Contests & Awards

How to Enter
Awards will be announced in September of this year. Finalists’ artworks will be showcased in an online exhibition, and prizes will be awarded in different age groups (Kindergarten to Grade 3; Grades 4 to 6; Grades 7 to 9; and Grades 10 to 12), with $500 for first prizes and $250 for honourable mentions. The full contest rules are available here.

The John Hobday Awards in Arts Management are granted to talented arts managers in Canadian professional arts organizations for professional development or mentoring purposes.

• The Professional Development and Renewal Award is granted to an outstanding arts manager wishing to take part in a recognized program, seminar or workshop.
• The Mentorship Award goes to an arts manager who is seeking to acquire different knowledge, experience and skills under the supervision of a mentor in his or her field.

Deadline

March 5, 2026

CMEA/ACME celebrates outstanding work by Canadian music educators. Our professional awards include the following:

Honourary Life Member

Recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to music education.

Jubilate Award of Merit

This award may be granted to an individual, a group of people, an industry, foundation, institution, or other organization in recognition for a significant contribution to music education in Canada.

Builders Award

What is this prize?

The Virginia Parker Prize is awarded to a musician, instrumentalist or classical music conductor under the age of 32 who demonstrates outstanding talent, musicianship and artistic excellence and who makes a valuable contribution to artistic life in Canada and internationally.

Prize amount

$30,000

How to qualify

Apply to the Council.

A peer assessment committee will select the recipient from among all applicants.

The Awards

The Governor General's Literary Awards recognize Canada's best English- and French-language books in each of the following seven categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Young People’s Literature – Text, Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books and Translation (from French to English and vice versa).

Eligibility

The books must be submitted to the Canada Council by an eligible publisher.

For books published between July 1, 2025 to April 30, 2026

Nomination Deadline: November 26, 2025

About: The RBC Newcomer Arts Award is a micro-award program for newcomer (immigrant and refugee) artists presented by RBC Foundation and Toronto Arts Foundation and administered by Neighbourhood Arts Network. 

Eligibility Criteria:
Applicants must be:

WHAT: Submit your original, unpublished works of nonfiction up to 2,000 words. There is no minimum. Nonfiction includes memoir, biography, humour writing, essay (including personal essay), travel writing and feature articles.

WHEN: The competition is open for submissions from Jan. 1 to Mar. 1 annually.

WHO: All Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada.

Every year, CBC Books enlists the help of established writers and editors from across Canada to read the thousands of entries submitted to our prizes. Submissions run from September 1st to November 1st each year, and winners are announced in the following spring.

Overview: OAEA Awards

Presented by
The Hamilton Public Library and The Hamilton Spectator

Writers of short stories and poetry are encouraged to submit their works to the 32nd Annual Power of the Pen Creative Writing Contest. Entrants must be between the ages of 12 and 18 and be a resident of Hamilton, Burlington, Flamborough, Dundas, Ancaster, Stoney Creek, Grimbsy and communities within the outermost boundaries of those locations.

Prizes: