Our Approach

Canada’s North is a unique and sensitive landscape, facing unprecedented challenges.  Scientific knowledge is needed to understand and predict the effects of climate change on the physical and biological environment, ecosystems and human population of the North, as well as on all Canadians.

The launch of the International Polar Year in 2007 was a response to a widespread concern about the decline of research in the North.  It was at that time that the Foundation entered into a dialogue about Canada’s great North.  The Foundation has responded to the growing concerns by adopting a goal of advancing natural science research in Canada’s North as part of its mandate.

Goal: To position Canadian scientists to play a leadership role in local and international initiatives that will take place in the Arctic in years to come and foster awareness and education about the Canadian Arctic.

Strategies:

• Enabling Canadian scientists to work in and affect change in those regions most at risk.
  
  
• Facilitating scientific infrastructure and support.
  
  
• Granting graduate and post-graduate scholarships to leading Northern researchers.
  
  
• Supporting awareness and education about Canada’s Arctic region.
  

One way in which the Foundation is contributing to scientific endeavours and helping to cultivate Canada’s next generation of scientists is through The W. Garfield Weston Awards for Northern Research.  By offering research scholarships at the graduate level, the Foundation hopes to sustain and advance expertise in northern research, encourage training of the next generation of northern researchers and increase the quantity and quality of research being done in the North.

“I have been able to spend a good deal of meaningful time in the North, thanks in part to the generous support of The W. Garfield Weston Foundation. My initial excitement of researching in the North has developed into a strong commitment and connection to the North and its people.”  Kaitlin Breton-Honeyman, W. Garfield Weston Award for Northern Research Recipient, Ph.D. Candidate 

The Foundation has also supported the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, an internationally recognized centre of excellence for Arctic research and education. Through a challenge grant, the Foundation enabled Churchill to leverage matching funds needed for their renewal. This key northern hub will continue to support more than 50 different scientific research projects annually. The new 27,000 sq. ft. sustainable facility will enhance the study of important Arctic environmental issues.   Researchers will be greeted in the Weston Family Welcome Centre as they embark on each field season.

Support for Wildlife Conservation Society – Canada is another example of how the Foundation is strengthening the science capacity and contributing to conservation outcomes in Canada’s North. The Foundation’s focus is on projects that enable conservation scientists, research associates and the W. Garfield Weston Foundation Fellows to work in Northern Ontario and the Yukon/Northern British Columbia. These researchers are contributing to our understanding of the ecology and conservation of these northern regions.

The Foundation is pleased to be working with the Canadian Association of Science Centres (CASC) who will coordinate a nation-wide series of Café Scientifiques that will connect the public with arctic science researchers though meaningful discussion and learning. 

Café Scientifiques are public engagement events that take place in an informal setting like a science centre, pub or restaurant. In these friendly settings, the public, scientists, and other researchers come together to share their perspectives on an important question that faces society today.  The Science in Canada’s North Café Scientifique Series will feature researchers and questions that focus on aspects of Science in Canada’s North.