University Professor Marie-Josée Fortin, an internationally recognized leader in the field of spatial ecology and ecological networks, has won the prestigious 2026 Killam Prize for Natural Sciences from the Canada Council for the Arts.
“I must say I was stunned,” says Fortin, a member of the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. “I was so surprised when I received the email because it's so competitive.” Initially, she hadn’t considered applying but was encouraged by the Faculty of Arts & Science, led by a nomination by former U of T president Meric Gertler.
Considered Canada’s most distinguished award for career achievements in research, the Killam Prizes are awarded annually to Canadian scholars who have distinguished themselves through sustained research excellence, making a significant contribution and impact in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, health sciences and engineering.
Fortin holds the Canada Research Chair in Spatial Ecology (Tier 1) and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She has published more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific articles, five books and 33 book chapters.
The Killam Prize adds to a long list of honours. Some of her recent awards include being elected a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America in 2023 and named the National Champion for Canada for the Frontiers Planet Prize the same year. In 2024, she was awarded the Massey Medal from the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. And in 2025, she received the Konrad Adenauer Research Award from the Humboldt Foundation.
Fortin’s research integrates concepts and analytical methodologies from the fields of ecology, geography, and statistics and has resulted in novel, sophisticated spatial statistics and modeling frameworks that address the spatial complexity of ecological data having profound impacts both within and beyond the field of ecology.
Her work has transformed how ecologists and environmentalists understand the spatial ecology of species and communities across terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. Her work also offers analytical concepts and tools to measure the impacts of climate change and global changes in biodiversity and biome distributions, leading to evidence-based strategies to mitigate these impacts. Hence, her research has been used as the foundation of numerous initiatives by researchers, government agencies, and conservation authorities to tackle threats to biodiversity posed by climate change and habitat loss.
For example, her important work in spatial ecology includes tracing range shifts of birds and trees; changes in freshwater species interactions; and the decline of sharks and coral reefs in marine ecosystems.
“We at the Faculty couldn’t be more excited to congratulate Marie-Josée on receiving the esteemed Killam Prize,” says Stephen Wright, interim dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science.
“Fortin’s research has elevated spatial ecology to a valuable and impactful discipline with critical applications to enhance our understanding of how to protect and conserve our planet’s ecosystems. She couldn’t be more deserving of this award.”
Fortin plans to use the $100,000 prize to focus on long-delayed publications and collaborative projects. “I've been in this line of work for many years,” she says. “As researchers, we all have our little stack of projects and papers that we would like to publish. This could be an incentive to publish those projects that are always being pushed to the back burner.”
With such a long list of awards and accolades, does she ever stand back and reflect on all that she’s accomplished? Not really. There’s no time. “I only reflect when I write a grant proposal,” she says, adding jokingly, “And when I do that, I stop and think, ‘No wonder I’m so tired.’”
While Fortin is delighted with the Killam Prize, she maintains her true passion is mentoring students. “They're the next generation,” she stresses. “The passion I have for research is something that translates into the training of students. This is the best part of my career as I can see directly the impacts of my teaching and mentoring through their scientific journey to become the next generation of ecologists and scientists.”