Canada cannot afford to lose international research talent — here’s what needs to change

Source: The Conversation – Canada – By Evren Altinkas, Adjunct Professor, Department of History, University of Guelph

The Canadian government launched the Global Impact+ Research Talent Initiative in December 2025 designed to entice international researchers to come to Canada.

The initiative, which the government says will “invest up to $1.7 billion over 12 years to attract and support more than 1,000 leading international and expatriate researchers,” is a significant investment.

This is especially important amid declining cross-country budgets for post-secondary education and research.

But our work shows there are important challenges with recruiting and retaining internationally trained researchers.

Problems with points

International researchers face limited specific immigration pathways.

The comprehensive ranking system (CRS), also known as the point system), is the primary mechanism for skilled workers to attain permanent residence in Canada. The CRS ranks prospective immigrants based on their scores in relation to age, education, language and work experience. The federal government then invites candidates at or above a certain cutoff score to apply for permanent residency.

However, research by Christina Clark-Kazak, the second author of this story, shows how age-based points are inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section 15 of the Charter, on equality rights, prohibits discrimination on the basis of age.

At the same time, these age-based points don’t make sense alongside work experience points. The result? An incoherent policy.

It takes many years to obtain a PhD. In Canada’s immigration ranking system, a PhD only yields 14-15 more points than a Master’s and 28-30 more than a Bachelor’s degree.

At the same time, applicants aged 30-40 years lose five points per year. After they turn 45, they receive no points.

The average age of a PhD graduate is 35. It can take several years to land an academic job in Canada.

Due to this age discrimination and undervaluing of education in the CRS, many talented colleagues with extensive training and experience don’t meet the points threshold.

To partially address this issue, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) introduced new categories for express entry in February 2026. These include a category for “researchers and senior managers with Canadian work experience.”

Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab has described the new categories as a way to “drive innovation and growth.”

However, in a March 4 announcement of invitations to apply for permanent residence under the revamped Express Entry system (the only draw to date since IRCC introduced new categories), only 250 invitations were announced, and none went to researchers.

Immigration status is an equity issue

Evren Altinkas, the first author of this story, has analyzed collective agreements across Canadian universities. This analysis demonstrates a systematic absence of immigration status as a recognized equity category within hiring frameworks.

Across dozens of institutions — including institutions that have significant global rankings, like the University of Toronto, University of British Columbia and McGill University — there is no explicit contractual language addressing internationally trained or displaced scholars.

Many collective agreements contain general employment equity or diversity clauses. But these overwhelmingly focus on domestically recognized categories such as gender, race and Indigeneity, leaving immigration status unaddressed.

This omission reflects a broader pattern of “invisibility” of non-status and precarious migrants in Canadian institutional frameworks.

Even where limited references exist — such as provisions connected to the Scholars at Risk Network at institutions like University of Ottawa or the University of Guelph — these remain exceptional rather than systemic.

Policies and agreements are barriers

Current equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies and collective agreements therefore pose interconnected practical, legal and behavioural barriers to recruiting and retaining internationally trained researchers.

Pervasive hiring norms include asking about Canadian experience — only recently set to change for some employers in Ontario
— and contribute to underemployment and skill mismatch.

The limited recognition of foreign credentials also systematically disadvantages immigrants.

Legally, immigration regimes create uncertainty that institutions and unions are not structurally equipped to accommodate. This is particularly the case with Canada’s increasingly complex “two-step” system of temporary to permanent residency.

The absence of immigration status within EDI discourse reinforces a narrow conception of diversity. This overlooks transnational academic trajectories.

Research shows that internationally educated researchers face persistent labour market barriers. These include visa precarity and limited institutional pathways into stable academic employment.

Even when funding mechanisms exist to support EDI-related scholarship or professional development, these are rarely designed to address structural constraints faced by internationally trained researchers.

This gap ultimately reveals a misalignment between Canada’s reliance on highly skilled immigrants and the institutional barriers embedded within academic labour systems.

Talented researchers voting with their feet

In this context, research shows both underemployment of talent and the departure of university-educated immigrants from Canada.

The Institute for Canadian Citizenship demonstrates “those with doctorates are nearly twice as likely to leave as those with a bachelor’s degree.”

The Canadian economy cannot afford to lose internationally trained academic and research talent. This is particularly true amid ongoing trade tensions with the United States and broader global economic uncertainty.

Canada’s competitiveness increasingly depends on its ability to attract and retain highly skilled workers in research, innovation and higher education.

Reports from the federal government emphasize that immigrants account for a significant share of growth in the highly educated labour force, especially in STEM and knowledge sectors.

Canada needs domestic innovation

Trade disruptions and protectionist policies — particularly in relation to the United States — have heightened the need for domestic innovation capacity.

Failing to integrate internationally trained researchers into stable academic positions risks exacerbating “brain waste,” where highly skilled people are underemployed despite labour shortages.

In a period marked by inflation, supply chain instability and shifting global alliances, retaining global talent is not only an equity issue but an economic imperative.

Canada’s long-term resilience depends on aligning immigration policy with institutional hiring practices in higher education and research sectors.

A path forward

We recommend three key changes to immigration policy and hiring practices.

First, along with more than 100 signatories of an open letter to the federal government organized through the interdisciplinary research partnership network UnborderED Knowledge (the “ED” in the name emphasizes education), we call for designated permanent residence pathways for internationally trained researchers.

The February 2026 Express Entry announcement provides an opportunity for IRCC to make a specific draw for researchers with a point threshold that redresses age biases in the CRS. They should do so as soon as possible.

Second, hiring practices in research institutions must acknowledge and accommodate immigration status as an equity issue, as outlined in the Tri-Agency Best Practices Guide for Recruitment, Hiring and Retention.

Third, in line with findings from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, federal and provincial governments should work with employers across all sectors to ensure that international researchers are not unfairly penalized for foreign credentials and experience.

Christina Clark-Kazak receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

Evren Altinkas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

– ref. Canada cannot afford to lose international research talent — here’s what needs to change – https://theconversation.com/canada-cannot-afford-to-lose-international-research-talent-heres-what-needs-to-change-276799