OBJECTIVE To assess the impact of the increased proportion of female psychiatrists and trainees, the rapid reduction of international medical graduates allowed in the country, and the expanding number of practitioners with subspecialization on the future pool of psychiatrist researchers in Canadian academic departments of psychiatry. METHODS A questionnaire was adapted to suit the Canadian milieu and distributed to a target population of 2484, including a core of 522 full-time faculty. RESULTS Female psychiatrists responding to the questionnaire reported less research involvement overall than their male counterparts. International medical graduates with both undergraduate and residency training abroad reported more research interests than other graduate categories. Respondents training in a subspecialty showed no difference in research commitment. CONCLUSIONS Concerted efforts must be made to recruit, support, and retain female researchers. Particular attention must be paid to developing research expertise among Canadian medical graduates. The trend towards subspecialization influences only the selection of research topic.