Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Immigration and Migration (Internal search)
Arts, Sociology
| Posted: | January 21, 2026 |
| Deadline to Apply: | Sunday, February 22, 2026 |
Please note, applications for this position are currently being accepted only from internal candidates at TMU.
Located in downtown Toronto, the largest and most culturally diverse city in Canada and on the territory of the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Mississaugas of the Credit and the Wendat Peoples, the Department of Sociology in the Faculty of Arts at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) [www.torontomu.ca] invites applications from internal candidates for a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) position in Immigration and Migration effective January 1, 2027, subject to final budgetary approval.
The Canada Research Chairs Program is a federally funded program that seeks to achieve excellence by attracting and retaining the most accomplished and promising researchers. Further details on the CRC eligibility criteria can be found on the CRC Program’s Nominate a Chair webpage: https://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/program-programme/nomination-mise_en_candidature-eng.aspx
In collaboration with TMU, the successful candidate will develop the CRC application for submission in the Spring of 2026. The candidate will be required to hold a tenured position at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor at TMU at the time that the CRC application is submitted. The CRC Tier 1 appointment is tenable for seven years and renewable once. All nominations are subject to review and final approval by the CRC Secretariat.
The successful candidate will engage in a combination of research, teaching, and service duties, and maintain an inclusive, equitable, and collegial work environment across all activities. The incumbent will be expected to develop and maintain a strong, independent, externally funded research program that will be internationally recognized as leading in their field. The CRC will also mentor and support diverse trainees, students, future researchers, and colleagues in forms such as organizing workshops, co-authoring papers, obtaining patents, and contributing to public policy and professional practice. The incumbent will also effectively teach undergraduate and graduate courses and engage in collegial service.
Immigration accounts for a large proportion of Canada’s population growth, making the conditions of belonging critical for the social, economic, political, and cultural fabric of Canadian society. As the source regions for immigration to Canada have shifted, centering racism, colonization, and other forms of oppression is essential to analyzing these dynamics. While Asia continues to provide the largest number of immigrants to Canada, Africa has recently taken the second spot from Europe. Globally, there is a crucial need to better understand the processes of migration, settlement, and integration from the perspectives of receiving communities, migrants, and countries of origin.
The CRC Tier 1 in Immigration and Migration at Toronto Metropolitan University will form a research program that brings diverse perspectives to the inquiry, fundamentally transforms knowledge creation and dissemination, fosters national and global collaborations and impacts policy, advocacy, and practice. The program will examine the structural, historical, and contemporary factors influencing migration decisions and trends, exploring the implications and consequences of different immigration and refugee policies and practices around the globe from a critical perspective.
Research outcomes from the program will address the challenges of contemporary immigration and migration, and inform development of more equitable programs and practices in areas such as labour market transitions; systemic barriers to employment and entrepreneurship for internationally trained professionals; fostering social cohesion through justice-oriented inquiry; and strengthening Canada’s role in an evolving knowledge economy through effective approaches to supporting an increasingly diverse workforce. The CRC Tier 1 will lead engaged research with immigrant, migrant labour, and refugee communities, government and policy actors, immigrant-serving agencies, settlement organizations, cultural centres, and citizen groups, and apply established standards for ethical inquiry to incorporate the lived expertise of diverse populations to provide reciprocal benefits to the communities involved.
TMU requires that candidates have a Ph.D. or a terminal degree in Sociology or a related social science discipline.
Nominees for Tier 1 Chair positions must be full professors or associate professors who are expected to be promoted to the full professor rank within one or two years of the nomination. Candidates must also:
- be outstanding and innovative world-class researchers whose accomplishments have made a major impact in their fields, in accordance with the CRC Program guidelines;
- be recognized internationally as leaders in their fields, in accordance with the CRC Program guidelines;
- have superior records of attracting and supervising graduate students and postdoctoral fellows (taking into account different practices in the relevant field or discipline), and, as chairholders, be expected to attract, develop and retain excellent trainees, students and future researchers, in accordance with the CRC Program guidelines;
- be proposing an original, innovative research program of the highest quality, in accordance with the CRC Program guidelines;
- have a strong research profile that demonstrates creativity and evidence of impact, such as peer reviewed publications/contributions, patents, special papers, reviews, conference/symposia proceedings and abstracts, government publications and policy contributions, book reviews by the nominee or published reviews of their work, papers presented at scholarly meetings or conferences, and other forms of scholarly expression, including participation in public discourse and debate and non-peer reviewed publications, which constitute a contribution to research;
- have a record of establishing successful research and community-engaged collaborations;
- demonstrate the ability to establish an independent, highly productive program of research which will attract high levels of external funding, including Tri-Council funding;
- have a record of demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion in leadership, teaching and research, including recommended practices of recruiting, mentoring and supporting students and research trainees with diverse backgrounds and experiences and from underrepresented groups, such as women, racialized people, persons with disabilities, Indigenous people, Black people, and 2SLGBTQ+ people;
- demonstrate the ability to effectively teach students with diverse backgrounds and experiences in immigration and migration courses in undergraduate and graduate programs, and the potential to contribute to inclusive and accessible learning, course development and pedagogy; and
- demonstrate the ability to participate in leadership activities in collegial (internal and external) service.
The Tier 1 CRC is intended for outstanding researchers acknowledged by their peers as world leaders in their fields.
TMU recognizes a broad spectrum of scholarly contributions, including community-engaged, creative, practice-based, interdisciplinary, and other non-traditional forms of research and knowledge mobilization. Candidates are encouraged to include diverse outputs and impacts that demonstrate excellence and innovation in advancing knowledge, practice, and community engagement.
TMU recognizes that scholars have varying career paths and that career interruptions can be part of an excellent academic record. Life circumstances such as illness, disability, family and community responsibilities (e.g., maternity leave, parental leave, sick leave, leaves due to caring for family members, or slowdowns due to chronic illness or disability) are expected to have an impact on a candidate’s record of research achievement. Candidates are encouraged to provide any relevant information about their experience and/or career interruptions to allow for a fair assessment of their application. Search committee members have been instructed to give careful consideration to diverse experiences and knowledge, and to be sensitive to the impact of career interruptions in their assessments. All eligible leaves will be credited at twice the amount of the actual leave taken.
This position falls under the jurisdiction of the Toronto Metropolitan Faculty Association (TFA). Visit us at www.torontomu.ca/faculty-affairs to view the TFA collective agreement and a summary of TFA benefits. TMU is committed to providing a competitive total compensation package which shall include a base salary, an excellent benefits package and a chair stipend.
The Canada Research Chairs Program is part of the Government of Canada’s Policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC), and it is the responsibility of all candidates to have read and understood what this means as part of their CRC nomination. Additionally, to apply for Provincial funding, candidates will be required to comply with the Ontario Ministry of Colleges Universities Research Excellence and Security (MCURES) research security mandate. The successful candidate will be expected to familiarize themself with these relevant obligations, exercise due diligence on sensitive research and affiliations and ensure compliance with export controls and sanctions. Further information is available on the research security page of the OVPRI website [https://www.torontomu.ca/research-security/].
Working at TMU
Serving a highly diverse student population of over 45,000, TMU offers over 100+ undergraduate and graduate programs built on the integration of theoretical and practical learning. Distinguished by a professionally focused curriculum and a strong emphasis on excellence in teaching, research and creative activities, TMU is a vibrant, urban university known for its culture of innovation, entrepreneurship, community engagement, and city building, reflected in its award-winning architecture.
At the intersection of mind and action, TMU is on a transformative path to become Canada’s leading comprehensive innovation university. Our new academic plan, Transformative Futures, offers an exciting roadmap towards our ongoing pursuit of academic excellence and to addressing the complex and evolving challenges of our time.
At the heart of TMU’s remarkable achievements and its ambitious aspirations are its students, faculty and staff. Committed to a people first culture, the university prides itself on offering exceptional benefits and perks, celebrating the achievements of its faculty and staff and maintaining its unwavering commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion, including its ongoing commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, confronting Anti-Black Racism and accessibility for persons with disabilities. Among its many recognitions include being ranked number one on the Forbes list of Canada’s Best Employers for Diversity. We invite you to explore employment at TMU as well as our community of diverse faculty and staff networks.
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Department of Sociology
The Sociology Department at Toronto Metropolitan University is a hub for critical, justice-oriented scholarship that prioritizes social transformation over neutral observation. Our Department offers undergraduate courses to 550 students of diverse backgrounds. Our Faculty prides itself on the excellence of its research, the quality of its teaching and community engagement. Grounded in anti-colonial, abolitionist, and intersectional frameworks, our research and teaching focus on dismantling systemic oppression. We are interested in candidates who will contribute to our existing strengths in teaching through academic, professional and diverse lived experiences and perspectives.
How to Apply
Applicants must submit their application online via the Faculty Recruitment Portal [https://hr.cf.torontomu.ca/ams/faculty/] by clicking on “Start Application Process” to begin. Applications, consisting of the following, must be received by Feb 22, 2026:
- a letter of application that includes your interest in the position; what you would bring to the Department and Faculty; the impact on the field of immigration and migration that you foresee for your research (your 3-page research proposal for the CRC can elaborate on this); and what makes you a strong candidate overall as a researcher, educator, and community member.
- a current curriculum vitae providing a clear sense of your scholarly and professional development via your education and your research activities and outcomes; your contributions to making immigration and migration a more equitable and inclusive discipline through committee work, community engagement, social media, and advocacy;
- a research statement discussing the significance, originality, and potential impacts of your current research program (up to 3 pages), and a research proposal for the first term of your CRC research program (up to 3 pages);
- recent examples of research activities and outcomes, including, but not limited to, peer-reviewed and non-peer reviewed publications, conference presentations, public talks, articles reaching specialist and non-specialist audiences, and effective use of social media for research impact and networking, knowledge dissemination and translation;
- a teaching statement (up to 3 pages) and a dossier of syllabi and other evidence, if available. These must demonstrate how you engage, encourage, and develop the learning capacity of students entering higher education from a diverse array of backgrounds and experiences, and how you embed practices and principles of equity, diversity and inclusion, including universal design for learning in your classroom, course materials, guest lectures, how you embed practices and principles of accessibility, equity, diversity and inclusion in your classroom, your assignments, and your classroom style;
- the names and email contact information of three academic referees who know you and your research well; and
- a statement discussing your record of demonstrated commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion, including accessibility and Indigeneity/Indigenous engagement; including your record of attracting and mentoring a diverse group of students, trainees, and research personnel, and establishing an equitable and inclusive research environment. This should include a plan for establishing and maintaining a diverse core team (at the student, trainee, personnel and early-career researcher levels), and an environment that is safe and inclusive and allows all team members to reach their full research potential (e.g., through the recruitment and outreach strategy, equitable training opportunities, and professional development and mentoring).
At TMU, we believe that diversity of knowledge, worldviews and experiences that come from membership in different groups, is fundamental to innovation, teaching and scholarship and that our students are best served by faculty who reflect the diversity of TMU’s student body and the community in which TMU is situated. To ensure representation of the excellent talent in Canada, we are particularly interested in applications from members of historically disadvantaged and marginalized groups including: First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples, Indigenous peoples of North America, Black-identified persons, other racialized persons, persons with disabilities, and those who identify as women and/or 2SLGBTQ+.
Contacts
Any confidential inquiries about the opportunity can be directed to the Department Hiring Committee (DHC) Chair Cheryl Teelucksingh at teeluck@torontomu.ca.
For more information about TMU’s CRC nomination process, please contact Dayle Levine (dayle.levine@torontomu.ca), Director, Institutional Programs, the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (OVPRI).
For confidential inquiries about Research Security, please contact An Chi Lee (researchsecurity@torontomu.ca), Director, Research Security, the Office of the Vice-President, Research and Innovation (OVPRI) with "Tier 1 Application" in the subject line.
Candidates who belong to one or more of the equity-deserving groups recognized at TMU (women, racialized people, First Nations, Métis and Inuit (FNMI) Peoples, Black people, persons with disabilities and 2SLGBTQ+ people) are welcome to connect with Debbie Thompson (debbie.thompson@torontomu.ca), Executive Director, Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion (OVPECI).
Indigenous candidates who would like to learn more about working at TMU are welcome to contact James McKay (Indigenous@torontomu.ca), TMU’s Indigenous Human Resources Lead.
For any confidential accommodation needs in order to participate in the recruitment and selection process and/or inquiries regarding accessing the Recruitment Portal, please contact Zenab Pathan in the Office of the Vice-Provost, Faculty Affairs at vpfa@torontomu.ca.
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