OTTAWA, Ontario, Oct. 10, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Government of Canada today announced nearly $134 million in funding through the Canada Fund for Innovation (CFI) to support research infrastructure projects at 63 post-secondary institutions across the country.
These strategic investments come at a time of intense international competition and will help spur innovation and build a resilient Canada. They are produced through CFI. John R. Evans Leadership Foundation (JELF), a critical tool designed to help institutions attract and retain the best researchers, and its College fundwhich supports applied research and technology development that meets the social, business, health or environmental needs of Canadian industry or community.
Projects funded through JELF include:
- Improving the Safety and Efficiency of Explosives (Ontario): Energetic materials are used to initiate explosions in demolition, mining, and military applications, but higher performance materials have historically been more difficult to handle safely and often contain heavy metals, causing environmental problems. Using CFI-funded equipment, Carleton University researchers are developing a new class of energetic materials that respond to light. By using light as a trigger, users can precisely control when and where the explosive reaction will occur. The research will pave the way for new defense and military technologies while placing Canada at the forefront of material development.
- Mineral Exploration (British Columbia): Researchers at the University of British Columbia Okanagan are studying the chemical and physical processes of rock formation at the nanoscale to optimize the extraction of critical minerals and other natural resources through more precise exploration techniques. The same ideas could also improve forecasts for natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. CFI funding is aimed at creating the Center for Nanogeology, where interdisciplinary research combines materials science and geology.
- Waste to Energy (Nova Scotia): Practical and sustainable manure management technologies can help livestock producers reduce costs, reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions, and generate renewable energy. Canada's agriculture industry accounts for 10 percent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions, with manure management making a significant contribution. Using CFI-funded equipment, researchers at Dalhousie University are studying a process called pyrolysis—heating organic material in the absence of oxygen—to convert waste into valuable products, such as bio-oil, and useful energy, while reducing emissions. They will use computer modeling to scale up the results and identify ways to optimize financial and environmental outcomes for the agricultural sector.
Projects financed by College Fund include:
- 3D printing of houses (Quebec): In Canada, residential construction often slows down in the winter, but factory 3D printing makes it possible to produce components year-round, speeding up construction timelines and improving working conditions. At the Cégep de l'Abitibi-Témiscamingue, researchers are using CFI-funded robots, printing platforms and mixing systems to design, test and validate residential modules. The multidisciplinary team is also researching natural materials with a lower environmental impact than concrete. 3D printing also reduces waste and reduces costs compared to traditional manufacturing. Working with social enterprises and private sector partners, the team will ensure the modules are compliant with building codes and optimized for use across Canada.
- Renewable Materials Development (Alberta): Global demand for reusable materials is growing for both environmental and economic reasons. CFI funding is helping establish the Sustainable Materials Laboratory at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), equipped to produce and process plastics and biomaterials. Because plastic degrades each time it is recycled, losing strength, flexibility and clarity, it often becomes unsuitable for high-end products or regulated industries. NAIT researchers are working with industry partners to increase the reuse of plastics, explore alternatives to biomaterials, and evaluate the environmental impacts of these new materials in collaboration with local Indigenous communities.
Quotes
“Today's investment demonstrates the outstanding contributions of Canadian researchers and institutions, whose commitment to advancing knowledge and innovation benefits Canadians in every part of the country. By investing in science and research infrastructure, we are laying the foundation for discoveries that will enrich our communities and inspire future generations. Canada has what the world's innovators are looking for, and our government is making Canada a destination for the world's best minds.”
– The Honorable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry and Minister of Economic Development of Canada Regions of Quebec
“This investment by the Government of Canada through the Canada Innovation Fund is driving discovery in the areas that matter most to Canada. By equipping universities and colleges with the cutting-edge research tools and laboratories that underpin innovation, we are helping to ensure Canada remains safe, productive and globally competitive.”
– Sylvain Charbonneau, President and CEO of the Canadian Foundation for Innovation
Quick Facts
- The total investment in research infrastructure is US$133,624,785. 408 projects were financed through CFI. John R. Evans Leadership Foundation (JELF) totaling US$115,079,389 and 17 projects funded through College fund for a total of $18,545,396.
- Projects supported by these funds will receive additional funding through CFI. Infrastructure Operations Fund (IOF) to cover the costs of operating research infrastructure. The total investment of $133,624,785 includes $30,836,489 from IOF.
- CFI typically covers up to 40 percent of a project's research infrastructure costs. Research institutions provide the remaining 60 percent through partnerships with provincial and territorial governments, industry and other public, private and non-profit organizations.
- By leveraging co-funding from strategic partners, this unique funding model optimizes the Government of Canada's investment in research infrastructure.
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About the Canada Foundation for Innovation
With a bold and forward-looking mandate, the Canada Foundation for Innovation empowers researchers to become global leaders in their field and respond to emerging challenges. Our investments in state-of-the-art tools, instruments and equipment at universities, colleges, research hospitals and not-for-profit research institutes underpin research driven by both curiosity and purpose that spans all disciplines and connects all sectors. The research infrastructure we fund mobilizes knowledge, stimulates innovation and commercialization, and empowers the next generation of talented minds.
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A full list of projects we fund, as well as stories about the properties we fund, is available at: Innovation.ca. To stay updated, subscribe to us bluesky, LinkedIn their @InnovationCA and subscribe to our YouTube channel find videos about CFI and its transformative research projects.
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