Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Government of Canada has been working with provinces, territories, and international partners to protect the health and well-being of Canadians. As more countries begin to deal with COVID-19 outbreaks, the Government of Canada is investing in Canadian researchers to learn more about this novel coronavirus and to develop tools and resources to combat it.
To further contribute to global efforts to address the COVID-19 outbreak, on Friday, March 6th, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Minister of Health, and the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Canada’s Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, announced an investment of nearly $27 million to fund coronavirus research. Due to the overwhelming response to the call for research applications, the Government of Canada increased its original investment from $7 million to $27 million. This investment will support 47 research teams from across Canada that will focus on accelerating the development, testing, and implementation of measures to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak. The Ministers made the announcement with the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages, and the Honourable Yves Duclos, President of the Treasury Board.
The research will help inform clinical and public health responses, develop and evaluate diagnostic tools and vaccines, as well as create strategies to tackle misinformation, stigma, and fear. The Government of Canada is providing the funding for this research through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) through the New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and Genome Canada (GC).
“Canada’s researchers are some of the best in the world, and this funding will allow them to conduct groundbreaking research on a novel coronavirus. Protecting the health and well-being of all Canadians is our top priority, and the research conducted thanks to this funding will contribute to mitigating the outbreak of COVID-19.” – The Honourable Patty Hajdu, Minister of Health.
