Open letter to federal leaders from Manitoba researchers gets support from hundreds of Canadian academics

An open letter from a group of Manitoba researchers has garnered support from hundreds of other scientists and academics across the country, sounding the alarm about the effects of research cuts in the U.S. on Canadian research and urging federal political leaders to take action.

The letter, which was shared Friday and as of Tuesday afternoon had more than 750 signatures, said it comes "at a critical moment for global science."

"The dramatic dismantling of research infrastructure in the United States, the world's historical leader in scientific investment, has left an international innovation vacuum," it says.

Julie Lajoie, an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba and one of the academics who wrote the letter, said the current climate in the U.S. has created "a unique moment in time" in the opportunity it presents for Canada to step up to fill the research gap.

"We cannot rely anymore just on our neighbour…. We need to take our spot and we need to take our place," said Lajoie, whose research includes infectious diseases like HIV.

"And [to be] able to do that, we need to have the government to finally see that science is important, research is important."

The letter says layoffs and program cuts under U.S. President Donald Trump's administration in areas including pathogen surveillance, climate resilience, vaccine development, occupational health, cancer research and women's health at major health and environmental agencies in the U.S. "jeopardize the scientific and public health security of every country that has benefited from U.S. leadership and collaboration."

That includes cuts to funding for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health, which supports more than 300,000 scientists, and layoffs at the Environmental Protection Agency's research office and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Paul Marcogliese, an assistant professor of biochemistry and medical genetics at the University of Manitoba who was among those who signed the open letter, said maintaining the status quo for research funding in Canada would represent "a degradation of our science," partly given how intertwined Canadian research is with funding or collaborators in the U.S.

"There's already colleagues of mine where that funding has been put at a standstill. And then there are also folks that are, of course, collaborating with Americans. So there's a spillover effect of our research funding decreasing," Marcogliese said.

"Certainly, five to 10 years down the line, if nothing changes from what's happening, we're all going to be further and further behind."

While the U.S. research climate provides an opportunity for scientists to bring their expertise to Canada, the letter says "a significant investment" in Canadian research is desperately needed "to capture this opportunity."

"If we want to attract those American scientists, we need to provide them the funding to do that," Lajoie said. "Right now, funding in Canada is so limited."

Among those who signed the letter was at least one U.S.-based academic: Zen Faulkes, a biology instructor at Germanna Community College in Fredericksburg, Va., who's originally from Canada and described the last few months as "catastrophic for American science."

Faulkes said while those changes make him think it would be "nice to go home, for both personal and professional reasons," he hopes to see more discussion about Canada's plan to improve its research funding so there are more opportunities for scientists like him interested in potentially moving north of the border.

"I'm not going to say that I would just take any job that opened itself up because, you know, moving is always a complex proposition. But boy … I would welcome the opportunity to look at some offers," Faulkes said. "An offer from Canada would weigh very, very strongly in my consideration."

The letter urges the federal government to raise spending on science and technology to 1.25 per cent of Canada's GDP, a change it says needs to include a doubling of funding for what's known as the tri-council agencies responsible for the country's research funding: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

It also calls for a research accelerator fund to be established "to match and incentivize provincial, business, and non-profit investments in direct research and research infrastructure," and for the government to remove the cap on international students.

"We get requests nearly every day by e-mail from all over the world, from highly trained individuals that would like to pursue graduate studies with us," said Marcogliese. "There shouldn't be a cap on that, and added levels of bureaucracy for us to deal with, in trying to recruit an international graduate student."

The letter argues that research should be seen not as a cost for Canada, but as "a strategic catalyst for Canada's long-term prosperity, delivering significant returns through both economic growth and improved quality of life" — noting every dollar invested in research and development in Canada yields roughly $4 in GDP, according to findings from the Support our Science Campaign.

In an emailed statement, the Liberal party says it will have more details about its plan to improve research funding in Canada once its platform is released. The Conservatives and NDP did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.