DC is poaching Canadian businesses. Ottawa is poaching a ... 'trans' philosopher?

Following the Aug. 21 collapse of the trade talks between Canada and the U.S., both parties have made efforts to attract talent from the other side of the border. Whereas Washington, D.C., wants to lure money-making Canadian businesses, Ottawa appears keen to recruit woke academics — including a self-identified specialist in "trans philosophy" and a liberal "media scholar."Talia Bettcher will supposedly work 'with community partners to develop new frameworks for understanding trans experiences.'On Sunday, President Donald Trump stated, "Let all Canadian Companies that are doing business with America move to the United States, immediately." Just three days before, the Canadian government announced over $541 million Canadian in research funding for prospective recruits to Canadian universities. This recruitment campaign is part of a $1.7 billion Canadian initiative that Ottawa launched in December "to attract and support more than 1,000 leading international and expatriate researchers."The Carney Liberal government noted that recruiters were looking at academics in multiple fields including AI, cybersecurity, health, "environment and climate resilience," and "democratic and community resilience."The Canadian government noted on Thursday that roughly $504 million in Canadian taxpayer dollars would be used over the next eight years to float 64 newly recruited researchers and roughly $37 million would be used to recruit "63 Emerging Leaders over the next year."According to Canadian state media, 48 of the professors recruited so far are coming from the United States. Each professor will reportedly receive approximately $500,000 or $1 million Canadian in funding annually toward their research for eight years.RELATED: A conservative group broke no laws. Police warned its convention venues anyway. This is free speech in Canada now. Melanie Joly. David Kawai/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesCanada Minister of Industry Melanie Joly made a not-so-subtle jab at the U.S. when making the announcement, stating, "At a time when parts of the world are turning away from science, Canada is doubling down. Attracting top talent will deliver breakthroughs that improve Canadians’ lives and advance Canada’s position as a global leader in science and innovation."When asked whether the initiative amounts to Canada poaching talent from U.S. Ivy League schools, Joly said, "The U.S. administration is taking its own decisions and we're taking ours."Among the academics whom Canada has recruited are individuals Americans might be happy to see go, including so-called "media scholar" Ethan Zuckerman.In a blog post Thursday about his planned move from the University of Massachusetts Amherst to McGill University in Montreal, Zuckerman accused the Trump administration of attacking immigrants; whined about the recent backlash against the "Censorship Industrial Complex"; and fretted about his "physical footprint."Talia Bettcher, another woke scholar recruited with Canadian taxpayer money, is leaving California State University for the University of Waterloo, where he will supposedly work "with community partners to develop new frameworks for understanding trans experiences."Bettcher, a man who has masqueraded as a woman since attending the University of California, Los Angeles, in the 1990s, is a Canadian-born gender ideologue who has long lived in the U.S. as a permanent resident. While stateside, he has made a career out of penning self-referential attempts at normalizing transvestism, presented as "trans philosophy."Charmaine Dean, the Trinidadian vice president for research at the University of Waterloo, said on Thursday that Bettcher's "selection through this highly competitive process underscores the outstanding quality and impact" of his research.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!