HAMILTON , ONTARIO – Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced the recipients of the 2011 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships. He was joined by Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Science and Technology).

“ Canada ’s prosperity is fundamentally linked to science and technology and highly skilled individuals whose talents bring innovative ideas to life,” said Prime Minister Harper. “I am pleased to congratulate the 167 recipients of this year’s Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships – researchers whose ideas will help produce tomorrow’s breakthroughs and keep Canada ’s economy growing.”

The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship Program was announced by the Harper Government in Budget 2008 to strengthen the country’s ability to attract and retain world-class doctoral students, and to brand Canada as a global centre of excellence in research and higher learning. The Scholarship Program is open to both Canadian and international doctoral students studying at Canadian universities.

Vanier scholars demonstrate leadership skills and a high standard of achievement in graduate studies in the social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health fields. Each of the r ecipients receives $50,000 a year for three years, to help them as they pursue and complete their doctoral studies.

“This scholarship program is a key component of our Government’s Science and Technology Strategy, helping make Canada a world leader in science and technology and a key source of entrepreneurial innovation and creativity,” concluded the Prime Minister.

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Backgrounder
2011 Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

Canada ’s prosperity as a nation is increasingly based on science and technology and the highly skilled and creative individuals whose talents bring innovative ideas to the marketplace. The Government’s Science and Technology Strategy, announced in May 2007, set out a multiyear framework for improving Canada ’s long-term competitiveness with the priority of attracting and retaining the best minds.

Announced by the Harper Government in Budget 2008, and launched in 2009, the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS) Program’s goal is to strengthen Canada ’s ability to attract and retain the world’s top-tier doctoral students by providing successful candidates with significant freedom to pursue and complete doctoral studies. Vanier scholars demonstrate leadership skills and a high standard of scholarly achievement in graduate studies in the fields of social sciences and humanities, natural sciences and engineering, and health.

The Vanier CGS Program helps Canada ’s universities attract sought-after doctoral students from across Canada and around the world. These promising scholars help create a dynamic and innovative environment on our university campuses. Many will stay on to become academics and professionals in Canada , helping to foster innovation, create the jobs of the future and strengthen Canada ’s globally competitive knowledge base.

This year’s 167 new scholars will receive $50,000 each year for three years, for a total of $25 million split equally among the three granting councils. Including this year’s recipients, a total of 507 scholarships have been awarded – 121 of them to international doctoral students from the United States , Europe, Africa and Asia .

The Vanier CGS Program honours distinguished Canadian soldier and diplomat Major-General the Right Honourable Georges Philias Vanier (1888-1967), who served as Governor General of Canada from 1959 to 1967.

Selection process

Students must be nominated by a recognized Canadian university. Vanier CGS candidates may only apply to one of the three federal research granting agencies – the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) – in a competition year. They may not concurrently hold more than one agency scholarship or fellowship.

Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships are awarded after a competitive process that includes a two-stage peer review of nominees. All nominees are first evaluated by peer review committees from each of the three federal research granting agencies.

The committees each select 70 nominations for the disciplines covered by that agency. These nominations (for a total of 210) are then forwarded to the arm’s-length interagency selection board, which makes the final recommendation. Each year, the Selection Board will choose 166 or 167 awardees from the candidates presented by the three federal granting agencies.

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