By David Robinson

The word “unprecedented” has been used a lot in recent weeks to describe events south of the border. It is an understatement by any reasonable measure.

In an incessant flurry of executive decisions, the Trump/Musk administration in the United States has launched, paused and then re-launched a mutually destructive trade war against Canada and Mexico. It has upended long established geopolitical alliances. And it is openly attacking the independence and integrity of the scientific community and higher education.

For Canadians, the message is crystal clear: under its current presidency, the United States is no longer a reliable economic, diplomatic or scientific partner. That’s why after election day on April 28, the next federal government will have to step up on all these fronts if we are to build a more resilient Canada.

This must include a new approach to how we fund and support post-secondary education and research. Struggling with years of insufficient core funding and falling international student enrolments, many of our universities and colleges across the country are in trouble. Enrolment suspensions, program cuts and layoffs have affected dozens of institutions. This is weakening our educational and scientific capacity at a time we can ill afford to do so.

Finding a solution to the financial crisis requires action by both the federal and provincial governments. Now is not the time for jurisdictional bickering about who is responsible for the mess that has ensued. What is needed is leadership. The next federal government should immediately engage with the provinces to negotiate multilateral funding agreements, as has been done for health care and childcare, to strengthen our universities and colleges.

In tandem, the newly elected government should invest in a made-in-Canada research and science policy to counteract the anti-science and anti-education actions of the Trump administration. A lot has been written about what is increasingly looking like an existential threat to higher education and research south of the border. But Trump’s actions aren’t just confined to the United States.

In March, I was contacted by Canadian researchers whose projects are funded wholly or in part by American federal agencies. They had been sent a lengthy questionnaire to confirm that their work does not include a climate or “environmental justice” component, a “gender ideology” component, or diversity, equity and inclusion elements. The implication is that it doesn’t matter if your research is scientifically important. If it doesn’t conform to Trump’s partisan political ideology, you’re not going to be funded.

The Trump presidency poses many dangerous threats both domestically and internationally. But it also provides new opportunities for Canada to lead. Insulating ourselves from the Trump presidency means not just fighting the effects of tariffs and playing a stronger role on the global stage.

We also need to ensure that Canada is better placed to make up for the vacuum left by the U.S.’s abdication of its role as the world’s scientific leader. To achieve this, we urgently need a new deal for post-secondary education and research.