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A group of leading research universities in Quebec has crafted a national plan to attract talent to Canada in response to political interference and cuts to science funding in the U.S.

The Polaris Platform calls for hundreds of millions in government spending to attract 25 to 100 established research stars, up to 500 international PhD students, up to 300 post-doctoral fellows and funding support for up to 150 newly appointed professors.

It aims to solidify Canadian research strengths in artificial intelligence, RNA medical research, clean energy and quantum technologies, among other areas, and contribute to what it calls “scientific sovereignty” as well as “economic, social and environmental resilience.”

The proposal, which was set to be released Saturday, was developed by McGill University, the University of Montreal, Laval University and the University of Sherbrooke. It’s among the first detailed plans for a national strategy on recruitment to emerge at a time when deep cuts to science funding are under way in the U.S.

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Jean-Pierre Perreault, rector of the University of Sherbrooke, said the plan came together over several months.

“The first reason was to protect our sovereignty in terms of research and innovation and it became an opportunity to bring back Canadians who are in the States, but also excellent scientists and people with talent to come to our side of the border,” Dr. Perreault said.

Vincent Poitout, vice-rector for research and innovation at the University of Montreal, said there is a sense of urgency because other countries are also making similar moves to attract research talent.

“I see it as a very unfortunate opportunity. I say unfortunate because the scientific enterprise will suffer at the global level from what’s happening,” Dr. Poitout said. “That said, it’s an opportunity to regain Canada’s place as a leading country in science and innovation.”

Dr. Poitout compared the Polaris proposal to a menu: Federal and provincial governments may not have the capacity to fund everything on the list, but they can choose based on their priorities.

“If we can do everything that’s fantastic, but we’re realistic,” Dr. Poitout said.

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Many Canadian research leaders sense an opportunity in the huge disruption to scientific funding affecting American universities. The National Institutes of Health, the world’s largest funder of medical research, has had billions cut from its budget, while proposals for 2026 could reduce the agency’s spending by 40 per cent. Projects have been shut down for reasons that scientists have called politicized, including on topics related to gender, DEI or the health impacts of climate change.

The U.S. administration has also put some universities under pressure by withholding federal research funds or, as in Harvard’s case, blocking their ability to enroll international students. That issue is still before the courts, but the direction of U.S. research policy has led many scientists to knock at the door of Canadian schools.

“We are hearing from people who have to shut down their programs completely. We are hearing from people who have research programs that are jeopardized by the fact they can’t recruit students and post-docs, or the universities are just stopping the funding,” said Dr. Poitout.

But Canada is already slightly behind Europe, where France has made money available to attract researchers and the European Union announced a €500-million recruitment fund.

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“We’ve received CVs over the last several weeks and people are asking if Canada will have such a program. That’s the reason we see it as very timely to talk about this now and push the government a little bit to take a decision,” said Prof. Perreault.

In its Throne Speech, the Liberal government pledged to “build Canada into the world’s leading hub for science and innovation.” It has committed to following through on a previous Liberal pledge to expand research funding, but it’s not clear whether it will make additional funds available for recruitment.

The Polaris Platform calls for a multi-layered plan that targets researchers at the early and mid-career stage. It proposes hiring 25 to 100 world-class research chairs, funded at an average of $1-million annually. It also proposes creating 25 industrial research chairs and bringing in hundreds of PhD students, post-docs and early career researchers. The PhD fellowships would be worth $40,000 annually over four years, for a total of $80-million, and the post-docs $70,000 over two years, for a total of $42-million.

The item with the highest cost is a proposed investment in major research infrastructure designed to “reinforce Canada’s scientific independence,” at a price tag of $2-billion over four years. The proposal also suggests that philanthropists could be willing to contribute to support research.