Armed conflict, authoritarianism, and democratic backsliding are driving the forced displacement of scholars and students at an unprecedented scale. This displacement constitutes not only a humanitarian crisis, but also a global knowledge crisis. When scholars are uprooted, higher education and research systems in countries of origin collapse, global knowledge networks fracture, and expertise essential to governance, development, and innovation is lost.
Canada has begun to lay the groundwork to defend global academic freedom through initiatives and partnerships with programs such as Scholars at Risk Network (SAR Network), The Institute of International Education’s Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF), as well as other innovative university-led hosting programs. However, current responses are fragmented, limited in scale, and uneven across institutions and provinces. Immigration bottlenecks, precarious academic appointments, and insufficient gender-responsive and youth-focused supports continue to undermine effective integration.
Given Canada’s highly educated population, robust post-secondary system, and commitment to refugee resettlement aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), governments and universities should act now to strengthen and scale programs that support at-risk scholars. This policy brief draws on research evidence from three International Development Research Centre (IDRC)-funded initiatives: (1) Placement, Preservation and Perseverance Project: Afghan At-Risk Scholars, Activists and Students (PPP, 2022-2024), (2) the Academic Advancement and Career Alignment course (AACA, 2024 and 2025), and (3) The Safe Havens and Knowledge Networks in Canada Conference (May 22-23, 2025). This report includes observations from consultations with displaced scholars and students, as well as findings from researchers, professors, and administrators from Canadian and international universities, and evidence from founders and directors of civil society organizations. Not only does this policy brief outline the systemic challenges facing at-risk scholars and students in Canada, it proposes coordinated, scalable policy actions for federal and provincial governments, universities, and national networks.
