Canada is the latest country to announce a strategic commitment to supporting cutting-edge research and innovation by working to attract and retain top talent.  This month, the country launched a new postdoctoral fellowship programme carrying the name of Canadian Nobel laureate Sir Frederick Banting, who is co-credited for having discovered insulin. The programme, which will enjoy a CAD 45 million investment over five years, is supported by three key Canadian science and research organisations: the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

Specifically, the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship programme aims to award 70 new two-year fellowships each year, with each fellow receiving CAD 70 000 per year. Both Canadians and non-Canadian citizens are eligible for the award, which also aspires to broader international connections for the country by allowing up to one-quarter of fellowship recipients to take placements at research institutions outside of Canada.

This initiative—which, according to the government, is “part of a full suite of Canadian funding programs to support top-tier researchers at every stage of their careers”—feeds directly into a broader (and longer-term) national-level science and technology strategy, first articulated by the Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007.

Website of the Prime Minister of Canada