Federation news
Prestigious Canada Prizes return to announce five 2024 winners
The Canada Prizes, the Federation’s national book awards, returned this month with a new vision to celebrate five winning books and their authors. We are proud to unveil this new phase of the Canada Prizes, which is the outcome of a comprehensive review of the program that began in 2021. Going forward, the annual Canada Prizes will recognize the country’s five most inspiring, impactful, and transformative scholarly books in the humanities and social sciences selected from the Federation’s Scholarly Book Awards. Learn more about the Canada Prizes.
We are thrilled to present our 2024 winners! Select the books below to explore their stories and meet the authors.
- Autobiography as Indigenous Intellectual Tradition: Cree and Métis âcimisowina Deanna Reder
- Penser la « pervertibilité » - Avec Jacques Derrida Nicholas Cotton
- Cripping Intersex Celeste E. Orr
- Regards sur le monde. Conflits éthiques et pensées romanesques dans la littérature française contemporaine Pascal Riendeau
- Villain, Vermin, Icon, Kin: Wolves and the Making of Canada Stephanie Rutherford
You too can be a future Canada Prizes recipient - apply for book grants for your work via the Scholarly Book Awards.
Letter to members from President and CEO of the Federation Karine Morin
Karine Morin reflects on the Federation’s roadmap for 2025 and invites you to join us in shaping the future of the humanities and social sciences. Read the full letter.
New episodes of the Big Thinking Podcast!
The Big Thinking Podcast continues to challenge and inspire academics, students, policymakers, legislators, and community members with big ideas in the humanities and social sciences. Explore the latest episodes and stay tuned for new releases in the new year.
- Navigating the immigration education nexus in Canada - Lisa Brunner
- Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Post-Secondary Research System - Wendy Rodgers
Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE) joins the Federation
The Federation is happy to announce the addition of a new scholarly association member: the Canadian Network for Innovation in Education (CNIE). CNIE is a national organization of professionals committed to excellence in the provision of innovation in education in Canada. Learn more about our new member.
Federation appearances at the Standing Committee on Science and Research on November 7 and December 5
Federation appearances at the Standing Committee on Science and Research on November 7 and December 5 – Federation President and CEO Karine Morin appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research (SRSR) on November 7 to speak on its study of the new capstone research funding organization announced in Budget 2024. The testimony advocated for funding and structures to support investigator-driven research and talent in the humanities and social sciences. Watch the appearance.
On December 5, Morin appeared before the SRSR once more to speak on its study on the Impact of the Criteria for Awarding Federal Funding on Research Excellence in Canada. The testimony recommended inclusive frameworks to reflect the diversity of Canada’s research talent and to support new ways of generating knowledge and impact. Watch the appearance.
Fall economic statement 2024
On Monday, the Government of Canada released its 2024 Fall Economic Statement. Over the past year, the Federation has engaged with government and our community to advocate for stronger humanities and social sciences representation within the new capstone research funding organization.
The statement announced that further details about this capstone organization will be shared in the coming months and that the What We Heard report will continue to inform its development. In addition to underlining the commitment to federal research support announced in Budget 2024, other highlights from the statement include additional funding in AI and digital research infrastructure. We look forward to continuing to engage with members and the government on the new capstone organization in the year ahead.
The Federation is on BlueSky
The Federation is now on Bluesky at @federationhss.ca. If you currently follow the Federation on X, we encourage you to join us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky where we will be posting most frequently in 2025. Follow us and stay up to date on all Federation news and updates!
Congress news
Congress 2025 registration opens in January
With registration for association conferences opening next month, now is the perfect time to sign up for Congress news – our monthly newsletter covering accommodation and travel discounts, researcher funding and media opportunities, programming news, and more. Sign up now and visit the Register webpage for more information.
Association conference listings
Start planning your Congress 2025 visit by browsing the association conference listing webpage. Explore conference details and schedules.
Bridging communities together
Hear from Congress 2025 Academic Convenor and George Brown College Professor Margrit Talpalaru as they dive into the development of this year’s theme, inviting all Congress attendees to revisit what it means to live together with other humans, the environment, and evolving technologies in polarized times. Learn more.
HSS Community News
Meet the HSS Commons – The Canadian Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Commons is an in-development, multilingual (English, French, and Spanish) academic social networking site that connects and supports the work of HSS researchers. It provides a free space for researchers to share work openly and collaborate with others. Research communities, journals, academic societies in the Federation, and others can also set up groups to communicate, share files, promote events, and more! Sign up for a free account at hsscommons.ca, check out their how-to guides , or learn more about some of their foundational community values in their blog post, “Community over Commercialization.”
New life for Dimensions – The Dimensions program, a Tri-Agency initiative to advance equity, diversity and inclusion is back on course and moving into its next phase following the success of the five-year pilot. Read more.
2025 Open Scholarship Awards – The Canadian Social Knowledge Institute and its partners announced the opening of the 2025 Open Scholarship Awards that incorporate open access, open data, open education, and other related movements that have the potential to make scholarly work more efficient, accessible, and usable by those within and beyond the academic. Nominations are open until January 17, 2025.
Applications open for the 2025-26 Parliamentary Internship Programme (PIP) – Each year the PIP brings 12 recent university graduates to Ottawa for an exceptional non-partisan work-study experience. Interns complete placements with both a government and an opposition MP while attending academic seminars, producing a research paper, and completing study tours to other legislatures in Canada and abroad. Beginning in 2025-26, they will be enrolled as full-time students at the University of Ottawa and will earn a graduate certificate in Public Administration upon completing the Programme. Interns will also receive a scholarship of $35,000. Graduates from all disciplines are encouraged to apply by January 31, 2025.
Universities Canada relaunches UniversityStudy.ca – UniversityStudy.ca, a longstanding resource for information on Canadian universities, has relaunched its platform, to help prospective students make informed decisions about their post-secondary education. Learn more.
Government of Canada continues to strengthen support for official language minority communities to enter the workforce – Official language minority communities (OLCs) have made unique contributions to Canada’s history and diversity. Recognizing the key role they play in the workforce and the economy, the Government of Canada continues to take measures to support Francophone and Anglophone minorities across the country. Read more.
EDI progress being made at Canadian institutions, but clear goals still lacking – Universities are making progress towards creating more equitable, diverse and inclusive institutions, a new report has found. But more work needs to be done to weave EDI into the fabric of university life, says the Council of Canadian Academies report. Read more.
Hear more about the report via the latest Big Thinking Podcast episode.
AI affects everyone – including Indigenous people. It’s time we have a say in how it’s built – Since artificial intelligence (AI) became mainstream over the past two years, many of the risks it poses have been widely documented. But some risks of AI are poorly understood. These include the very particular risks to Indigenous knowledges and communities. Read more.
Canada’s post-secondary industry predicts a storm ahead, as budget cuts shrink courses, staff – Amid cuts to staff, programs, and student services, Canada’s post-secondary institutions and experts predict challenging time ahead as colleges and universities report budget shortfalls. Read more.