The 2024 Survey added new questions pertaining to personal identity, financial health, parental leave, and postdocs’ experiences compared with their expectations. CAPS-ACPP’s repository of data, representing 14 years of longitudinal collection, is the first of its kind in Canada, and provides a unique tool to identify changes or lack thereof in the country’s postdoc landscape. Of note, the 2020 National Survey (conducted from January 15 to April 21, 2020) captured data prior to the full impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2024 survey was conducted between September 3, 2024 to January 22, 2025. This particular snapshot of postdoc life will better enable interested parties to understand the impacts of the pandemic on this stage of the research career. Canada’s 2024 federal budget established new funding levels for the Tri-Agency Fellowship Award that went into effect September 2024. Substantial changes to federal funding support for postdocs are expected to follow in the coming years. The results of the 2024 Survey will be important for the assessment of the effects of these new programs and policies on the Canadian postdoc experience overall.

Our report highlights several major findings:

• The median postdoc salary (before taxes) across Canada increased from $52,500 in 2020 to $57,500 in 2024. However, compared to 2020, fewer postdocs were satisfied with their salary (37% in 2024 versus 45% in 2020), and this 9.5% raise in median salary reported in 2024 also came with a 29% increase in monthly living expenses.
• The 2024 Survey revealed no pay differences correlated with gender, racialization, or field of study, however Canadian citizens reported a substantially higher median salary than temporary foreign workers ($62,500 versus $52,500).
• The 2024 Survey had a high response rate from postdocs in Québec. Disaggregating the data by Québec versus the rest of Canada and union membership revealed that non-unionized postdocs in Québec were generally dissatisfied with their benefit status, but reported high rates of satisfaction with “interest in their work”, “recognition for contributions to manuscripts”, and opportunities to collaborate and mentor students. Outside of Québec, unionized postdocs were significantly more likely to be satisfied with these areas than non-unionized postdocs, suggesting that both provincial and labor trends are associated with significant and perhaps indirect or unexpected effects on the postdoctoral experience.
• While most postdocs (68%) were satisfied with their postdoctoral experience (a small decrease in satisfaction from 2020), nearly a third of postdocs were dissatisfied, with many also reporting dissatisfaction with their career prospects. Postdocs who were dissatisfied with their overall experience and career advancement had significantly lower satisfaction in every key aspect of the postdoc experience: less access to training opportunities, higher financial pressure, higher rates of harassment and mental health challenges. Postdocs who were satisfied with their career advancement had higher satisfaction in professional development opportunities, preparation for an independent career, and in their funding for research.
• The percentage of postdocs aiming for tenure-track positions has significantly decreased (68%, down from 77% in 2020). Increasingly, postdocs are beginning with a goal of obtaining jobs in industry, non-governmental organizations, public service, or consulting.
• The 2024 Survey was the first survey to address the experience of postdocs who identified as racialized, a person of colour, a member of a visible minority, or an analogous term (abbreviated as “racialized”). The responses suggest a broadly equitable postdoctoral experience regarding salary, benefits, satisfaction, and professional development. There were, however, concerning differences in the types of harassment experienced by racialized postdocs.
• Harassment continues to be an issue, with 34% of postdocs experiencing some kind of harassment or discrimination, correlating dissatisfaction in career prospects. Compared to 2020, there was a noticeable shift from professional factors (research field, project, and lack of experience) toward identity-based factors (place of origin, race or ethnicity, language proficiency).
• The number of postdocs reporting mental health issues increased from 79% in 2020 to 86% in 2024. Notably, the percentages of individuals experiencing loneliness, anxiety or panic attacks, hopelessness, and migraines or headaches increased, which may reflect ongoing symptoms and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most common barrier reported to seeking treatment was lack of extended health benefits, despite the percentage of those not having access to health benefits increasing from 25% in 2020 to 34% in 2024.
• Compared to 2020, more respondents do not plan to stay in or return to Canada, largely driven by temporary foreign workers and citing issues related to limited job opportunities, financial reasons, or personal reasons.
• Based on these and other key findings, our report includes recommendations aimed at optimizing support and professional development of postdocs to help ensure Canada’s position as a global leader in innovation and discovery in the future. Recommendations have been collated into three distinct but interconnected themes: 1) secure benefits and protections for postdocs, 2) support diversified career development, and 3) build a coordinated, data-driven, and holistically supported postdoc ecosystem.