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SFU Beedie School of Business professor Dr. Dara Kelly-Roy has been recognized as part of the Government of Canada’s recent $690 million investment to advance research excellence across the country.

Announced on October 22, 2025 by the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Industry, the investment supports more than 250 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs (CRCs) across disciplines—celebrating researchers whose work is shaping knowledge, innovation, and social impact in Canada and beyond.

As the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Economic Wellbeing and Freedom, Dr. Kelly-Roy and her research team are exploring the idea of Indigenous economic well-being and economic freedom as expressions of wholeness, sovereignty, and self-determination. Working collaboratively with Indigenous scholars around the world, they are co-creating and co-designing Indigenous economies and the institutions needed to sustain them.

A member of the Leq’á:mel First Nation, part of the Stó:lō Coast Salish, Dr. Kelly-Roy is an associate professor of business and society at SFU Beedie. Her research examines Indigenous economies, governance, and value systems, exploring how ancestral Indigenous economic principles—grounded in relationships, reciprocity, and community well-being—can inform contemporary approaches to economic development and prosperity.

In addition to her CRC appointment, Dr. Kelly-Roy is also a Fulbright Canada Scholar, a distinction awarded to outstanding Canadian academics and professionals whose research fosters cross-border collaboration and mutual understanding. Her work responds to the growing need for Indigenous-led research grounded in Indigenous knowledge, reconnecting traditional values and worldviews with contemporary approaches to economic development.

The Canada Research Chairs Program, supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, invests up to $311 million annually to attract and retain the world’s most accomplished and promising researchers. Through this program, the Government of Canada aims to strengthen the country’s global research leadership while advancing inclusive, interdisciplinary scholarship.

Dr. Kelly-Roy’s appointment underscores SFU Beedie’s commitment to research excellence, reconciliation, and advancing business education that integrates diverse knowledge systems and perspectives.