Canada CIFAR AI Chairs program surges past 100
Canada CIFAR AI Chairs are advancing research in AI for health, climate change and responsible AI.
Canada welcomes 29 international researchers to its world-class AI research and training community. The newly-appointed Canada CIFAR AI Chairs are advancing research in a wide range of areas, including machine learning for health and responsible AI.
Read about some of the Chairs who are advancing AI research in areas that will benefit society.
“On behalf of CIFAR, I am delighted to welcome and congratulate the newest cohort of Canada CIFAR AI Chairs. They will join a vibrant network of talented researchers across Canada who are responding to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Their contributions will transform the future and promote an AI world that benefits all,” says Dr. Elissa Strome, Executive Director, Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, CIFAR.
The Canada CIFAR AI Chairs program, a cornerstone of the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy, aims to attract outstanding researchers to Canada by providing them with long-term, dedicated funding to pursue innovative ideas.
“With today’s announcement, we have now attracted more than 100 of the world’s top AI researchers to Canada. That’s an important milestone for the Pan-Canadian AI Strategy as it continues to strengthen Canada’s leadership in responsible AI, reflecting our values of human rights, inclusion and diversity. The Canada CIFAR AI Chairs have far-reaching impacts on Canada’s growing AI capabilities including contributing to the development of new start-ups, well-paying jobs for Canadians and innovative products and services that will enrich Canadians’ lives,” says the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry.
AI in Canada:
- Since 2017, 57 researchers have taken up their first faculty position in Canada as Canada CIFAR AI Chairs.
- 1,200 graduate and postdoctoral fellows have been trained at the AI institutes (Amii, Mila and the Vector Institute).
- 45 + new AI R&D labs have been established in Canada by multinational firms, and a 50% growth in foreign direct investment in Canadian ICT.
- Canada is fourth in the world for AI skills migration.
- Canadian AI startups received $658 million in venture capital funding in 2019, a 49% year-over-year increase.*
*Data from
2021 Cohort of Canada CIFAR AI Chairs:
Amii
Michael Bowling
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
DeepMind
University of Alberta
Mo Chen
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Simon Fraser University
Russell Greiner
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
University of Alberta
Yuhong Guo
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Carleton University
Matthew Guzdial
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
University of Alberta
Nidhi Hegde
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
National Program Committee member
University of Alberta
Levi H. S. Lelis
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Universidade Federal de Viçosa in Brazil
University of Alberta
Lei Ma
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
University of Alberta
Martin Müller
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
University of Alberta
Patrick M. Pilarski
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
DeepMind
University of Alberta
Dale Schuurmans
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Google Brain
University of Alberta
Richard S. Sutton
Associate Fellow
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Pan-Canadian AI Strategy
DeepMind
University of Alberta
Matthew Taylor
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
University of Alberta
Washington State University
Osmar R. Zaïane
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
University of Alberta
Sandra Zilles
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
University of Regina
Mila
Dzmitry Bahdanau
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Mila
ServiceNow Element AI
Samira Ebrahimi Kahou
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
McGill University
Mila
Golnoosh Farnadi
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Université de Montréal
Gauthier Gidel
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Université de Montréal
Guillaume Lajoie
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Université de Montréal
Eilif B. Muller
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Mila
Université de Montréal
Adam Oberman
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
McGill University
David Rolnick
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
National Program Committee member
Mila
Xujie Si
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Mila
Guy Wolf
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
Université de Montréal
Vector Institute
David Duvenaud
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
University of Toronto
Vector Institute
Michael Brudno
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
University of Toronto
Vector Institute
Rahul G. Krishnan
Canada CIFAR AI Chair
National Program Committee member
Vector Institute
About the CIFAR Pan-Canadian AI Strategy
In 2017, the Government of Canada appointed CIFAR to develop and lead the Pan-Canadian Artificial Intelligence Strategy. The Canada CIFAR AI Chairs Program is a cornerstone of the Strategy. The Canada CIFAR AI Chairs are named in partnership with Canada’s three national AI institutes: Amii (Edmonton), Mila (Montreal) and Vector Institute (Toronto), as well as universities and hospitals across the country.
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