CNRS Strengthens Canada Ties with Visit and Growing Collaborations
The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) has been actively expanding its scientific collaboration with Canada. In late August 2025, the CNRS Chairman and CEO visited Canada to reaffirm these ties, marking the one-year anniversary of the first international research centre (IRC) in the country.
The visit coincided with a significant increase in applications from American students and scientists to Canadian universities, a trend attributed to the White House's new approach to science. The CNRS, with its Ottawa office established in 2022, has since multiplied international collaboration initiatives in Canada.
The CNRS seeks scientific excellence throughout Canada, with partnerships in Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia. This commitment has yielded over 12,000 co-publications between 2020 and 2024, ranking Canada fourth among the CNRS's non-European partners.
Canada's integration into Pillar II of the Horizon Europe framework programme in 2024 presents a development opportunity for the CNRS. To promote scientific cooperation, the France-Canada Joint Committee (Comix) and Canada-France Quantum Alliance (Cafqa) have been launched. The CNRS office in Ottawa supports Canadian partners in accessing Horizon Europe funding, and the Polaris programme creates new research chairs and supports early-career scientists, opening up further cooperation opportunities.
Despite no publicly available information regarding a specific visit by the president-director of the CNRS and the head of a publishing house to Canada in August 2025, the CNRS's commitment to scientific collaboration with Canada remains strong. The recent visit by the CNRS Chairman and CEO to Canada, along with ongoing initiatives and partnerships, underscores the CNRS's dedication to fostering scientific excellence and cooperation between the two countries.
