1. Funding
  2. Prizes

Every year the Canada Council awards a broad range of prestigious prizes to more than 200 Canadian artists and scholars in recognition of their quest for innovation and excellence.

Eligibility

Three ways to apply

Application

By Application

Apply to the Council or to our partners.

Nomination

By Nomination

Submit a third-party nomination to the Council or to our partners.

Jury

By Grant Application

You do not apply for these prizes. Applicants to some grant programs are eligible and will be considered for prizes.

To submit an application or nomination to Prizes, please refer to each individual prize's page on the website for further details. At this time, applications and nominations for prizes cannot be made through the Portal.

Explore our Prizes

The Bernard Diamant Prize offers classical music singers under age 35 an opportunity to pursue their career through further studies.

By nomination

$10,000 each

2 prizes valued at $10,000 each

  • 1 English-language work
  • 1 French-language work

The Canada-Japan Literary Awards recognize literary excellence by Canadian writers and translators who write, or translate from Japanese into Engl...

Deadline

1
October 2022

By application

$1,000 - $6,000

The CBC Literary Prizes recognize talented Anglophone writers in three categories: Short Story, Nonfiction and Poetry.

By application

$20,000

The Coburn Fellowships are awarded to one student at the University of Toronto and another at the University of Tel Aviv or the Hebrew University ...

Competition suspended

The Duke and Duchess of York Prize in Photography is awarded to a professional photographer for personal creative work or to pursue postgraduate s...

By application

$2,000 -
$8,000

The Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition is a major contemporary music competition that rewards the most talented young artists in the cat...

By nomination

$25,000 each

Up to 8 awards are given annually:

  • 6 Artistic Achievement
  • 1 Saidye Bronfman Award
  • 1 Outstanding Contribution

The Governor General's Awards in Visual and Media Arts are granted to artists in recognition of remarkable careers in either of those fields.

Deadline

1
June 2023

By nomination

$1,000 -
$25,000

  • Winning books: 14 awards of $25,000 and a $3,000 grant to each publisher
  • Finalists: $1,000 per book

The Governor General's Literary Awards are presented in recognition of the best Anglophone and best Francophone book in each of seven categories...

Next deadline

15
May 2023

By application

Up to
12 medals

The Governor General's Medals in Architecture recognize and celebrate outstanding design in recently built projects by Canadian architects.

By nomination

$25,000

The Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards recognize the work of experienced Canadian artists who have made remarkable contributions to the per...

By application

$5,000

The Healey-Willan Prize is awarded for the best performance in the National Competition for Amateur Choirs.

By Grant Application

$6,000

The Jacqueline Lemieux Prize recognizes the work of an established dance professional who has made an outstanding contribution to dance in Canada.

The J.B.C Watkins Awards are an opportunity for artists to develop their talents in music or theatre and to pursue graduate studies at the interna...

By application

$5,000

The J.B.C. Watkins Award: Architecture is offered to a Canadian professional architect wishing to pursue postgraduate studies outside Canada, idea...

Deadline

1
October 2022

By application

$5,000 –
$7,000

The Jean A. Chalmers Fund for the Crafts assists non-profit visual arts organizations and fine crafts professionals in undertaking projects that c...

Deadline

1
March 2023

The Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestra Conducting is given to a promising young Canadian conductor for their excellent work.

By Grant Application

$3,500

The Joan Yvonne Lowndes Award is given to an independent critic or curator in recognition of the outstanding quality of their writing on contempor...

By nomination

Up to
$95,000

The John G. Diefenbaker Award allows a distinguished German scholar in the humanities to conduct research in Canada and spend brief periods gainin...

Deadline

1
November 2022

By application

$6,000 each

2 prizes of $6,000 each

  • 1 prize for the English-language community
  • 1 prize for the French-language community

The John Hirsch Prizes recognize the artistic merit and potential of emerging theatre directors.

Deadline

1
October 2023

By application

Two awards of $10,000 each

The John Hobday Awards in Arts Management are granted to talented arts managers in Canadian professional arts organizations for professional devel...

Deadline

1
March 2023

By Grant Application

Up to
$5,000

The Joseph S. Stauffer Prizes are awarded to Canadian artists who exhibit strong artistic potential in music, visual arts and literature.

By application

$7,500

The Jules Léger Prize for New Chamber Music encourages Canadian professional composers to create avant-garde chamber music and to foster its perfo...

Deadline

1
June 2023

$100,000

  • 5 prizes of $100,000 each
  • 1 discipline per prize

The Killam Prizes are awarded to active Canadian scholars who have made a significant and remarkable contribution to their respective fields in th...

The Killam Research Fellowships are awarded to active Canadian scholars who have made a significant and remarkable contribution to their respectiv...

By application

First Prize $25,000
Second Prize $15,000

The Michael Measures Prizes recognize promising young Canadian classical music performers.

By nomination

$50,000 each

2 prizes valued at $50,000 each:

  • 1 prize in the arts
  • 1 prize in the social sciences and humanities

The Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prizes are awarded to two persons – one in the arts and the other in the social sciences and humanities, wh...

Deadline

1
October 2022

By application

Every three years, talented Canadian professional classical musicians compete for a chance to borrow one of the 20 legendary instruments from the ...

Next Deadline

1
December 2022

By application

$10,000

The Peter Dwyer Scholarships are awarded to the most promising students at the both National Ballet School and the National Theatre School of Canada.

By application

$34,000

The Prix de Rome in Architecture for Emerging Practitioners is awarded to a recent graduate from a Canadian architectural school who has demonstra...

Deadline

1
October 2022

By application

$50,000

The Professional Prix de Rome in Architecture is awarded to a young practitioner of architecture or an architectural firm that has completed their...

Deadline

1
October 2022

By Grant Application

$2,000

The Robert Fleming Prize is awarded to an exceptionally talented young Canadian composer to further their career development.

By application

$10,000

The Ronald J. Thom Award for Early Design Achievement is given to a practitioner of architecture or an architectural firm. The successful candidat...

Deadline

1
October 2022

By nomination

$25,000
The winner’s artwork will be acquired by the Canadian Museum of History for its permanent collection

The Saidye Bronfman Award is a top distinction bestowed annually on a Canadian craftsperson for excellence in the fine crafts.

Deadline

1
June 2023

The Victor Martyn Lynch-Staunton Awards are given for outstanding artistic achievement by Canadian artists in seven disciplines: Dance, Inter-Arts...

Annual remittances

The Vida Peene Awards are made annually to eight specified organizations from the investment proceeds of an endowment worth almost $600,000.

By application

$25,000

The Virginia Parker Prize is awarded to a musician, instrumentalist or classical music conductor under the age of 32 who demonstrates outstanding ...

Deadline

1
April 2023

By nomination

$50,000

The Walter Carsen Prize for Excellence in the Performing Arts recognizes the highest level of artistic excellence and distinguished career achieve...

Deadline

30
April 2023

By application

Up to
$30,000

The York Wilson Endowment Award enables art museums and non-profit public art galleries to purchase original works by living, contemporary Canadia...

Deadline

30
April 2023

Donors

Individuals, corporations, foundations and organizations may make donations and help build Canada's artistic future, enabling the Canada Council to sustain and encourage the arts in Canada.

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