There are very few graduate programs in our network of institutions, so it's very difficult to even consider a postgraduate internship.
What's more, as soon as we start our studies at the graduate level, the idea is instilled in us that we have to start looking at careers other than research careers or teaching careers. Since there are very few positions available at universities, we are not told too much about the possibility of teaching there.
However, as soon as we start looking elsewhere, we quickly realize that working conditions and wages are much more competitive in the private sector, and even in non-profit organizations.
I now work for one of these organizations and I earn much more than I earned as a post-doctoral fellow or what I would have earned even had I been a professor at the beginning of my career.
Therefore, we need to make the career of a researcher more attractive and increase the value of post-doctoral fellowships. That would certainly help attract researchers to our institutions and convince them that it is worth pursuing a career in research. At the same time, it would increase the diversity of research perspectives.
In addition, increased funding for the granting officers of all the granting agencies would further diversify the types of research projects funded, as well as the research topics considered by researchers. That way, we would have a better overview of the problems facing Canadian society, not just the ones that are fashionable and that also seem to be profitable for industry.