Quarterly Financial Report for the Quarter Ended June 30, 2025

Table of contents

1. Introduction
2. Highlights of fiscal quarter and fiscal year-to-date results
3. Risk and uncertainties
4. Significant changes related to personnel, operations and programs
5. Annex A - Statement of Authorities (unaudited)
6. Annex B - Departmental budgetary expenditures by Standard Object (unaudited)

1. Introduction

This quarterly financial report has been prepared by management as required by section 65.1 of the Financial Administration Act and in the form and manner prescribed by the Treasury Board. This quarterly report should be read in conjunction with the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates. It has not been subject to an external audit or review, nor has it been subject to the approval of the Audit Committee.

1.1 Authority, mandate and programs

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's health research funding agency. It was created in June 2000 by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Act with a mandate "to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system."

CIHR invests in high quality health research and health research personnel to help create and apply new knowledge that can improve health outcomes for Canadians, lead to innovative products and services that improve Canada's health care system, and create high quality employment and commercial opportunities.

Further details on CIHR's mandate and program activities can be found in Part II of the Main Estimates and the Departmental Plan.

1.2 Basis of presentation

This quarterly report has been prepared using an expenditure basis of accounting. The accompanying Statement of Authorities includes CIHR's spending authorities granted by Parliament, and those used by the organization consistent with the Main Estimates and Supplementary Estimates (as applicable). This report has been prepared using a special-purpose financial reporting framework designed to meet financial information needs with respect to the use of spending authorities.

The authority of Parliament is required before monies can be spent by the Government of Canada. Approvals are given in the form of annually approved limits through appropriation acts, or through legislation in the form of statutory spending authority for specific purposes.

When Parliament is dissolved for the purposes of a general election, section 30 of the Financial Administration Act authorizes the Governor General, under certain conditions, to issue a special warrant authorizing the Government to withdraw funds from the Consolidated Revenue Fund. A special warrant is deemed to be an appropriation for the fiscal year in which it is issued.

CIHR uses the full accrual method of accounting to prepare and present its annual departmental financial statements that are part of the departmental results reporting process. However, the spending authorities voted by Parliament remain on an expenditure basis.

2. Highlights of fiscal quarter and fiscal year-to-date results

This section highlights the significant items that contributed to the change in resources available for the fiscal year, and the actual year-to-date expenditures compared with the previous fiscal year.

The following graph provides a comparison of budgetary authorities available for the full fiscal year and quarterly budgetary expenditures for the fiscal years 2025-26 and 2024-25.

2.1 Significant changes to budgetary authorities

Total budgetary authorities available for use increased by $5.4 million (0.4%) from the previous fiscal year.

Budgetary authorities available for use
(in $ thousands)

The following table provides a detailed explanation of changes to CIHR's authorities by Vote (in $ thousands).

2.2 Significant changes to authorities used

The following table provides a comparison of cumulative spending by vote for the current and previous fiscal years.

Q1 expenditures
(in $ thousands)

Through the first quarter of 2025-26, CIHR continued to align its financial planning with the federal government's Refocusing Government Spending initiative, which aims to reallocate expenditures for professional services, travel, operations, and transfer payments in support of other government priorities.

Vote 1 – Operating Expenditures

Total expenditures in the first quarter decreased by $1.6 million (-8.8%). The following table provides a comparison by standard object and a brief explanation for material variances.

Q1 expenditures
(in $ thousands)

In addition to supporting the Refocusing Government Spending initiative, CIHR restricted discretionary and significant new spending during the dissolution of Parliament while operating under Governor General special warrants.

Vote 5 – Grants

Grant authorities used through the first quarter of 2025-26 increased by $8.7 million (3.2%) compared to the prior fiscal year. The percentage of grant authorities used is consistent with the prior year (22.2% and 21.6% respectively), as grants are typically paid out in monthly installments throughout the year. The continued disbursement of grants during the caretaker period was essential to fulfilling CIHR's core mandate of supporting health research. The small overall increase reflects the additional budgetary authorities outlined in Section 2.1, which had previously been authorized by Parliament, primarily through Budget 2024.

Overall spending as of June 30, 2025 is consistent with management expectations.

Statutory Authorities

Actual spending for statutory authorities in the first quarter of 2025-26 is 25.0% of the total available authorities for use for the year, which is consistent with CIHR management expectations given that this expenditure is distributed equally throughout the fiscal year.

3. Risks and uncertainties

CIHR is funded through voted parliamentary spending authorities and statutory authorities for operating expenditures and transfer payments. As a result, its operations are impacted by any changes to funding approved through Parliament. Delivering programs and services may depend on several risk factors such as economic fluctuations, technological and scientific development, evolving government priorities, and central agency or government-wide initiatives.

CIHR is committed to a disciplined, risk management process in its daily operations. In 2023–24, CIHR developed a new Corporate Risk Profile (CRP) through a cross-organizational consultation process led by an external consultant firm to identify risks for the Agency. The CRP was most recently updated in June 2025 and enables CIHR to proactively monitor and manage risks throughout the year, supporting the effective delivery of its mandate. In 2025–26, CIHR is participating in a new government-wide Risk and Compliance Process, launched by the Treasury Board Secretariat, through which new risks will be identified and existing ones reassessed.

Current key risks and their mitigation response are as follows.

Risk 1 – Corporate Prioritization

There is a risk that CIHR's current corporate prioritization process may not allow for sufficient oversight and controls to ensure new Agency priorities are sufficiently resourced (e.g., infrastructure, staff, funding), and that existing priorities are resourced properly.

Mitigation/response:

• An annual integrated planning process was established to support effective operational planning and execution. In 2025–26, the process was streamlined by simplifying templates and steps, with a focus on collecting key data to inform decision-making.
• Operational planning is led by senior leadership, who set budget envelopes and operational priorities. CIHR management then identifies the projects and initiatives that can be delivered within those parameters.
• Quarterly reviews enable ongoing monitoring of progress, risks, and resource pressures, allowing for timely course corrections and the management of emerging priorities.
• Anticipated development of a new internal governance structure to enhance horizontal discussions and strengthen decision-making related to priority-setting, resource allocation, and overall integrated planning.

Risk 2 – CIHR/Institutes' Authorities, Roles, and Responsibilities

There is a risk that the lack of a clear governance framework within CIHR and between CIHR and the Institutes, including the authorities, roles, and responsibilities, may cause an important misalignment in terms of who is accountable for what, and how decisions are made, leading to potential reputational damage to CIHR as well as inefficient decision making and use of limited resources.

Mitigation/response:

• Development of an updated Institutes Model to clarify the authorities, roles, and responsibilities of both the Institutes and CIHR.
• Development of a policy that articulates the role, responsibilities, and unique value of the Institutes, ensuring alignment with the CIHR Act and reinforcing their strategic role within the health research ecosystem, supporting more effective governance and shared accountability.
• Existing processes reviewed to ensure management decisions and business activities comply with Agency policy requirements.
• Development of a communications program to ensure all stakeholders involved in the research funding approval process understand and comply with policy requirements and approval protocols.

Risk 3 – Cybersecurity

There is a risk that CIHR's current Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) infrastructure (e.g., systems, software) and support framework (e.g., strategies, policies, procedures, expertise) may allow for significant cybersecurity incidents affecting confidentiality, integrity, and availability of services (core and/or critical).

Mitigation/response:

• IM/IT processes are being reviewed and updated to ensure the integration of comprehensive data management and protection controls.
• Access controls are regularly reviewed to ensure stakeholders receive system and information access strictly on an as-needed basis and in accordance with their authorized security classification.
• The Chief Information Officer has been empowered and adequately resourced to lead the assessment, planning, and execution of all monitoring and management activities related to CIHR's IM/IT systems.
• CIHR's Information Management Policy is circulated at least annually to ensure all personnel understand their responsibilities to safeguard IM/IT systems and the information they contain.
• A training and awareness program is being developed to enhance data management, literacy, and protection across the organization.

Risk 4 – Research Funding Partnerships

CIHR and its research funding partners can have different and sometimes conflicting mandates and accountabilities (e.g., taxpayers, boards, donors), which can create policy and process misalignment and tension within the partnership. There are risks of inconsistent interpretation and application of Central Agency policies by CIHR and conflicting or misaligned policies and/or delivery requirements between CIHR and its partners. This could affect CIHR's reputation and potentially lead to an uneven application of the research funding delivery process.

Mitigation/response:

• Launch of a Partnership Framework in August 2024 that provides clarity and guidance on CIHR's engagement with domestic partners.
• Provision of training sessions to staff and Institutes to support greater promulgation of the Partnership Framework.
• Development of a high-level onboarding guide for new partners to explain what collaborating with CIHR looks like.
• Potential issues and risks are proactively identified early in negotiations using the Partnership Assessment Checklist. A defined process is in place to escalate and resolve partnership issues and/or risks as they arise with those accountable.
• Ensure funding conditions do not frustrate the program objectives, while allowing for nuanced policy interpretation that enables flexibility but maintains compliance.
• Ensure that each funding partner's requirements are clearly outlined in an agreement or Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and work towards greater efficiency in obtaining signatures in advance of the launch of Funding Opportunities.
• Ensure that partner and organizational requirements are clearly communicated to applicants in the Funding Opportunity and inform partners in advance that no changes can be made to content or requirements once it is launched.

4. Significant changes related to personnel, operations and programs

4.1 Personnel

In June 2025, CIHR established a Chief Change Officer role to lead the development and implementation of a strategic integrated roadmap for current and planned organizational changes. Catherine MacLeod, CIHR’s Executive Vice-President, will assume this role alongside her current responsibilities. A Change Steering Committee has also been formed to support this work.

4.2 Operations

While Budget 2025 is expected to the tabled in the Fall, CIHR continues to be driven by Government of Canada priorities and is committed to maintaining its support to the research community. The Government of Canada has launched a Comprehensive Expenditure Review to ensure that federal spending is responsible and delivers results for Canadians. This Expenditure Review requires most departments to propose savings equal to 7.5% in 2026-27, 10% in 2027-28, and 15% in 2028-29 (ongoing), based on planned spending in the 2025-26 Main Estimates and unrealized savings under the Responsible Government Spending initiative announced in Budget 2024. The work to identify these savings is now underway and the CIHR Change Steering Committee will be developing and reviewing savings proposals to be considered by the Minister of Health.

4.3 Programs

On March 11, 2025, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, and the Honourable Mark Holland, Minister of Health, announced the creation of a new harmonized program to support graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. The Canada Research Training Awards Suite will consolidate 11 existing scholarship and fellowship programs at the three federal granting agencies into a single suite of programs, streamlining the way Canada supports the next generation of research talent. The Suite will include the following programs:

• Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master's,
• Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral, and
• Canada Postdoctoral Research Award.

The final competition cycles for existing Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships and Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships, as well as other agency-specific postgraduate and postdoctoral programs, have already or will occur in 2025-26.

On March 13, 2025, CIHR announced the appointment of Dr. Patricia Conrod as the next Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction for a term of four years, starting July 1, 2025. This appointment follows the conclusion of Dr. Samuel Weiss’s second term as Scientific Director of the Institute.

Approval by Senior Officials

Approved by:

Ottawa, Canada
August 29, 2025

Annex A - Statement of Authorities (unaudited)

For the quarter ended June 30, 2025

Fiscal year 2025-26
(in thousands of dollars)

Fiscal year 2024-25
(in thousands of dollars)

Annex B - Departmental budgetary expenditures by Standard Object (unaudited)

For the quarter ended June 30, 2025

Fiscal year 2025-26
(in thousands of dollars)

Fiscal year 2024-25
(in thousands of dollars)

Date modified:

2025-08-28