Canada joins Horizon Europe program. North Americans already participating in 155 projects

Brussels – Canada is the twentieth non-EU country to join Horizon Europe, the EU’s main funding program for research and innovation. Today (July 3), what had already been announced by Ursula von der Leyen and Justin Trudeau at the EU-Canada summit last November was put in black and white. “A new chapter for our researchers on both sides of the Atlantic,” the two leaders called it in a joint statement.

EU Commissioner for Innovation and Research Iliana Ivanova and Canadian Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne have signed the papers. With the agreement recorded today, Canadian researchers and organisations will have the opportunity to participate in the program on equal terms with their EU counterparts. The partnership covers the second Pillar of Horizon Europe, a tool that funds collaborative research projects in a wide range of areas.

From today, Canadian entities can participate in and lead research consortia directly funded by the EU program. From November until now, Ottawa has actually benefited from a transitional arrangement, which has allowed Canadian companies to apply and be evaluated as potential beneficiaries in Horizon Europe proposals for all calls implementing the second Pillar as early as the 2024 budget.

“Today’s signing reflects the commitment of the European Union and Canada to promote mutual collaboration in research and innovation and helps to deepen our strategic partnership further,” von der Leyen and Trudeau continued. Euro-Canadian cooperation in the field is already fruitful, with Canadian institutions participating in 155 projects under Horizon Europe. Canadian institutions have received more than €6 million from the program. Of the €93.5 billion budget for 2021-27, as much as €52.4 billion is dedicated to the second Pillar, the more “collaborative” one, which focuses on shared global challenges: climate, energy, digital economy and health.