The Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences (CSMB) has submitted its recommendations to the Department of Finance Canada as part of the 2026 pre-budget consultations, emphasizing the importance of sustained investment in fundamental research, scientific infrastructure and research talent.
Canada’s ability to respond to emerging health, environmental and technological challenges depends on a strong and stable research ecosystem. While recent federal investments have supported research and talent recruitment, continued investment is needed to sustain laboratories, research teams and the shared infrastructure essential to scientific discovery.
In its submission, CSMB identifies three priorities for Budget 2026:
1. Sustained and predictable funding for investigator-led research
Strengthen core federal research funding, including CIHR Project Grants and NSERC Discovery Grants, with regular reassessment of funding levels against inflation, research costs, application volumes and competition success rates.
2. Increased investment in research infrastructure
The CSMB advocates for an increase in annual funding to the Research Support Fund by an additional $478 million by year four, phased in over four years. These investments would support shared research facilities, specialized technical personnel, laboratory modernization, regulatory compliance and other essential institutional services.
CSMB also recommends a long-term national objective of increasing Canada’s research and development expenditure toward the OECD average of approximately 2.7% of GDP.
3. Modernization of research funding assessment
Work with federal research agencies and the research community to modernize grant assessment processes in response to the growing use of artificial intelligence. Any changes should preserve expert peer review and final human judgment while improving efficiency, transparency and fairness.
Investing in Canada’s scientific future
Our submission emphasizes that attracting talented researchers must be accompanied by the funding, infrastructure and career opportunities needed to retain them. Sustained support for fundamental and pre-clinical research is also essential for training the next generation of scientists and maintaining Canada’s capacity to respond to future challenges.
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