Do Canadian Universities have a similar Research Excellence Framework as the UK, NZ, some EU and Australian universities? I have searched for this but have not found a conclusive answer.
you do not create excellence by calling yourself 'excellent'. From what I saw in the case of Germany, most of it is really overrated. It's a PR strategy only, to attract money, to increase one's visibility.... You do not have such a nonsense in UK.
I just came back from a conference where this question was answered: So 12 months after asking the question, I now know that the Canadians don't have such a framework.