In early 2017, the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) and the Ontario Waste Management Association (OWMA) convened in Ontario, Canada with the goal of strengthening the funding of Canadian-based research and scholarships in support of sustainable materials management. The purpose of the meeting was to explore the work EREF is undertaking in the United States, and discuss the development of a Canadian research platform that would meet the needs of the country’s waste management sector.