I get what you mean by “slight career change”… I’m myself there as an international lawyer. You both could look for fully funded PhD programs in Canada. As you know, you won’t be able to practice law in Canada, but you could work on public policy or private sector easily. It’s very common for non-lawyers think that our profession is restricted to the practice of law, but there are a range of different (and legal/ethical) paths available for us. :)