Essay and writing contests for high school students

Three writing contests open to Alberta high school students close before the winter break. Scholastic writing entries close December 2, Legion Remembrance videos December 15, and French for the Future, which pays up to $28,000, December 18. Most of the rest close between February and June, and several start at a local club or school with an earlier date of its own.

This school year, by deadline

Dates for 2027 not posted yet

Some start at a club, and its date comes first

The Optimist contests and the Legion's essay, poem and poster contests do not take entries online from anywhere. You enter through a local club or branch, it sets its own deadline, and only its winner moves on.

• Optimist essay contest. You have to be under 19 on October 1 and not yet finished high school. Every club holds its contest by early February and takes nothing after it closes, so ask a club for its date in the fall. Alberta students enter in the Alberta, Montana, Saskatchewan and Northern Wyoming District, where the winner gets $2,500. The 2026-27 topic is "Finding My Voice in a World Full of Noise."
• Legion Remembrance contests. Essays, poems and posters go to your nearest Legion branch by the date it sets, then on to provincial and national judging. Video entries go online and close December 15. First-place senior winners attend the National Remembrance Day Ceremony in Ottawa.

Optimist International finds your nearest club by email, from the contact on its essay page. Alberta clubs sit in Zones 3, 5 and 6 of the district.

French for the Future

The biggest prize on this page. You write 750 words in French on a theme that changes each year, and 108 scholarships worth $1,000 to $28,000 are shared out of a $436,000 pool. Registration runs October 14 to December 18.

Immersion and Core French students compete as French Second Language, so they are not measured against students who speak French at home. You can enter in Grade 10, 11 and 12, which gives a Grade 10 student three tries. The money is tied to studying wholly or partly in French at one of 16 partner universities and colleges, so check that list before you write.

Essays on policy, law and ideas

• Fraser Institute. 1,000 to 1,500 words on how a thinker from its Essential Scholars series would answer a policy question on Canada's prosperity. Each category has five prizes, from $1,500 down to $250. Strong essays show economic reasoning and cite academic sources. The 2026 high school winner was from William Aberhart High School in Calgary.
• Brandon Langhjelm. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms pays $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 for 1,200 to 1,500 words on a freedom issue in Canada. You have to be 15 to 25 on the deadline. The 2026 topics were social media limits for youth, and safety and privacy in AI chatbots, and it closed in late September.
• John Locke. Three questions in each of ten subjects, from economics and law to psychology and theology, in up to 2,000 words. It is free by the standard deadline and open to students under 19 in any country. Each category pays $5,000, $2,000 and $1,000, and the junior grand prize is $10,000. In 2026 registration closed March 31 and essays were due May 31.
• The Aristotle Contest. Answer one of three philosophy questions in up to 1,200 words, in English or French. A high school teacher and a University of Toronto philosophy professor each read it without your name on it. Prizes are $500, $400 and $300.

Poetry, stories and creative work

• Jessamy Stursberg Poetry Prize. The League of Canadian Poets takes one poem of up to a page. Grades 7 to 9 enter Junior and Grades 10 to 12 Senior, with $450, $400 and $350 in each. You need to be a citizen or permanent resident.
• Poetry In Voice. You recite poems, you do not write them. Pick from its anthology, include at least one written before the 21st century, and enter the online qualifier in English, French or both between February 1 and March 4. Senior finalists go to Toronto in April.
• Scholastic Art & Writing Awards. Open to Grades 7 to 12, age 13 and up, anywhere in Canada outside Quebec. An entry costs $15 and a portfolio $40, with fee waivers. Writing closes December 2, art December 15.
• Queen's Commonwealth Writing Competition. Run since 1883, up to 1,000 words on the year's theme, for ages 18 and under. Every entrant gets a Gold, Silver, Bronze or Participation certificate, the winner for the Americas is invited to London for a week, and AI-written work is disqualified.
• Blue Planet Awareness Contest. Answer an environmental theme with writing, poetry, art, film or music. An adult sponsor is required. The 2027 theme is Nature of Truth, on environmentalism in an age of disinformation.

If you would rather speak than write

• Optimist Oratorical Contest runs the same topic as a speech judged live. You win your club, then the Alberta zone in April, then the district in May, where places pay $2,500, $1,500 and $1,000. The Communication Contest for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is the same topic on its own track, worth $2,500.
• Alberta Debate and Speech Association tournaments run all year through a club at your school, with provincials in the spring.
• Speech arts festivals put you in front of an adjudicator in spring. Calgary's registration closes January 31, 2027, Lethbridge's January 29, and Edmonton's closed February 5 last year.

Contests at one school or town

These have fewer entrants because each is open to one school or area. Two of them take an essay you already wrote for a course.

Where to go from here

Many scholarships ask for an essay too, and the scholarship essay guide covers how to write one you can reuse. Build my combo finds the awards you can apply for in about a minute, and the competitions list has contests in every subject.