“The CRCs that we are honouring this evening are truly making Manitoba a centre of research excellence in a number of diverse and important fields,” said Joanne Keselman, vice-president (research) and a host of the celebration. “And we are looking forward to the appointment of more Canada Research Chairs over the next several years.”

Held at the University Club, 25 of the 30 Chairholders along with their partners or guests gathered to meet Chairholders from other faculties as well as enjoying a meal and a short program featuring Keselman, U of M president Emőke Szathmáry, Minister of Energy, Science and Technology Tim Sale, and Winnipeg South Centre MP Anita Neville.

Special guests included Hubert Gauthier, president and CEO of St. Boniface General Hospital, Dhali Dhaliwhal, president and CEO of CancerCare Manitoba, Blake McClarty, director of research at the Health Sciences Centre, Jim Carr, CEO of the Business Council of Manitoba, and Fort Garry MLA Kerri Irvin-Ross.

In addition to thanking both the federal and provincial governments, affiliated research hospitals and health institutes for their research support in general and the CRC program in particular, Szathmáry talked about the support families provide.

“I thank you for your support of your loved one for without your understanding and support, the work they do would not be possible,” she said. “And our university, our province and our world would be the much poorer for it.”

Neville brought greetings from the federal government and thanked the Chairholders for sharing their talents and making their homes here.

“I thank you for coming here and staying here and I hope others join you. You bring honour to the community, the university and to all of us,” said Neville.

Sale spoke about the important contribution Chairholders make locally and on the world stage.

“Your role in this world is enormous,” Sale said. “All your work is vital to preserving a civil society.”

Created by the Government of Canada in 2000, the CRC program was designed to provide $900 million to support 2,000 research professorships in universities across the country. The philosophy behind this strategy is to make Canada one of the world’s top five countries for research and development.

There are two types of CRCs. Tier 1 Chairs are for outstnading researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields. For each Tier 1 Chair, the university receives $200,000 annually for seven years. Tier 2 Charis are exceptional emerging researchers, acknowledged by their peers as having potential to lead in their field. For each Tier 2 Chair the university receives $100,000 annually for five years.

Chairholders are also eligible for infrastucture support from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) to help acquire state-of-the-art equipment essential to their work.