Research stories

Our investments support research that benefits Canadians

In CFI-funded labs and facilities across the country, researchers in all stages of their careers are making discoveries, supporting a robust innovation ecosystem and helping solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. 

A graphic of several green coloured buildings against a backdrop of rolling green hills with windmills.

Keeping research infrastructure green

A nod to the efforts that CFI-funded labs are making to reduce their environmental impact
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Three young women pose in an outdoor setting wearing clear plastic safety-style glasses
article
Ontario

Is bad air quality making you sick?

The air you breathe contains thousands of natural and synthetic chemicals. Joseph Okeme is identifying which ones cause chronic diseases.
All articles
Université de Moncton Faculty of Science dean and researcher Céline Surette
podcast
New Brunswick

Meet Acadian researcher Céline Surette, for whom interdisciplinarity is second nature

Céline Surette embodies both the chemistry of living things and interdisciplinarity to serve the real needs and questions of communities. And to achieve this, and ensure that critical thinking triumphs, she'll pull out all the stops.
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Image of various cellphones on a wooden table displaying photos of researchers.
video

A promising future, now: 25 years of investing in ideas that change our world

The Canada Foundation for Innovation has supported cutting-edge research in Canada for 25 years. In these videos, researchers reflect on how CFI funding has advanced their work and how future generations will benefit. They tell passionate stories of curiosity, commitment and innovation.
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An illustration showing mouths, eyes, hands and ears clipped from newsprint with red splotches, exes and the word fake overlain.
article
Ontario

Taking aim at online hate and fake news

Dangerous disinformation campaigns on social media are on the rise. So are targeted personal attacks. The Digital Society Lab is using AI-powered countermeasures to push back.
Two people sit in front of a curved video wall displaying illuminated renderings of satellites orbiting earth.
article
British Columbia

Transforming dry data into Instagrammable art

Researchers are blending science, art and augmented reality to bring data to life, make complex information more evocative — and create plenty of buzz
A man in a red jacket holds the remote control as a drone takes off from a rubble-strewn site.
article
Newfoundland and Labrador

Archaeology’s high-tech race to save North Atlantic heritage

Climate change is threatening millennia of history in Newfoundland and Labrador. New LiDAR-equipped drones and other technology is helping archaeologists triage the sites at greatest risk and document crucial heritage before it disappears.
Guillaume St-Onge is wearing a striped red sweater and sunglasses, posing in front of the Pingualuit crater in Quebec, full of clear blue water.
podcast
Quebec

Science (sea) star

Ocean science research is at a pivotal moment according to Guillaume St-Onge, Director of the Institut des sciences de la mer de Rimouski at Université du Québec à Rimouski
Several hands hold up an illustrated ball of houses against a cloudy sky.
article
New Brunswick

Tackling the many dimensions of New Brunswick’s housing crisis

How one social science lab — with a few well-placed couches — is bringing stakeholders together to address the intersecting issues of housing affordability, mental health and food security
Drama students moving quickly around a stage.
article
Ontario

Finding hope and deep learning in the drama classroom

Can the unique “messiness” of theatre empower young people to create radical change in the face of crises like the climate emergency? Absolutely, according to insights from multi-country research that merges ethnography, pedagogy and playwriting.
A close-up photo of taillights of a car and a transport truck at the back of a long line of traffic.
article
British Columbia

Choosing the right route to lower traffic emissions

By profiling tailpipe emissions and creating community-specific transportation models, researchers will help cities reach their net-zero mobility goals faster — even in sub-zero temperatures
York University researcher Pirathayini Srikantha poses for a photo.
podcast
Ontario

Reinforcing the reliability of our vulnerable electricity grid

York University’s Pirathayini Srikantha studies power grid systems with the aim of keeping Canada’s infrastructure safe from fluctuations and hackers. Find out why she’s passionate about power.
Brown paper cups, trays and bags arranged neatly on a green background.
article
Ontario

Packaging with potential

Developing efficient and sustainable packaging is a pressing concern for food processors, but a new research centre will help them find solutions
A drone resembling a small blue helicopter sits on a grassy area in the foreground with a white van parked on a driveway in the background.
article
Alberta

Improving safety from the skies

Large drones are poised to offer a cheaper, more secure alternative to manned flights in remote areas
Photo of a fire simulation exercise. Two people wearing fire coats aim a fire hose at a burning building.
article
Quebec

An ounce of disaster prevention for a pound of long-term benefit

At a new experimental simulation site, the first of its kind in Canada, emergency management practitioners will learn how to handle the risks of natural and human-made disasters
A row of zebra finches with bright orange beaks perch in a tight huddle along a long branch.
article
Quebec

Why (and how) the songbird sings

Listening to what finches can teach us about our own neurobiology and how we acquire language