Scholarships and opportunity for young women interested in politics

The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) is accepting applications for two scholarship opportunities until January 15, 2019:

• The Mayor Andrée P. Boucher Memorial Scholarship will award female college or university students deemed to have submitted the best research papers on a topic related to women in politics. Special consideration will be given for research papers focusing on municipal government. Two scholarships of $4,500 will be granted, one for an undergraduate level student and another for a graduate level student.
• The Canadian Women in Municipal Government Scholarship is presented to outstanding female secondary school and CEGEP students for their involvement in their school’s leadership team or student council. Applicants should submit a 3 min video and a written document outlining their contribution to school activities related to student council or leadership. Five $1,000 scholarships will be awarded across Canada, one each for British Columbia, the Prairies and Territories, Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada.

More information on eligibility and on how to apply to each scholarship is available on FCM's website.

Another opportunity for young women interested in politics is the Daughters of the Vote initiative. Promoted by Equal Voice, this program will recruit a dynamic and diverse group of 338 women, ages 18 to 23, to a historic sitting of the House of Commons in April 2019. With one delegate from each federal riding, the group will be addressed by every federal party leader; engage with Ministers, critics and advocates; join an Indigenous Forum; and participate in leadership and skills training sessions on how to run for election at all levels of government.

Equal Voice expects that this initiative enables the participants to become familiar with Canada’s political institutions and those women and men serving in them – so that they are equipped and inspired to participate in the formal political sphere in the years and decades to come. The deadline to apply is January 6, 2019, and more information on the program can be found on Daughters of the Vote webpage.