Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (Postdoctoral Fellowships)

The Canada Impact + Research Training Awards are a one-time federal government initiative designed to recruit international or returning Canadian postdoctoral researchers to Canada with a focus on eight priority research areas. 

Nationally, 400 postdoctoral awards have been distributed across Canadian institutions based on each institution's share of Tri-agency funding. UofT received a modest allocation of awards to be shared across divisions from which UTM received one award.  

Eligible UTM faculty members (nominators) who hold qualifying Tri-agency grants (see below) are invited to nominate a postdoctoral researcher (nominee) from abroad.  

Note, this call is for the postdoctoral award only. Details pertaining to the doctoral award can be found on the UTM Graduate Student Website.   

Postdoctoral Award Overview  

• Award Category: Postdoctoral Awards 

• EXTENDED Expression of Interest Deadline to OVPAD: January 28, 2026 (11:59 PM) – Phase 1*  

• UTM Nomination (full package) Deadline to OVPAD:  February 9, 2026 (11:59 PM) – Phase 1* 

• Value & duration: $70,000 per year for 2 years.  

• Areas of Study: Eight priority research areas 

• Required legal status: Nominees can be of any citizenship, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected people 

• Results: Internal selection results for submission to SGS will be communicated in late February 2026. Those selected through the SGS competition are expected to receive official results from the agencies by April 1, 2026. 

*Phase 2 is expected to be announced later in 2026, with a call likely during the summer; a 3^rd phase is expected for December 2026. 

Priority Research Areas Include: 

• Advanced digital technologies (including AI, quantum, and cybersecurity) 

• Health, including biotechnology 

• Clean technology and resource value chains 

• Environment, climate resilience, and the Arctic 

• Food and water security 

• Democratic and community resilience 

• Manufacturing and advanced materials 

• Defence and dual-use technologies 

The priority areas are intended to be interpreted broadly so that relevant work from a wide range of disciplines, from across the three agencies, may be considered. 

Eligibility 

Principal Investigator (Nominator):  

• Must be a tenure stream faculty member with a primary budgetary appointment at UTM; 

• Be the principal investigator (PI, with formal budgetary responsibility for the grant) on an active Tri-agency grant from the list of eligible grants; Co-investigators, co-applicants, collaborators are not eligible.   

• PI roles are defined in different ways across the tri-agency, see below for a list of eligible roles:  

• NSERC: Principal Investigator (PI)  

• SSHRC: Principal Investigator (PI) or Project Director (PD) depending on program terminology  

• CIHR: Principal Applicant or Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA); 

• Have received a grant payment or have planned payment between April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2027; 

• Has demonstrable expertise in one of the eight priority research areas listed above; 

• Commits to supervising the nominee to completion of their postdoctoral engagement; 

• Has received endorsement from the Budgetary Chair in the UTM unit/department where the postdoctoral fellow nominee will be engaged; and  

• Limited to one postdoctoral nomination. Eligible nominators may submit one application to each of the postdoctoral and doctoral competitions, if applicable. Refer the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards doctoral webpage for more information. 

Postdoctoral Researcher (Nominee): 

• Is not affiliated with a Canadian institution at the time of nomination (March 4, 2026), includes international candidates and Canadian citizens living abroad 

• Nominees can be of any citizenship, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected people.  

• Participation of Canadian citizens in this program is intended for those who have previously left Canada for research and/or work experience who wish to return to Canada to continue their research. 

• Is currently studying or working abroad; 

• Will be eligible to commence a postdoctoral (trainee) engagement prior to March 31, 2027  

• Proposes to conduct research in one of the eight priority research areas listed above 

• Must not have held previous postdoctoral-level funding from the tri-agencies (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC), regardless of institution 

• Expected to complete all doctoral degree requirements by the time the fellowship commences (i.e. no later than March 31, 2027) and normally be within five years* from the completion of their degree 

*The only exception to the five-year requirement applies if the postdoc has taken pregnancy, parental, or medical leave during this period. Such leave is not counted toward the five-year limit. 

• Nominees can only be nominated by one nominator (cannot have multiple proposed supervisors or locations of tenure).  

Nomination Process 

The nomination process aligns with federal government award policy and SGS implementation requirements across divisions. 

Postdoctoral researchers interested in this program are encouraged to contact the proposed UTM supervisor (nominator) directly.  

Eligible UTM faculty members (nominators) who hold qualifying Tri-agency grants are invited to nominate one prospective postdoctoral researcher (nominee) from abroad for this competition.  

The UTM faculty nominator must:  

(1) Submit the mandatory Expression of Interest Form by the extended deadline of Wednesday January 28, 2026 (11:59 PM); and 

(2) Submit complete nomination package to the Office of the Vice-Principal, Academic & Dean (OVPAD) at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) via the UTM Canada Impact+ Postdoctoral Training Awards Submission Form by the deadline, Monday February 9, 2026 (11:59 PM) . A complete nomination package includes the following components: 

1. Completed Nomination Form 

• Nominators and Nominees are required to complete the Nomination Form, and provide two of the three required signatures as follows: 

• Nominee’s signature: page 5 (Part 4) and page 10 

• Nominator’s signature: page 7 (Part 5) and page 10 

• The Institution signature will be provided by the Dean, School of Graduate Studies upon submission to SGS (see Part 6: Institution Information and Nomination Confirmation). This section is to be left blank. 

2. Nominator’s C.V.

       a. Provide an up‑to‑date C.V. in any format (Common CV not required).

       b. Clearly identify all peer‑reviewed and non‑peer‑reviewed contributions.  

3. Nominee’s C.V.  

       a. Provide an up‑to‑date C.V. in any format (Common CV not required).

       b. Clearly identify all peer‑reviewed and non‑peer‑reviewed contributions.  

4. Completed UTM Postdoctoral Eligibility Checklist (SGS Requirement) 

• Includes signatures from the nominator and Budgetary Chair  

• This UTM specific checklist must be completed, other versions of the checklist will not be accepted. 

Subject to submission timelines and the level of interest, OVPAD plans to convene an adjudication committee from its Graduate and Postdoctoral Programs Advisory Committee (GPPAC) to review completed nomination packages. Based on this review, selected submissions would be forwarded to the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) for consideration. OVPAD will forward the top-ranked nomination package to SGS, along with a rank-ordered reversion list.  

Only the very strongest prospective postdoctoral researchers should be nominated. 

Because of tight timelines following the government announcement, reference letters will not be required for this round (this is expected to change for the summer call). 

Late applications will not be accepted.