QUESTION PERIOD — Innovation, Science and Economic Development
Funding for Graduate Students and Post-doctoral Scholars
December 15, 2023
Senator Gold, once again, I rise to bring attention to the unnecessary challenges facing our best and brightest scientists.
Canada struggles to retain top research talent, as our post‑doctoral fellowships are not competitive internationally. Every year, we lose about 30% of our PhD graduates to international brain drain. A post-doctoral fellowship in Canada from one of Canada’s tri-councils is actually $45,000 a year. Now, senators, that’s for a PhD student who is doing groundbreaking scientific work. We’re paying them $45,000 a year.
In the United States or Europe, they can earn two or three times that. When will the government commit to combatting the brain drain of our top talent by investing in our next generation of researchers?
Thank you, senator, for your continued advocacy on this. As a former academic, and as a recipient of support for my research in an earlier life, I totally understand and applaud your efforts to advocate for more funding.
As I said — and I will repeat — the government has announced more than $1 billion in support for scientists, researchers and students through a variety of funding programs. The government is committed to continuing to explore ways in which they can better support this, as well as our future generations of researchers and the talent that they bring to our country.
Thank you for that, Senator Gold. I just want to raise the reality of another economic problem. This brain drain of our young PhD students costs our economy at least $740 million a year in training investments made for them. By simply making post-doctoral salaries internationally competitive, we can help prevent these young scientists from leaving. When will the government implement this simple solution?
The government has announced funding to support over five and a half thousand promising students and researchers and is working within the envelopes it has available to it. Thankfully, universities are also doing their part with private philanthropy, which I have been involved in personally, to support doctoral students at the University of Montreal. More needs to be done. The government is doing what it can under the circumstances.
