As every year, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance has invited Canadians to participate in the planning of the 2026 Federal Budget.
The CAP’s Director of Science Policy and Advocacy, James Fraser, in collaboration with the CAP’s Science Policy Committee and input from our institutional partners, sister societies, and the CAP Board of Directors, prepared a strong submission with the following three recommendations:
Recommendation #1: Establish a Domestic Talent Retention Program
Launch a fully-funded Domestic Talent Retention Program to complement Budget 2025’s International Talent Attraction Strategy, focusing directly on increasing investigator-driven research funding.
Recommendation #2: Lifecycle Funding for Major Research Facilities
Formalize a comprehensive, portfolio-based lifecycle management framework for Major Research Facilities (MRFs) that guarantees sustainable funding from construction through operation and decommissioning.
Recommendation #3: Embed Foundational Physics into BOREALIS
Create frictionless funding pathways within BOREALIS and Defence Innovation Secure Hubs (DISH) that directly integrate university-level foundational physics, such as quantum sensing and industrially relevant photonics, into defence applications
Ahead of the 2026 Budget, the Canadian Association of Physicists urges the Federal Government to secure Canada’s innovation pipeline and economic productivity by stabilizing the foundational elements of its research ecosystem. These recommendations aim to support domestic research talent, protect major research infrastructure investments, and connect core physics research to Canada’s strategic and defence technology priorities.
Copies of previous briefs and science policy news items can be found on the CAP’s science policy and advocacy webpage.
If you wish to contact the Science Policy and Advocacy Committee, please contact the CAP’s Director of Science Policy and Advocacy, James Fraser, at james[dot]fraser[at]queensu[dot]ca.