A Discovery Visa to Attract the World’s Best Innovators

Goals 

Amidst US uncertainty, some of the world's best scientists, researchers and innovators are looking for more stable and secure environments. Let's give them every reason to come to Canada and encourage them to commercialize their discoveries here:

• Launch the Discovery Visa: a zero-cost, 30-day pathway for the world’s best scientists and engineers to live and work in Canada.
  
• Fund 1000 new Canada Discovery Visa research chairs over the next decade in strategic sectors including Energy, Technology and AI
  
• Ensure at least 50% of IP created by Discovery Visa researchers is commercialized in Canada within five years.

‍

Background and Motivation 

Top scientific and technology talent is globally mobile. Today, frontier researchers will move to whichever country they believe will best support their efforts and give them paths to commercialization. 

This has been a strength for Canada. We are recognised as a great destination for researchers and are already home to some of the world’s top scientists. We’ve won five Nobel Prizes in the past decade¹. We boast world-class academia like the University of Toronto and new institutes like Perimeter (quantum), Vector (AI), and MILA (AI) that in less than a generation, have become global leaders.  

Immigrants make up an outsized portion of these institutions. They make up 26% of our nation's workforce but account for 35% of computer programmers, 42% of physicists, and 57% of chemists². This matches global trends – 42% of top-tier AI researchers work in a country different from where they obtained their undergraduate degree³.  Many of these frontier researchers come from countries that can’t offer the same opportunities for commercialization, continued funding, and quality of life.

The US has historically also been viewed as a leading country for researchers to go to, and they have been a large net importer of talent. But the recent massive research funding cuts, immigration crackdowns, and political interference in universities is starting to change that⁴. Academics have seen funding cuts and universities are freezing spending amidst uncertainty. Now, 75% of U.S. scientists polled by Nature⁵ say they’re considering leaving the country. 

Many of these researchers are eyeing Canada for its stable, supportive and high-quality environment. We’ve already seen high-profile defections: University of Toronto recently recruited multiple tenured Yale professors⁶. And more are knocking.

Canada has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to absorb world-class talent that is disillusioned and displaced. But we must act fast. Other countries are already pouncing at the opportunity to attract them⁷. 

We propose a Canada Discovery Visa for people to come contribute to scientific knowledge and build our shared prosperity.

The Canada Discovery Visa would:

• Require $0 financial commitment.  
• Take no more than 30 days to process.
• Require a Master’s, PhD, PostDoc or equivalent credentials in at least one strategic area 
• Be granted based on merit and a nomination from a Canadian research institution or company
• Provide access to the nation’s accelerator and incubator programs to drive commercialization
• Include consideration for one of the 1000 Canadian Discovery Research Chairs
• Include a 5-year open work permit and fast-track to permanent residency.

To ensure we are attracting the best and most promising talent, Canada can proactively identify and invite promising scientists, engineers and innovators whose federally funded research projects have been halted to resume their work in Canada, backed by our institution. 

What’s more, we can ensure that for everyone who comes, their ideas stay here, get commercialized here, and build long-term wealth here:

• Tie research grants to commercialization outcomes.
• Align our accelerators and incubators such as the world class Creative Destruction Lab to support commercialization efforts
• Provide a fast track to permanent residency for immigrants who file patents or start businesses locally
  

Let’s make Canada the number one destination for the world’s top scientists. The window is open. Let’s act before it closes.

‍

Real-World Solutions

1. France’s CentraleSupélec engineering school has recently announced 3 million euro to finance research projects that can no longer continue in the US⁸. 

2. The UK overhauled its Global Talent Visa program in 2020 to be more welcoming for leaders in science, engineering and tech, and they’ve successfully seen a dramatic increase of immigrants in these categories since⁹.
   
   
3. The Canada Research Chairs program has already proven the effectiveness of targeted research recruitment. Since its launch in 2000, this program has attracted and retained some of the world's most accomplished minds, establishing over 2,000 research positions at Canadian universities. The program has significantly enhanced Canada's research capacity and reputation, demonstrating that strategic investment in research talent directly strengthens our innovation ecosystem. In addition, when Canada ran the special Canada 150 Research Chairs program it was explicitly designed to attract top international researchers. In the end, the program awarded 24 chairs with 42% going to Canadian researchers returning from abroad and the remaining 58% attracting international talent from outside Canada¹⁰.

‍

What Needs To Be Done 

• Create a Discovery Visa pathway by Order in Council, allowing Canadian universities, research institutions, and STEM startups to nominate global talent. Top researchers who already have H-1Bs or other eligible American Visas can be instantly eligible to come and work in Canada. Processing time must be under 30 days.
  
  
• Establish fast-track permanent residency for researchers who contribute to Canada's economy by establishing businesses or filing patents in Canada through amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
  
  
• Require that government funded research conducted in Canada be commercialized in Canada. Clear requirements must be added to all government funding agreements. Research funded by Canadian taxpayers must generate intellectual and economic gains that benefit all Canadians. This will ensure that discoveries made in Canada build prosperity here and not elsewhere.
  
  
• Fund 1,000 new Canada Discovery Research Chairs over the next decade. These chairs, under the existing Canada Research Chairs framework, will be thoughtfully selected based on top talent that is looking for a new home and strategic sectors where Canada can lead globally. These positions will serve as powerful incentives for the world's top scientists and engineers, and in turn create hubs of excellence that can attract additional talent and investment.
  
  
• Proactively recruit top global talent through a dedicated team that can identify and invite leading researchers from around the world. This team will opportunistically target promising talent from around the world, including U.S. research projects facing funding cuts as well as frontier talent from emerging markets such as China and India. By offering these researchers a stable, supportive environment in Canada, we can advance scientific discovery and demonstrate our commitment to research excellence.
  

‍

Common Questions

• Won’t this take jobs from Canadians? No. These are roles that don't exist yet. Discovery Visa holders will be starting companies, creating research labs, and hiring Canadians.
  
  
• How do we ensure they stay and contribute? Support is tied to Canadian IP commercialization and PR pathways require economic impact within Canada.
  
  
• Isn’t this expensive? Not necessarily. Thousands of research grants are awarded every year through the CIHR (Canadian Institutes of Health Research), NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council) and SSHRC (Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council). Some of these grants can go towards these poached projects. More demand and interest will ultimately lead to a stronger and more competitive research ecosystem¹¹.
  
  
• Why not just improve opportunities for Canadian scientists? We must do both. Our prosperity grows faster when we bring in the best from abroad and support those already here.
  
  
• What if they take the IP and leave? Funding agreements will require domestic commercialization. If they leave, the IP stays.
  
  

‍

Conclusion 

Canada has an opportunity to become the world’s destination for the best scientists, engineers and innovators looking to make tomorrow’s discoveries and breakthroughs. With the Discovery Visa, commercialization-first research agreements, and by inviting paused U.S. projects to finish here, we can turn global instability into Canadian prosperity. Let’s open the door, bring them here, and make it easy for them to stay, thrive, and build our shared future. 

‍