Trump’s war on science threatens Canadian research

US President Donald Trump has launched a full-scale war on American scientists and researchers, unleashing policies that censor scientists, suppress evidence, attack scientific integrity, slash research funding, and fire thousands of federal scientists.

These challenges feel eerily familiar to Canada’s own  “War on Science” (2006-2015) when the Conservative government, led by former prime minister Stephen Harper, slashed research funding, restricted climate science, and muzzled government scientists. That experience taught us a critical lesson: when science is under attack, Canadians must come together to defend it — through collective action, advocacy, and unwavering support for science. 

Already, many Canadian researchers are stepping up to help their American colleagues. Canadian climate scientists — like Professor Eric Nost at the University of Guelph — have been racing against the clock to rescue vital climate change datasets from destruction. Others — such as University of Saskatchewan virologist Dr. Angela Rasmussen — have rushed to backup vital health datasets, preserving crucial information from U.S. federal agency websites, including the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). 

While many Canadians have already stepped up, we need to do more. Trump’s war on science isn’t just undermining America’s role in global science efforts, but is also directly threatening science and research here in Canada.

In 2024 alone, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided Canadian researchers over $58 million (CAD) in funding for hundreds of research projects. This includes researchers, like University of Windsor professor and Canada Research Chair Dr Aaron Fisk, who recently had nearly $1 million (CAD) of funding completely frozen from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Trump’s attempts to freeze federal funding have seriously compromised this crucial support that hundreds of Canadian researchers and scientists directly rely on.  

Two of the largest sources of US research funding, the NIH and National Science Foundation (NSF) were also recently tasked with reviewing thousands of current research grants, and hunting down violations of Trump’s executive orders. Any research projects that feature certain words, including “climate,” “women,” “institutional,” “trauma,” and “diverse,” are immediately flagged. Similarly, the  CDC has ordered scientists to retract manuscripts under review that contain “unacceptable language,” including “pregnant person,” “gender,” and others. 

McMaster University professor and immunologist Dawn Bowdish says her research, which studies gender differences in human immune systems to improve patient outcomes, would be flagged by the current NIH review. The Trump administration’s crackdown on certain types of research not only negatively harms thousands of Canadian researchers, but will also have future consequences for these important, but now highly politicized, fields of research. 

Additionally, the Trump administration continues to eliminate key scientific databases across federal agencies, a serious risk to all Canadians. We rely heavily on data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to monitor climate developments like flooding and forest fires. Elimination of these American databases and tracking systems would be a disaster for our ability to anticipate and respond to climate emergencies, and ultimately protect Canadians. To better prepare for future climate events, we need to ensure these crucial US datasets remain fully accessible, otherwise we may be dealing with another Jasper wildfire disaster in the months and years to come. 

Unfortunately, attacks on science are gaining momentum in Canada. Recent calls from politicians and stakeholders to privatize universities, attack scientists, and eliminate federal research funding echo Trump talking points and attacks on research.

Canada’s research community cannot let this stand. We need to firmly demonstrate that support for Canadian research leads to significant breakthroughs that directly impact the lives of Canadians. Otherwise, we will continue to see more attacks by governments against science, such as the Alberta government’s latest announcements to eliminate net-zero targets and promote public health misinformation. 

Now is the time to act. As Canadians, we need to call out political interference in science at home and abroad, continue to champion strong research partnerships, and work together to confront this renewed war on science. With the urgent challenges of climate change, misinformation, and a looming economic trade war, our need for science has never been greater.

Sarah Laframboise is the executive director of Evidence for Democracy. Trevor Potts is the director of research and Policy at Evidence for Democracy.