As we approach what some have called “the most important election of our lifetimes”, each federal party has outlined its vision for research funding. For Canada’s researchers and scientists, these commitments will shape the research landscape for discovery, innovation, and knowledge creation in the coming years. 

In this blog post, we’ll cut through all the political speech and get right to the heart of what each party is proposing, and what it really means for you. 

Here’s a breakdown of each major party’s official platform commitments on research funding, covering broad themes and the implications for Canada’s research community.

Let’s dig in.

The Liberals

The Liberals released their official platform on Apr 19, 2025, which includes the following core commitments. 

Increased Funding & Commercialization: The Liberals promise increased funding for research grants, infrastructure, and health research. They also emphasize commercialization, expanding programs to connect researchers with industry and supporting patenting and technology transfer.

Mission-Driven Research: The Liberal platform calls for a capstone organization to modernize federal granting agencies, focusing on mission-driven research to tackle global challenges.

Attracting Talent: The Liberals propose creating a new Canadian Sovereignty and Resilience Research Fund to attract top international researchers, especially those affected by U.S. funding cuts.

Support for Students & Equity: Commitments include zero interest on student loans, increased repayment thresholds, fulfilling Budget 2024 investments, and expanded scholarships, particularly for Indigenous and Francophone students.

Sectoral Focus: In their platform, the Liberals propose targeted investments in AI, green technology, advanced manufacturing, and health sectors.

Implications for Canadian Researchers

• Increased and diversified funding opportunities, especially for applied and mission-driven research.
• Enhanced support for early-career researchers and international talent.
• Stronger commercialization pathways, with incentives for industry partnerships.
• Continued support for EDI initiatives and student access to post-secondary education

The Conservatives

The Conservatives released their platform on Apr 22, 2025. In their latest version (added Apr 23, 2025), the Conservatives commit to the following core elements:

Merit-Based Funding & Free Speech: The Conservatives emphasize “restoring merit” in research funding, pledging to end what they call the “imposition of woke ideology” in allocating federal research grants. They propose tying federal funding to universities’ enforcement of free expression (the Chicago Principles), with non-compliant universities risking a loss of funding.

Transparency & Accountability: The party promises a “competitive review process with enhanced transparency and accountability” for Tri-Council grants.

Centralized Science Policy: They propose creating a Chief Scientist, modeled on the UK’s Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, to advise, coordinate, and centralize national science policy.

Targeted Restrictions: The Conservatives would impose a three-year ban on embryonic research, directing agencies to focus on adult stem cell research, and seek stricter federal regulation in assisted human reproduction research. Additionally, the Conservatives pledge to require criminal background checks on international student applicants, and forced removal of non-citizens for “any criminal activity”. 

Education & Skills: Commitments include the creation of a new Canada Education Transfer for post-secondary funding, expanded apprenticeship and training programs, and tax-deductible interest on student lines of credit.

Implications for Canadian Researchers

• Potential for significant changes in grant review criteria, with a shift away from equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) considerations toward merit-based assessments.
• Research in certain fields (e.g., embryonic research, gender studies, etc.) could face new restrictions.
• Universities may face pressure to enforce specific ideological free speech standards in order to maintain funding.
• Increased centralization of science policy advice, but less clarity on overall funding increases for basic research.

The NDP

The NDP released their official platform on Apr 19, 2025, which includes the following core commitments:  

Student Affordability & Access: The NDP’s platform focuses on student debt relief, affordable housing, and working toward tuition-free post-secondary education.

Indirect Research Support: While the official platform lacks explicit research funding commitments, public statements suggest support for postsecondary infrastructure and medical training in underserved regions.

Implications for Canadian Researchers

• No major new commitments to federal research funding or granting agencies.
• Indirect benefits may arise from improved student access and affordability, especially regarding student housing.
• Potential for future advocacy on research funding, but current platform is limited in detail.

The Bloc Quebecois

The Bloc Quebecois released their official platform on Mar 29, 2025, which includes the following core commitments:

Quebec-Centric Research Investments: The Bloc calls for “massive re-investment” in R&D, especially to boost Quebec’s innovation and competitiveness.

Regional Equity: They advocate for a more balanced distribution of federal research funds, increased support for Francophone and regional institutions, and predictable, recurring investments.

Recruitment & Expertise: The Bloc proposes recruiting American researchers affected by U.S. funding cuts, with a focus on AI, biomedical, and clean tech fields.

Autonomy & Language: The party insists on Quebec jurisdiction over education and research, and promotes French-language research and publications.

Implications for Canadian Researchers

• Potential for increased funding and support for Quebec-based and Francophone researchers.
• Strong emphasis on regional equity and recognition of Quebec’s expertise, especially in quantum research.
• Advocacy for unconditional federal transfers and provincial autonomy may affect national research policy coordination
• Calls to remove EDI criteria from all federal initiatives could influence future research funding losses for certain fields (eg gender studies).

The Greens

The Greens released their official platform on Apr 17, 2025, which includes the following core commitments:  

Significant Funding Increases: The Greens pledge to raise R&D funding to 2.7% of GDP (the OECD average), and ensure a minimum 60% success rate for research council grant competitions.

Stable, Direct Funding: They propose direct, non-competitive funding to universities based on graduate student enrollment, supporting curiosity-driven research and reducing grant application burdens.

Open Science & Equity: The Greens mandate open access for all publicly funded research, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) criteria in grants, and allocate at least 10% of research council funding to underrepresented groups.

Climate & Environmental Research: Specific commitments to restore and expand funding for climate, atmospheric, agricultural, and environmental research.

Student Support: The party would abolish tuition and cancel federal student debt, with major investments in postsecondary institutions.

Implications for Canadian Researchers

• Dramatic increase in available research funding, with more stable and predictable support for basic research.
• Enhanced equity and open science requirements may broaden participation and access.
• Strong focus on environmental, climate, and circular economy research.
• Reduced administrative burden for researchers, especially early-career scientists

Party Platform Comparison

Below is a breakdown of how each party platform compares to one another by subject area. 

Political Party	Funding Increase?	Focus Areas	Equity in Research?	Open Science	Student Support	Notable Restrictions
	Yes	Mission-Driven, AI, Health, Commercialization	Pro-EDI, Indigenous& Francophone focus	Partial	Zero interest, Grant Increases (Budget 2024)	None Specified
	Unclear	Merit, Free Speech, Adult Stem Cells	Anti-EDI, Free Speech	No	Loans, Tax Relief	Limits on embryonic research, EDI rollback
	Not Specified	Student Access, Housing	Not Specified	Not Specified	Debt relief, Tuition-free goal	None specified
	Yes	Quebec R&D, Regional Equity	Anti-EDI, Francophone, Regional focus	Yes (French)	Housing, Transfers	Quebec autonomy focus
	Yes	Basic Science, Climate, Equity	Pro-EDI, Underrepresented Groups	Yes	Debt cancellation, Free Tuition	None specified

Conclusion

For Canadian scientists and researchers, this election presents many different visions for the future of research funding: the Conservatives focus on merit-based funding and regulatory changes, the Liberals on increased funding and commercialization, the NDP on student affordability, the Bloc on Quebec-centric and regional equity, and the Greens on major funding boosts, open science, and equity. 

As part of Canada’s science and research community, it is crucial that you consider how these themes align with their fields, values, and the future of Canadian science.

For more detailed insights, you can read more about our full party platform analysis here!