Canada Should Hire Scientists Trump Fires

For decades, Canada has watched its brightest minds head south in search of better funding and career-defining opportunities. But now, the tables have turned. Donald Trump’s assault on science with mass layoffs, gutted research budgets, and political interference is throwing America’s scientific community into turmoil. A wave of world-class talent is now searching for new opportunities, and Canada has a rare chance to turn its long-standing brain drain into a brain gain.

Trump and Musk have destabilized key scientific institutions in just weeks, slashing budgets and disrupting research. Agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and National Institutes of Health (NIH) face devastating cuts and freezes of research grants, amounting to billions, that will have immense consequences for university researchers and graduate students. Meanwhile, unstrategic, uncoordinated firings at the U.S. Department of Energy, Centers for Disease Control, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency paint an even bleaker picture.

This is Canada’s moment to roll out the welcome mat for these displaced professionals. To attract these minds, Canadian policymakers should implement three key policies.

First, the federal government should establish a research funding initiative to help U.S. scientists relocate. Many of these researchers are losing funding mid-project. A dedicated fund would allow them to transfer their work—covering equipment, lab setup, and research team retention. Scientific continuity is crucial, and bridging these gaps would help ensure Canada reaps the rewards of this research with minimal interruption.

Canada must also provide funding for these researchers to commercialize and launch new cohorts of startups in cutting-edge fields like quantum computing, nuclear energy, and biotechnology. Without building out the crucial link between universities and the private sector, facilitated by policy and government programs, importing these researchers would simply continue to result in Canadian research being commercialized elsewhere.

Second, an expedited work permit stream tailored for researchers leaving U.S. government agencies and universities would be an easy win, attracting the very people likely googling “how to move to Canada” right now. Canada has successfully fast-tracked visas for tech talent before, and a similar expedited pathway for scientists could help them transition smoothly into Canadian institutions. The existing Global Talent Stream for tech professionals provides a model that could be easily adapted.

Finally, Canada should expand the Canada Research Chairs program to accommodate this influx of high-caliber scientists and researchers. The program was launched in 2000 to attract world-class talent and has proven successful. Expanding it would secure key positions for incoming scientists and further strengthen Canadian research.

Attracting these minds isn’t just about academic prestige—it’s an economic opportunity. Scientific research fuels innovation, leading to new technologies, medical breakthroughs, and advancements in clean energy and AI, sectors where Canada can lead globally. Positioning Canada as a safe haven for science in an era of political instability will bolster our global reputation.

Indeed, Canada’s very own Nobel Prize-winning Geoffrey Hinton moved here from the United States in 1987 as a direct result of his distaste for the Reagan administration. He laid the groundwork for Canada to become a global AI frontrunner, and dozens of his former students have become leaders in tech giants, startups, and academia. Now, imagine hundreds more like him.

Of course, as some have already pointed out, most Canadian universities currently operate on significant deficits and lack the funds to take on displaced American researchers en masse. At this point, provincial governments don’t appear confident enough in universities to provide the necessary funding for laboratories, research grants, and postdoctoral researchers. And federally, the Canadian Institute of Health Research has an annual expenditure of just under $1.4 billion per year—about 48 times less than its U.S. equivalent, the National Institutes of Health.

These concerns shouldn’t be mistaken as a reason to retreat. Rather, they highlight the need for strategic ambition. Canada’s current research funding gaps are not a reason to turn away top global talent; they’re the strongest argument for why we must act now. The arrival of displaced U.S. scientists presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure federal reinvestment in R&D by tying it directly to economic growth, innovation leadership, and geopolitical relevance. Canada doesn’t need to absorb thousands overnight or provide a home for every relocating U.S. PhD, but it must compete for the best. That means creating space, reallocating resources, and thinking nationally. The choice isn’t between fixing underfunding or welcoming talent. We must do both.

For too long, we have watched Canadian talent move south in pursuit of U.S. funding and opportunity. Now, history has given us a rare second chance. This isn’t just about welcoming displaced researchers; it’s about seizing the moment to make Canada a global innovation powerhouse. Of course, as ITIF has pointed out, there’s much more Canada must address to truly become such a powerhouse. Still, this moment provides a unique circumstance to accelerate that process dramatically.

The brilliant minds shaping humanity’s future are looking for new homes. While other nations scramble to attract them, Canada’s stability, quality of life, and research excellence position us as the natural choice, but only if we act quickly and decisively. This decision could reverberate for decades in laboratories, classrooms, and boardrooms across our nation. Let’s reverse the brain drain, fuel innovation, and cement our place at the forefront of global discovery.