Canadian Institutes of Health Research 2025-26 Departmental Plan
On this page
- From the Minister
- Plans to deliver on core responsibility and internal services
- Planned spending and human resources
- Corporate information
- Supplementary information tables
- Federal tax expenditures
- Definitions
From the Minister
The Honourable
Marjorie Michel P.C., M.P.
Minister of Health
I am pleased to present the 2025-26 Departmental Plan of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
This year marks CIHR’s 25th anniversary – an opportunity for all of us to celebrate 25 years of health research investments that have advanced science and positively impacted our health and well-being.
Canada’s health research system is globally recognized for the highest standards of excellence. The research supported by CIHR is integral to achieving our shared vision of improving the physical and mental health of Canadians. We will continue to support research excellence to ensure that Agency-funded research meets the highest standards and leads to impacts that benefit all Canadians, including those who have been historically underrepresented in the health research system.
Budget 2024 proposed many significant investments in health research and CIHR will continue to implement those Budget items in 2025-26. Aimed at modernizing the research ecosystem, these investments include scholarships and fellowships, increases in core grant funding, and support for Indigenous health research.
It is vital that Canada strengthens its domestic research capacity and this will be an important aspect of CIHR’s work in 2025-26. This will include increasing Indigenous health research capacity through the Indigenous Health Research Action Plan, as well as working with Tri-Agency partners (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council) to support the early career researchers and trainees who will become the next generation of Canadian health researchers. This will be achieved by advancing related policies and initiatives such as the Health Research Training Platform, the Health System Impact Fellowships, and the Tri-Agency Training Strategy, among others.
Research evidence is most beneficial when it finds its way to the health professionals who are able to use that evidence and improve health outcomes for patients. In 2025-26, CIHR will prioritize knowledge mobilization so that CIHR-funded research knowledge is better integrated into health decisions. This work will include ongoing efforts to develop and finalize a Knowledge Mobilization Framework and Action Plan that will guide CIHR’s future investments and activities related to knowledge mobilization. CIHR will also support measures to ensure that findings of Agency-funded research - including research publications and publication-related data - are available to the widest possible audience, and at the earliest possible opportunity in a safe and secure way.
As global collaboration is essential for tackling critical health challenges, CIHR will continue to pursue and promote secure international collaborations such as Horizon Europe. By joining forces with like-minded countries and health research funders, we will seek to address pressing health challenges while sharing expertise and avoiding duplication. In 2025-26, CIHR will advance such international collaborations through the International Research Framework while ensuring that these efforts remain secure, transparent, and benefit Canadians.
I encourage everyone to read the 2025-26 Departmental Plan to learn more about the many CIHR-supported research efforts that are helping to protect and improve the health of Canadians and our global community.
Plans to deliver on core responsibility and internal services
Core responsibility and internal services:
Core responsibility: Funding Health Research and Training
In this section
Description
CIHR is Canada’s health research investment Agency. By funding research excellence, the Agency supports the creation of new knowledge and its mobilization into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. This is achieved by providing grants that fund health research and/or career and training support to the current and next generation of researchers.
Quality of life impacts
CIHR’s core responsibility contributes to the Health domain of the Quality of Life Framework (QLF) through its activities, more specifically to the “health-adjusted life expectancy” and “self-rated mental health” indicators. It also contributes to the “Prosperity” domain’s “Investment in in-house research and development” and “Postsecondary attainment” indicators. And finally, CIHR contributes to the “Society” domain’s “Positive perceptions of diversity” indicator.
Indicators, results and targets
This section presents details on the Agency’s indicators, the actual results from the three most recently reported fiscal years, the targets and target dates approved in 2025-26 for Funding Health Research and Training. Details are presented by departmental result.
| Departmental Result Indicators | Actual Results | Target | Date to achieve target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada's rank among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations on the citation score of related health research publications |
|
Greater than or equal to 17 | March 31, 2026 |
| Percentage of funded research involving international collaborations |
|
Greater than or equal to 13.5% | March 31, 2026 |
| Number of research projects funded jointly by CIHR and (an) international partner(s) |
|
Greater than or equal to 151 | March 31, 2026 |
| Departmental Result Indicators | Actual Results | Target | Date to achieve target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of newly funded recipients who self-identify as women |
|
Greater than or equal to 33.3% | March 31, 2026 |
| Percentage of newly funded recipients who self-identify as visible minorities |
|
Greater than or equal to 13.5% | March 31, 2026 |
| Percentage of newly funded recipients who self-identify as Indigenous Peoples |
|
Greater than or equal to 1.1% | March 31, 2026 |
| Percentage of newly funded recipients who self-identify as persons with disabilities |
|
Greater than or equal to 1.6% | March 31, 2026 |
| Percentage of research that addresses sex or gender considerations |
|
Greater than or equal to 67% | March 31, 2026 |
| Percentage of total research investments in grants and awards addressing Indigenous health |
|
Greater than or equal to 4.6% of CIHR’s total annual Grants and Awards expenditures | March 31, 2026 |
| Percentage of funded research trainees reporting using their research knowledge in their current position |
|
Greater than or equal to 90% | March 31, 2026 |
| Departmental Result Indicators | Actual Results | Target | Date to achieve target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Partner funding for research projects |
|
Greater than or equal to $24.7M | March 31, 2026 |
| Percentage of CIHR funded research cited in patents |
|
Greater than or equal to 8% | March 31, 2026 |
| Percentage of grants reporting stakeholder involvement in the research process |
|
Greater than or equal to 84% | March 31, 2026 |
| Percentage of research contributing to improving health for Canadians |
|
Greater than or equal to 39% | March 31, 2026 |
The financial, human resources and performance information for CIHR’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
Plans to achieve results
In support of its core responsibility to fund health research and training, CIHR delivers activities through three main Programs: Investigator-Initiated Research (IIR), Training and Career Support (TCS), and Research in Priority Areas (RPA). The following section describes the planned results for Funding Health Research and Training in 2025-26 with the goal to continue supporting collaborative research that will foster impactful outcomes for all Canadians.
Departmental Result # 1: Canada's health research is internationally competitive
As a high performing organization, CIHR continues to maintain its leadership in health research funding and training through its investments, making Canada's health research internationally competitive and globally recognized. CIHR will use a holistic, collaborative, and transparent approach to research excellence across its programs, policies and practices.
Research funded by CIHR will be co-produced with people and communities with lived experience, policy and decision makers, clinicians, and other partners with the goal of moving research evidence into practice and aiming to impact the health of all Canadians. A key component of this approach is Patient-Oriented Research (POR). In 2025-26, CIHR and its Institutes will continue a coordinated approach to POR , advancing the engagement of people and communities with lived experience. The Agency continues to collaborate with partners to put in place a new governance model for the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) that is inclusive, collaborative, promotes shared leadership, and ensures accountability to collective impact principles while aligning with diverse priorities. By adopting this approach, the knowledge produced by POR is more likely to be used in health policy and decision making and have a greater impact on the health care experience of patients.
Following the approval and launch of its Partnership Framework in 2025-26, CIHR will launch an external-facing Playbook serving as an onboarding tool for new partners interested in collaborating on funding opportunities.
Furthermore, CIHR will continue refining and updating the Partnership Framework, adding new sections focused on international initiatives and providing more detailed insights into externally led funding opportunities. These updates will enhance collaboration among Institutes, initiatives, and partners, enabling them to leverage funding in a more transparent and predictable manner.
As part of CIHR’s efforts to contribute to research excellence, CIHR will implement the International Research Framework, which will support and provide leadership to new international collaborations under programs such as Horizon Europe. These efforts aim to strengthen international collaborations through a more coordinated and strategic approach. CIHR will seek international health research collaborations which align certain core principles such as relevance and impact. Collectively, these partnership efforts will provide guidance on policy and will facilitate CIHR leveraging its funding with external partners through its Institutes and initiatives. To enhance national and international collaborations, CIHR will continue to manage relationships with key partners across the health research ecosystem by convening Strategic Partnership Tables with the National Alliance of Provincial Health Research Organizations and the Health Charities Coalition of Canada as well as engaging with the Academic sector.
CIHR, through the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE), will continue to support and invest in research to prepare for and respond to pandemics and health emergencies through by implementing its Interim Investment Plan 2023-2025. In addition, collaborations with the Public Health Agency of Canada and other key partners in Canada’s health emergency research ecosystem remains central to addressing gaps in the pandemic preparedness infrastructure. The CRPPHE Steering Committee will guide priorities and investments, while consultations with domestic and international partners, including Indigenous research partners, will shape coordinated responses. CIHR will also focus on developing CRPPHE’s long-term Investment Plan with the goal of enhancing its impact on Canada’s health emergency research ecosystem.
In 2025-26 CIHR, in collaboration with its Institutes and external partners, will advance other key health initiatives across several areas which aim to improve the health of Canadians. Examples include:
The CIHR HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted and Blood-Borne Infections (STBBI) Research Initiative, led by the CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity (III), will support regional clinical trial platforms, biomedical research teams and networks. These innovative interventions, through collaborative research, aim to reduce the health impacts of HIV/AIDS and STBBI in Canada.
CIHR, the Graham Boeckh Foundation (GBF), and partners will continue to support the development and implementation of Canada’s first youth-centered learning health system for mental health and substance use. The aim is to transform the mental healthcare system in Canada by fostering a variety of projects that work together to achieve the overall goal of transforming mental healthcare and ultimately impacting the quality of life of patients and their families. CIHR and partners will continue to expand to up to 14 provincial and territorial networks. They will also support the Indigenous Network where research and service delivery will be guided by an established Indigenous Council. In addition, CIHR and partners will support data management infrastructure and integration within and across the Integrated Youth Services Network of Networks (IYS-Net) to create a unified pan-Canadian data framework.
CIHR’s Canadian Research Initiative in Substance Matters (CRISM), launched by CIHRs Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA), will continue supporting the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy by advancing research and knowledge mobilization on prevention, harm reduction, and treatment services. CRISM was designed to facilitate communication and collaboration across the pillars of addiction service providers, researchers, policy makers, patients, and people who use substances. In doing so, it influences the impact research can have on its final and intended users. Key initiatives include a national trial on managing methamphetamine use disorder, evaluating British Columbia's exemption for personal possession of small amounts of illegal drugs, and expanding Indigenous research capacity through the CRISM Indigenous Engagement Platform, fostering community-driven priorities and methodologies.
The National Women’s Health Research Initiative, led by the Institute of Gender and Health and Women and Gender Equality Canada, will continue to build on its profile as a first-in-a-generation investment in women’s health research. Over the coming year, the hubs and coordinating centre of the Pan-Canadian Women’s Health Coalition will focus their efforts on mobilizing and amplifying existing evidence in priority areas of women’s health including reproductive health, violence against women and girls, and equity in health services.
CIHR will fund research teams within the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging (CCNA) to align with the National Dementia Strategy, focusing on prevention, treatment, and quality of life. The Dementia Research and Innovation Funders Alliance will build on feedback from over 30 organizations to plan next steps and map research gaps. This initiative is one example of CIHR’s continued efforts to expand opportunities for impactful and collaborative research. CIHR will continue to support the ACCESS Pediatric Cancer Consortium to improve childhood cancer outcomes and monitor the Rare Disease Research Initiative, overseeing eight new projects and the RareKids-CAN pediatric network.
To advance a key priority of the 2023 Pan-Canadian Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), CIHR’s Institute of Infection and Immunity, in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, will develop a national One Health AMR research strategy. This strategy will identify Canadian One Health AMR research priorities and enhance awareness of AMR research within Canada.
Finally, in 2025-2026, CIHR's Clinical Trials Fund will continue to support the objectives of Canada's Biomanufacturing and Life Sciences Strategy. These investments include research capacity building through training platforms and supporting greater collaboration and efficiency in the Canadian clinical trials ecosystem through funding for the Accelerating Clinical Trials Consortium.
Departmental Result # 2: Canada's health research capacity is strengthened
Through direct (training awards) and indirect (researcher grants) funding of trainees and postdoctoral fellows, CIHR investments continue to strengthen Canada’s health research capacity by supporting the development of scientific, professional, and organizational leaders within and beyond the health research enterprise.
In 2025-26, CIHR will work in partnership with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) on a Tri-Agency Research Training Strategy, which commits the agencies to delivering an equitable, inclusive, accessible, and effective suite of scholarships and fellowships. The aim is to support and prepare a diverse population of undergraduate and graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers, for careers requiring strong research skills in all sectors of society. As a key step in implementing this strategy, CIHR will work to deliver a new harmonized suite of scholarships and fellowship programs as directed in Budget 2024. The Tri-Agency partners will also continue to deliver the Black Scholars initiative through established scholarships and fellowship programs.
CIHR will also continue to deliver a range of impactful strategic funding opportunities focused on building capacity in specific priority areas in collaboration with CIHR’s institutes, funding agencies, health system organizations and universities. For example, the Agency will fund the second cohort of trainees through its Strategic Master’s Award, and will administer new launches of the Health System Impact Program and the Research Excellence, Diversity and Independence (REDI) Early Career Transition Award.
In relation to peer review, CIHR remains focused on ensuring early career researchers (ECRs) are included in the process through ongoing monitoring and refinement of the ECR Awards Review Program and the CIHR Reviewer in Training (RiT) Program. These programs offer ECRs a learning opportunity to gain a better understanding of the elements of high-quality reviews and the peer review process. The Postdoctoral Fellow (PDF) Review Program provides a similar opportunity for postdoctoral researchers.
Departmental Result # 3: Canada's health research is used
CIHR’s mandate encompasses both the creation of new knowledge and its mobilization to achieve tangible benefits for Canadians. These include improved health outcomes, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health care system. By advancing the science and practice of knowledge mobilization, CIHR aims to better integrate evidence into health-related decisions as well as to foster innovation and commercialization.
CIHR's new Knowledge Mobilization Framework and Action Plan will focus on four streams of work: building knowledge mobilization competencies; addressing structural and systemic barriers to knowledge mobilization; funding and advancing the practice and the science of knowledge mobilization; and advancing a knowledge mobilization approach through continuous learning and improvements. In 2025-26, CIHR will launch a new funding opportunity to catalyze partnerships between researchers, knowledge users, and knowledge holders, enabling co-prioritization and co-development of research questions. This will be followed by the development of a subsequent funding program to support co-produced research that addresses priority evidence needs of policy makers, practitioners, patients, and communities.
CIHR acknowledges the significant and ongoing contributions of Indigenous Peoples to research and continues to support Indigenous communities to lead health research founded in Indigenous ways of knowing and doing focused on resilience and wellness. The Agency will continue to support Indigenous-led health research based on Indigenous knowledge, resilience, and wellness through the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR) Program to address the unique needs of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, including expanding the NEIHR centres to Yukon. CIHR will also continue to fund the Inuit Research Network Grant to enhance Inuit capacity, knowledge, and self-determination in research. Recognizing the importance of environmental factors, including Indigenous social determinants of health, CIHR will continue to fund the Indigenous Healthy Life Trajectories Initiative.
Additionally, CIHR collaborates with the Tri-Agency and Indigenous partners to implement interdisciplinary research and a research training model that contributes to reconciliation. CIHR, with the Tri-Agency partners, is working to improve access to funding for Indigenous researchers by continuing to implement policies and measures that expand application eligibility and the capacity to administer CIHR research funds. In addition, CIHR is piloting policies based on recommendations from the three federal research funding agencies’ Ad Hoc Working Group on Indigenous Citizenship and Membership.
CIHR will also continue to enhance and promote its open science policies, which enable Agency-funded research results to be freely accessible and useable, resulting in benefits for health and health care for Canadians. Through ongoing collaborations with NSERC and SSHRC the Tri-Agency Open Access Policy on Publications will be updated. The policy requires any peer-reviewed journal publications arising from agency-supported research to be freely available, without subscription or fee, at the time of publication. Additionally, CIHR will continue to advance the ongoing implementation of the Tri-Agency Research Data Management Policy, including engagements specific to data deposit and Indigenous research data management.
Key risks
CIHR continues to manage risks relating to fulfilling its mandate through its corporate risk profile (CRP). The CRP addresses CIHR’s fundamental corporate risks in relation to the Agency’s strategic objectives and key responsibilities.
CIHR’s 2025-26 CRP identifies five corporate risks:
Risk 1: Corporate Prioritization - There is a risk that CIHR’s current corporate prioritization process may not allow for sufficient oversight and controls to ensure new Agency priorities are sufficiently resourced (e.g., infrastructure, staff, funding), and that overall existing priorities are resourced properly.
Risk 2: CIHR/Institutes’ Authorities, Roles, and Responsibilities - There is a risk that the lack of a clear governance framework within CIHR and between CIHR and the Institutes, including the authorities, roles, and responsibilities, may cause an important misalignment in terms of who is accountable for what, and how decisions are made, leading to potential reputational damage to CIHR as well as inefficient decision making and use of limited resources.
Risk 3: Tri-Agency Grants Management Solution (TGMS) - There is a risk that CIHR may not be able to respond adequately to the expectations of its stakeholder community with regards to a modern, user-friendly, and flexible granting system, predicated on a harmonized granting business process approach. This risk is coupled with the risk that TGMS uptake on the part of the research community may be slow and protracted due to inadequate change management and legacy system transitioning practices. Should these risks materialize, health research stakeholders would significantly lose confidence in CIHR’s role as an innovative leader in the health research ecosystem.
Risk 4: Cybersecurity - There is a risk that CIHR’s current Information Management/Information Technology infrastructure (e.g., systems, software) and support framework (e.g., strategies, policies, procedures, expertise) may allow for significant cybersecurity incidents affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability of services (core and/or critical).
Risk 5: Research Funding Partnerships - CIHR and partners can have different and sometimes conflicting mandates and accountabilities (i.e., taxpayers, boards, donors), which can create policy and process misalignment and tension within the partnership. A formally documented policy on consulting and collaborating, subject to periodic review and updates, is needed to allow CIHR and partners to work collaboratively and efficiently together. Without this framework there is a risk associated with partnered competitions and initiatives, specifically: 1) the inconsistent interpretation and application of Central Agency policies by CIHR, and 2) conflicting or misaligned policies and/or delivery requirements between CIHR and its partners. This could affect CIHR's reputation and potentially lead to an uneven application of the research funding delivery process.
A detailed monitoring and reporting process has been developed to support risk owners, risk champions and risk collaborators to monitor and regulate response strategies and mitigation efforts, under the control and oversight of CIHR’s Chief Risk Officer.
Planned resources to achieve results
Table 4: Planned resources to achieve results for Funding Health Research and Training
Table 4 provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.
| Resource | Planned |
|---|---|
| Spending | $1,328,792,388 |
| Full-time equivalents | 287 |
Complete financial and human resources information for the CIHR’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
Related government priorities
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Gender-based analysis plus
CIHR’s Gender-Based Analysis (GBA) plus Framework seeks to build capacity and sustain the practice of integrating a GBA Plus lens through three streams: CIHR-Funded Research, CIHR's Funding System, and CIHR's Workplace. In response to the Clerk’s Call to Action on Anti-Racism, Equity, and Inclusion, CIHR will publish its anti-racism action plan and will continue to implement its anti-ableism action plan. CIHR will also continue advancing its Accessibility Plan 2023-2026 goals and measure its progress.
CIHR will continue to monitor equity and diversity of applicants, funding recipients, and members of peer review committees, using data collected through the expanded Tri-Agency Self-Identification Questionnaire. This data will help identify barriers and exclusions in CIHR's funding system and inform appropriate strategies to address them, such as training resources to mitigate bias in the peer review process.
Program inventory
Funding Health Research and Training is supported by the following programs
- Investigator-Initiated Research (IIR)
- Training and Career Support (TCS)
- Research in Priority Areas (RPA)
Additional information related to the program inventory for Funding Health Research and Training is available in the Results page on GC InfoBase.
Internal services
In this section
Description
Internal services are the services that are provided within a department so that it can meet its corporate obligations and deliver its programs. There are 10 categories of internal services:
- management and oversight services
- communications services
- legal services
- human resources management services
- financial management services
- information management services
- information technology services
- real property management services
- materiel management services
- acquisition management services
Plans to achieve results
CIHR, in collaboration with SSHRC and NSERC, will support the implementation phase of the Tri-Agency Grants Management Solution (TGMS). The three federal research granting agencies' existing grants management systems will be replaced with a modern cloud-based solution that is flexible to the needs of the diverse research community and enhances Canada's competitiveness in the global research ecosystem. The implementation of this new solution will advance the agencies' alignment with several Government of Canada policies especially in relation to cyber security, digital and client-centric service design and delivery, and support the removal of systemic barriers for the research community.
In 2025-26, CIHR will lead evaluations of the Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE), the Network Environments for Indigenous Health Research (NEIHR) Program, and the CIHR Strategic Plan 2021-2031 Implementation Review. CIHR will also support the ongoing Tri-Agency evaluations of the New Frontiers in Research Fund, the Canada Excellence Research Chairs, and the Canada First Research Excellence Fund.
Planned resources to achieve results
Table 5: Planned resources to achieve results for internal services this year
Table 5: provides a summary of the planned spending and full-time equivalents required to achieve results.
| Resource | Planned |
|---|---|
| Spending | $46,186,309 |
| Full-time equivalents | 257 |
Complete financial and human resources information for the CIHR’s program inventory is available on GC InfoBase.
Planning for contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses
Government of Canada departments are to meet a target of awarding at least 5% of the total value of contracts to Indigenous businesses each year. This commitment is to be fully implemented by the end of 2024-25.
CIHR plans to support the Government of Canada's commitment to meet the minimum 5% of the total value of its contracts to be awarded to Indigenous-led businesses. CIHR will strive to increase the contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses by implementing the following measures:
- Leverage integrated procurement planning to identify potential Indigenous set-aside opportunities.
- Where practical, applying conditional or voluntary set-asides in our procurement solicitations.
- Participate in Indigenous reverse trade shows hosted by Public Services and Procurement. Canada to engage with and learn from the Indigenous community.
- Maintain a comprehensive directory of Indigenous suppliers for use by our Procurement Officers and Business Owners.
- Prioritize Indigenous businesses for major IT (software and hardware) procurements.
- Continue to educate, provide tools and promote contracts being awarded to Indigenous businesses.
Table 6: Percentage of contracts planned and awarded to Indigenous businesses
Table 6 presents the current, actual results with forecasted and planned results for the total percentage of contracts the department awarded to Indigenous businesses.
| 5% Reporting Field | 2023-24 Actual Result | 2024-25 Forecasted Result | 2025-26 Planned Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total percentage of contracts with Indigenous businesses | 10.01% | 5% | 5% |
Planned spending and human resources
This section provides an overview of CIHR’s planned spending and human resources for the next three fiscal years and compares planned spending for 2025-26 with actual spending from previous years.
Spending
This section presents an overview of the department's planned expenditures from 2022-23 to 2027-28.
Budgetary performance summary
Table 7: Three-year spending summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)
Table 7 presents how much money CIHR spent over the past three years to carry out its core responsibilities and for internal services. Amounts for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on spending to date.
| Core responsibility and internal services | 2022-2023 Actual Expenditures | 2023-24 Actual Expenditures | 2024-2025 Forecast Spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funding health research and training | 1,296,803,889 | 1,301,482,091 | 1,378,492,855 |
| Subtotal | 1,296,803,889 | 1,301,482,091 | 1,378,492,855 |
| Internal services | 40,108,019 | 46,974,106 | 45,870,531 |
| Total | 1,336,911,908 | 1,348,456,197 | 1,424,363,386 |
Analysis of the past three years of spending
The net increase of $11.5M between 2022-23 and 2023-24 was mainly due to compensation adjustments resulting from collective agreements and eligible paylist expenditures, as well as new funding for the National Strategy on Drugs for Rare Diseases.
Forecast spending in 2024-25 is expected to exceed actual 2023-24 spending by $75.9M largely due to:
- The receipt of new funding announced in Budget 2024, including increased support to core research grants, support for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, and endowment to the Gairdner Foundation; and
- The allocation of funding for Tri-Agency programs (in collaboration with its Tri-Agency partners). Funding for these programs impacts CIHR’s planned spending on an annual basis as CIHR receives time-limited funding following each competition which depends on the successful applications’ alignment with CIHR’s health-related mandate.
More financial information from previous years is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.
Table 8: Planned three-year spending on core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)
Table 8 presents how much money CIHR’s plans to spend over the next three years to carry out its core responsibilities and for internal services.
| Core responsibility and internal services | 2025-26 Planned Spending | 2026-27 Planned Spending | 2027-28 Planned Spending |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funding health research and training | 1,328,792,388 | 1,384,642,816 | 1,427,146,692 |
| Subtotal | 1,328,792,388 | 1,384,642,816 | 1,427,146,692 |
| Internal services | 46,186,309 | 45,363,509 | 43,852,047 |
| Total | 1,374,978,697 | 1,430,006,325 | 1,470,998,739 |
Analysis of the next three years of spending
The net increase of $55.0M between 2025-26 and 2026-27 and of $41.0M between 2026-27 and 2027-28 are largely due to new funding announced in Budget 2024, including increased support to core research grants, support for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers, youth mental health, Canadian genomics strategy, cannabis research, indigenous health research capacity, and the Canada research training award suite. This was offset by a decrease in time-limited funding for targeted research initiatives and the allocation of funding for Tri-Agency programs.
More detailed financial information on planned spending is available on the Finances section of GC Infobase.
Funding
This section provides an overview of the department's voted and statutory funding for its core responsibilities and for internal services. For further information on funding authorities, consult the Government of Canada budgets and expenditures.
Graph 1: Approved funding (statutory and voted) over a six-year period
Graph 1 summarizes the department's approved voted and statutory funding from 2022-23 to 2027-28.
Long Description
| Fiscal year | Total | Voted | Statutory |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 1,336,911,908 | 1,328,613,694 | 8,298,214 |
| 2023-24 | 1,348,456,197 | 1,338,273,413 | 10,182,784 |
| 2024-25 | 1,424,363,386 | 1,415,261,934 | 9,101,452 |
| 2025-26 | 1,374,978,697 | 1,365,296,012 | 9,682,685 |
| 2026-27 | 1,430,006,325 | 1,420,395,956 | 9,610,369 |
| 2027-28 | 1,470,998,739 | 1,461,755,287 | 9,243,452 |
Analysis of statutory and voted funding over a six-year period
The net increase of $11.5M between 2022-23 and 2023-24 was mainly due to compensation adjustments resulting from collective agreements and eligible paylist expenditures, as well as new funding for the National Strategy on Drugs for Rare Diseases.
Between 2024-25 and 2025-26 there is a net decrease of $49.4M.
This net decrease is explained by:
- A decrease of $86.3M for the following programs:
- $61.7M due to the re-profiling of the Clinical Trials Fund (Budget 2021);
- $10.0M for the Gairdner Foundation due to time-limited funding ending 2024-25;
- $8.0M transfer to Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada for Health Emergency Readiness Canada; and
- $4.6M for Building a World-Class Health Data System for Canadians; and
- $2.0M for Canada 150 Research Chairs.
- An increase of $34.5M for the following programs:
- $23.1M to support core research grants (Budget 2024);
- $3.9M for the Canada Excellence Research Chairs; and
- $3.0M related to the transfer of funds for the Canadian Immunization Research Network;
- $2.4M for Cannabis; and
- $2.1M for Youth Mental Health Fund (Budget 2024).
Since its inception in 2000, and while continuing to deliver an increasing number of funding programs and initiatives, CIHR’s operating budget has remained extremely lean, representing less than 6% of its total budget.
For further information on CIHR’s departmental appropriations, consult the 2025-26 Main Estimates.
Future-oriented condensed statement of operations
The future-oriented condensed statement of operations provides an overview of CIHR’s operations for 2024-25 to 2025-26.
Table 10 Future-oriented condensed statement of operations for the year ended March 31, 2026 (dollars)
Table 10 summarizes the expenses and revenues which net to the cost of operations before government funding and transfers for 2024-25 to 2025-26. The forecast and planned amounts in this statement of operations were prepared on an accrual basis. The forecast and planned amounts presented in other sections of the Departmental Plan were prepared on an expenditure basis. Amounts may therefore differ.
| Financial information | 2024-25 Forecast results | 2025-26 Planned results | Difference (forecasted results minus planned) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total expenses | $1,436,702,458 | $1,389,632,050 | $47,070,408 |
| Total revenues | $9,095,660 | $10,890,703 | ($1,795,043) |
| Net cost of operations before government funding and transfers | $1,427,606,798 | $1,378,741,347 | $48,865,451 |
Analysis of forecasted and planned results
Total expenses include grant and award payments for health research and training of approximately $1,340.5M in 2024-25 and $1,294.7M in 2025-26, a decrease of approximately 3.4% year-over-year. The remaining amount of $96.2M in 2024-25 and $94.9M in 2025-26 relate to operating expenses such as salaries and goods and services.
Total revenues include funds received from external partners for health research and training, as well as any refunds of prior year grant and award payments. Revenues are expected to increase in 2025-26 because of an anticipated increase in external partner funds for health research and training.
A more detailed Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and associated Notes for 2025-26, including a reconciliation of the net cost of operations with the requested authorities, is available on CIHR’s website.
Human resources
This section presents an overview of the department’s actual and planned human resources from 2022-23 to 2027-28.
Table 11: Actual human resources for core responsibilities and internal services
Table 11 shows a summary of human resources, in full-time equivalents, for CIHR’s core responsibilities and for its internal services for the previous three fiscal years. Human resources for the current fiscal year are forecasted based on year to date.
| Core responsibility and internal services | 2022-23 Actual full-time equivalents | 2023-24 Actual full-time equivalents | 2024-25 Forecasted full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funding Health Research and Training | 314 | 327 | 298 |
| Subtotal | 314 | 327 | 298 |
| Internal services | 276 | 289 | 262 |
| Total | 590 | 616 | 560 |
Analysis of human resources over the last three years
The increase from 2022-23 to 2023-24 results from the extension of temporary positions created to address immediate operational requirements and support initiatives announced in Budget 2021 and Budget 2022. The decrease in full-time equivalents from 2023-24 to 2024-25 is due to the sunsetting of time-limited initiatives, where the requirement for the respective temporary positions will begin to wind-down.
Table 12: Human resources planning summary for core responsibilities and internal services
Table 12 shows information on human resources, in full-time equivalents, for each of CIHR’s core responsibilities and for its internal services planned for the next three years.
| Core responsibility and internal services | 2025-26 Planned full-time equivalents | 2026-27 Planned full-time equivalents | 2027-28 Planned full-time equivalents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Funding Health Research and Training | 287 | 290 | 284 |
| Subtotal | 287 | 290 | 284 |
| Internal services | 257 | 256 | 257 |
| Total | 544 | 546 | 541 |
Analysis of human resources for the next three years
Planned full-time equivalents from 2025-26 to 2027-28 are expected to remain relatively stable.
Corporate information
Organizational profile
Appropriate minister:
The Honourable Marjorie Michel, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Health
Institutional head: Dr. Paul Hébert, President
Ministerial portfolio: Health
Enabling instrument: Canadian Institutes of Health Research Act (S.C. 2000, c. 6)
Year of incorporation / commencement: 2000
Organizational contact information
Mailing address
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
160 Elgin Street, 9th Floor
Address Locator 4809A
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W9
Telephone: 613-954-1968
TTY: 1-888-603-4178
Fax: 613-954-1800
Email: support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Website: www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca
Supplementary information tables
The following supplementary information tables are available on CIHR’s website:
Information on CIHR’s departmental sustainable development strategy can be found on CIHR’s website.
Federal tax expenditures
CIHR’s Departmental Plan does not include information on tax expenditures.
Tax expenditures are the responsibility of the Minister of Finance. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for government-wide tax expenditures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report provides detailed information on tax expenditures, including objectives, historical background and references to related federal spending programs, as well as evaluations, research papers and gender-based analysis plus.
Definitions
List of terms
- appropriation (crédit)
- Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
- budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)
- Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, departments or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.
- core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)
- An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.
- Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)
- A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3 year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.
- departmental result (résultat ministériel)
- A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments’ immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.
- departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)
- A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.
- departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)
- A framework that connects the department’s core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.
- Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)
- A report on a department’s actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.
- full time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)
- A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person-year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full-time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person’s collective agreement.
- gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])
-
Is an analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs, and other initiatives. GBA Plus is a process for understanding who is impacted by the issue or opportunity being addressed by the initiative; identifying how the initiative could be tailored to meet diverse needs of the people most impacted; and anticipating and mitigating any barriers to accessing or benefitting from the initiative. GBA Plus is an intersectional analysis that goes beyond biological (sex) and socio-cultural (gender) differences to consider other factors, such as age, disability, education, ethnicity, economic status, geography (including rurality), language, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
Using GBA Plus involves taking a gender- and diversity-sensitive approach to our work. Considering all intersecting identity factors as part of GBA Plus, not only sex and gender, is a Government of Canada commitment.
- government priorities (priorités gouvernementales)
- For the purpose of the 2025-26 Departmental Plan, government priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government’s agenda in the most recent Speech from the Throne.
- horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)
- An initiative where two or more federal departments are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.
- Indigenous business
- For the purpose of the Directive on the Management of Procurement Appendix E: Mandatory Procedures for Contracts Awarded to Indigenous Businesses and the Government of Canada’s commitment that a mandatory minimum target of 5% of the total value of contracts is awarded to Indigenous businesses, a department that meets the definition and requirements as defined by the Indigenous Business Directory.
- non budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)
- Non-budgetary authorities that comprise assets and liabilities transactions for loans, investments and advances, or specified purpose accounts, that have been established under specific statutes or under non-statutory authorities in the Estimates and elsewhere. Non-budgetary transactions are those expenditures and receipts related to the government's financial claims on, and obligations to, outside parties. These consist of transactions in loans, investments and advances; in cash and accounts receivable; in public money received or collected for specified purposes; and in all other assets and liabilities. Other assets and liabilities, not specifically defined in G to P authority codes are to be recorded to an R authority code, which is the residual authority code for all other assets and liabilities.
- performance (rendement)
- What a department did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the department intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.
- performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)
- A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of a department, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.
- plan (plan)
- The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how a department intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.
- planned spending (dépenses prévues)
-
For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.
A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.
- program (programme)
- Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.
- program inventory (répertoire des programmes)
- Identifies all the department’s programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department’s core responsibilities and results.
- result (résultat)
- A consequence attributed, in part, to a department, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single department, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the department’s influence.
- statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)
- Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.
- target (cible)
- A measurable performance or success level that a department, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.
- voted expenditures (dépenses votées)
- Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.
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