applicable, nominators are encouraged to conduct open-source due diligence to verify a prospective nominee’s affiliation(s) and sources of funding or in-kind support. Institutions may provide support to nominators in doing so, via their institutional research security offices, where available.
For further guidance on research security, institutions and researchers are encouraged to consult the Tri-agency Guidance on Research Security and associated resources, including the Government of Canada’s Safeguarding Your Research portal and the Safeguarding Science Initiative.
The internal deadline to submit a complete nomination package for York’s CIRTA allocation is February 2, 2026.
Nominators are asked to complete this Expression of Interest Mach Form by January 20, 2026.
Submissions will be adjudicated and successful nominators/nominees will be notified of their selection prior to submission of York’s nominations, by March 4, 2026.
It is expected that nominators and nominees will be notified of the results by April 1, 2026, for the first wave of nominations. The release date for the results of the second wave will be announced at a later date.
If a nominee accepts an award, the relevant agency will publish their name and other basic award information on its website.
For more information, see the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.
Nominators who submitted an Expression of Interest Mach Form will be invited to complete the Nomination Package Form for York’s CIRTA allocation by February 2, 2026. Nominators are required to review Nominator’s Guidance (.pdf) and the Instructions to complete a CIRTA Nomination Form (.pdf), and to submit the following documentation in PDF format:
For Doctoral nominees:
- A completed CIRTA Nomination Form (.pdf);
- A Supervisor / Nominator Statement (maximum two pages);
- The Nominator’s CV;
- The Nominee’s CV;
- The Nominee’s complete official or unofficial transcripts for all undergraduate and graduate studies.
For Postdoctoral nominees:
- A completed CIRTA Nomination Form (.pdf);
- A Supervisor / Nominator Statement (maximum two pages);
- The Nominator’s CV;
- The Nominee’s CV;
- The confirmation of the PhD degree received, or confirmation of the proposed completion date, signed by the PhD supervisor.
Note:
Supervisor Statement should address the following:
Please submit one statement per application, to a maximum of two pages, addressing each of the sections outlined below. The statement should provide specific details and clearly demonstrate your commitment to supporting the nominee.
Research environment:
- Describe the nominee’s proposed research environment, clearly stating your commitment to supporting their success. Examples of commitment include (but are not limited to):
- Mentorship and supervisory support
- Opportunities for collaboration
- Dissemination and/or knowledge translation
- Resources (e.g., funding, facilities, personnel)
- Mentorship and supervisory support
Professional development:
- Describe your commitment to the nominee’s professional leadership development, clearly outlining the resources, training opportunities, and/or mentoring activities that will be provided to support their career development. These could include, but are not limited to:
- Knowledge translation/mobilization
- Teaching opportunities
- Communication skills (academic, public, and/or stakeholder engagement)
- Writing skills (e.g., grants, manuscripts)
- Collaboration and team-based research
- Innovation and entrepreneurship
- Community building and leadership
Following the submission deadlines for the Expression of Interest (January 20, 2026) and full nomination package (February 2, 2026), eligible applications will first be reviewed by the Tier 1 Central Adjudication Committee. The Tier 1 Central Adjudication Committee will comprise agency specific subcommittees (CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC), so that applications are evaluated within multidisciplinary panels aligned with the mandate and disciplinary scope of each funding agency.
Tier 1 reviewers will independently score all files and then meet to discuss rankings and identify the strongest candidates:
For Doctoral nominees:
Applications for doctoral nominees will be ranked and reviewed based on the Tri-Council’s Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS D) evaluation guidelines. The selection criteria are the same across all three agencies.
| Selection criteria | Description | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Research potential | Indicators of research potential: ● quality of research proposal: ○ specific, focused and feasible research question(s) and/or objective(s) ○ clear description and soundness of the proposed methodology ○ significance and expected contributions to research ● demonstration of potential to carry out proposed research relative to the stage of study, lived experience and knowledge systems ● quality of contributions and extent to which they advance the field of research–contributions may include publications, patents, reports, posters, abstracts, monographs, presentations, creative outputs, knowledge translation outputs, community products, etc. ● demonstration of sound judgment and ability to think critically ● demonstration of responsible and ethical research conduct, including honest and thoughtful inquiry, rigorous analysis, commitment to safety and dissemination of research results and adherence to professional standards ● demonstration of originality, initiative, autonomy, relevant community involvement and outreach ● ability to communicate theoretical, technical and/or scientific concepts clearly and logically in written and oral formats | 50% |
| Relevant experience and achievements obtained within and beyond academia | Indicators of relevant experience and achievements obtained within and beyond academia: ● relevant training, such as academic training, lived experience and traditional teachings ● scholarships, awards and distinctions (amount, duration, and prestige) ● academic record: ○ transcripts ○ duration of previous studies ○ program requirements and courses pursued ○ course load ○ relative standing in program (if available) ● professional, academic, and extracurricular activities, as well as collaborations with supervisors, colleagues, peers, students and members of the community, such as: ○ teaching, mentoring, supervising and/or coaching ○ managing projects ○ participating in science and/or research promotion ○ participating in community outreach, volunteer work, and/or civic engagement ○ chairing committees and/or organizing conferences and meetings ○ participating in departmental or institutional organizations, associations, societies and/or clubs | 50% |
For Post-Doctoral nominees:
Applications for postdoctoral nominees will be ranked and reviewed based on the Tri-Council’s evaluation guidelines for postdoctoral awards. The selection criteria are drawn from the Canada Postdoctoral Research Awards (CPRA). The selection criteria for CPRA are the same across all three agencies (indicators and subcriteria are agency-specific).
| Selection criteria | Description | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Research potential and experience | ● previous research experience ● contributions to research and development, including publications, conference presentations and/or proceedings, poster presentations, technical reports, patents, creative outputs, intellectual property, policies, etc. ● demonstrated potential for leadership and societal contributions within and/or beyond the academic community ● teaching, mentoring, supervising and/or coaching ● honours, awards, and academic distinctions | 50% |
| Quality of proposed research program | ● originality, significance, feasibility, clarity and merit of proposed research ● specific, well-focused and realistic research objectives ● clear and detailed description of the proposed methodology ● expected contributions to research ● expected contributions to knowledge mobilization/knowledge translation beyond the academic community, as appropriate ● research training environment, including ○ suitability for contributing to applicant’s professional development and career goals ○ accessibility of necessary equipment and resources ○ effectiveness of the overall support provided | 50% |
Following the Tier 1 central adjudication process, top ranked doctoral and postdoctoral nomination packages will be forwarded to the Tier 2 adjudication committee for final selection based on institutional allocation.
Award holders must comply with the policies and guidelines set out in the Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide and in any other documents related to these nominations and awards.
The agencies reserve the right to interpret and enforce the policies and guidelines for their funding opportunities set out in their published materials.
Award holders may be eligible to hold their awards part time. See the Tri-agency research training award holder’s guide for further information.
Have Questions?
Questions related to Doctoral Scholarships
- Email Nawroos Shibli, Research Officer, nshibli@yorku.ca
Questions related to Postdoctoral Research Awards
- Email Kim McIntyre, Postdoctoral Services & Professional Skills Coordinator, kimmcint@yorku.ca
For more information, see the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CIRTA) Q&A site.