Through the Canada Research Chair program, $300 million is spent annually to attract and retain outstanding scholars and scientists.
The program hopes to help chairholders achieve research excellence in natural sciences, engineering, health sciences, humanities, and social sciences, improve Canada's depth of knowledge and quality of life, strengthen the country's international competitiveness, and train personnel through student supervision, teaching, and the coordination of other researchers' work.
Of the total 2000 Chairs, 1880 are regular allocations, distributed as follows:[2] The program sets aside a special allocation of 120 Chairs for universities that have received one per cent or less of the total funding paid out by the three federal granting agencies over the preceding three years.
Roughly 66% of Chairs are allocated to member institutions of the U15, a group of the top research-intensive universities in Canada.
The lapel pin, made of sterling silver, symbolizes the pursuit of knowledge and research excellence and is available exclusively to chairholders.