The 2025 federal budget, presented on November 4, offers significant opportunities for the University of Alberta to advance its global research leadership and attract the world’s best talent to our country and our university.
Notably, the federal government’s new International Talent Attraction Strategy — a $1.7 billion investment — will help Canadian universities attract the world’s top international researchers, assistant professors and graduate students. The strategy includes:
- $1 billion over 13 years for NSERC, SSHRC and CIHR to launch a new research chairs initiative;
- $400 million over seven years for the Canada Foundation for Innovation to provide complementary research infrastructure; and
- $133.6 million to bring top international doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows to Canada.
Together, these measures ensure that Canada and the University of Alberta will remain global destinations where world-class talent will innovate, advance discovery and engage in the work that changes the world.
At the same time, Budget 2025 reduced temporary resident admissions for students — from 437,000 in 2025 to 155,000 in 2026 — which will have a significant impact on international student recruitment. However, on Wednesday, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced it will reinstate exemptions from the Provincial and Territorial Attestation Letter (PAL/TAL) requirements for international master’s and doctoral students at public universities beginning in 2026. The department also introduced measures to expedite permit processing for doctoral applicants.
It is encouraging that the federal government recognizes the essential role of graduate students in driving research, discovery, and innovation in Canada. While further details are expected in the coming weeks, this announcement represents excellent news for the University of Alberta and our U15 peers.
Budget 2025 also includes significant new investments in areas where U of A researchers are already at the forefront, including $6.6 billion over five years for a new Defence Industrial Strategy and $68.2 million to establish BOREALIS, a new federal research and innovation bureau. The University of Alberta already leads in this space as home to Canada’s only university research centre dedicated to defence and dual-use technologies — the Centre for Applied Research in Defence and Dual-Use Technologies — which develops secure innovations for both civilian and military applications.
As Canada’s top-ranked AI university, we also look forward to the opportunity to work with the Government of Canada to enable its investment of $925.6 million to build Canada’s sovereign AI compute infrastructure. Our strength stems in part from our existing leverage of AI data hubs, such as the Data Analytics Research Core, which enable us to analyze massive amounts of data in service of real-world impact, including improved health outcomes. We also maintain a strong and long-standing partnership and an associated research centre with Amii, a globally recognized hub of reinforcement and machine learning.
Other investments that align with U of A strengths include:
- $334.3 million to advance quantum technologies; and
- $443 million over five years to strengthen critical minerals research and industrial partnerships.
These commitments will drive collaboration across universities, industry and government. Together with our partners, U of A discoveries will create new pathways to power Canada’s security, energy and technology future.
Finally, through the new Build Communities Strong Fund ($51 billion over 10 years), the federal government will co-invest with provinces in critical infrastructure, including at colleges and universities. This offers new opportunities to strengthen our campus facilities and support Alberta’s growing population and workforce.
Budget 2025 represents a strong signal of federal confidence in Canada’s research universities — and a major opportunity for the University of Alberta to continue leading in talent, innovation and real-world impact on a national and international scale.
Bill Flanagan
President and Vice-Chancellor