You are now in the main content area

Bridging Divides researchers awarded new SSHRC funding to address social and economic challenges

July 30, 2026
address social and economic challenges

Several researchers affiliated with the Bridging Divides program have been awarded funding through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC)’s latest $289 million investment (external link)  in research, supporting excellence and innovation to address social and economic challenge.

The funding is awarded through four programs administered by SSHRC. Learn more about the researchers and their funded projects below.

SSHRC Insight Grant

Insight Grants support research excellence in the social sciences and humanities.

  • Rupa Banerjee, Toronto Metropolitan University
    Selecting by “Skill?”: The Role and Impact of Standardized Occupational Classifications in Canadian (Im)migration Policies
  • Alessandra Renzi, Concordia University
    AI Platforms, PropTech and the Housing Crisis

SSHRC Insight Development Grant

  • Elmond Bandauko, University of Alberta
    Contested rationalities of spatial formalization of street trading in Harare and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (“CONTESPACE”)
  • Wendy Cukier, Toronto Metropolitan University
    Equity Under Contestation: Public Discourse, Organizational Legitimacy, and EDI in Canada
  • Annamma Joy, University of British Columbia
    Beyond Prediction: Integrating Interpolation and Conceptual Blending to Better Understand Human Meaning-Making

  • Xiaojun Li, University of British Columbia
    Can Western Influencers Change How Canadians See China? Creator-Mediated Public Diplomacy in the Digital Age
  • Samantha Louie-Poon, University of Alberta
    Networks of connection: Tracing the invisible infrastructures of connectedness in Chinatown
  • Mireille Paquet, Concordia University
    Les intermédiaires de la migration de travail temporaire au Québec : acteurs, pratiques et facteurs structurants

SSHRC Partnership Development Grant

  • Zhixi Zhuang, Toronto Metropolitan University
    Building Inclusive Housing Infrastructure: A Multi-Scalar Rights and Responsibilities Approach to Housing for and with International Students

More researchers involved in the Bridging Divides program will contribute to other projects funded in this round. As a deeply interdisciplinary initiative, Bridging Divides benefits from the spillover effects of researchers expanding their expertise, building partnerships and gaining deeper insight into the complexities of the world around us. 
Congratulations to all recipients!