Student Essay Contest

The Fraser Institute hosts an annual Student Essay Contest to promote student participation in economic discourse on current events and public policy. This contest affords students the opportunity to have their work peer-reviewed and published early on in their academic career. In addition, we offer exciting cash prizes for the top five winning submissions!

The Fraser Institute’s 2024 Student Essay Contest is now closed. Thank you to all the students who submitted their work. We look forward to reading your essay and your contributions to economic and public policy discourse. Due to the volume of submissions, we will announce winning essays in early fall 2024. All participants will receive an email in regards to the status of their submission.

We will be announcing our 2025 Student Essay Contest prompt in early 2025. To be the first to know about the 2025 Student Essay Contest click the subscribe link below:
Subscribe for 2025 Student Essay Contest Updates

Learn more about essay contest requirements and submission process by reading our Contest Rules and FAQ Student Essay Contest.

Categories and Prizes:

Prizes	High School	Undergraduate	Graduate
1^st Prize	$1,500	$1,500	$1,500
2^nd Prize	$1,000	$1,000	$1,000
3^rd Prize	$750	$750	$750
4^th Prize	$500	$500	$500
5^th Prize	$250	$250	$250

Useful Links

2023 Essay Contest Winners

	1st Place ($1,500)
High School Category	Ethan Yang, St. George's Senior School
Undergraduate	Louis Mercier, HEC Montreal
Graduate	Joseph McKinnon, Carleton University
	2nd Place ($1,000)
High School Category	Saqib Syed, Cresecent Heights High School
Undergraduate	Joseph Cressatti, McGill University
Graduate	Yasser Elfahli, University of Ottawa
	3rd Place ($750)
High School Category	Fiona Weiler, Lord Beaverbrook High School
Undergraduate	Martin Edwini-Bonsu, University of British Columbia
Graduate	Anais Blanchard, HEC Montreal
	4th Place ($500)
High School Category	Emma So & Lucas Orfanides, St. Augustine Catholic High School
Undergraduate	Melanie Chan, University of British Columbia
Graduate	Matthew Taylor, University of Saskatchewan
	5th Place ($250)
High School Category	William Clarke, A.Y. Jackson Secondary School
Undergraduate	Isaac Bahler, Dalhousie University
Graduate	David Jones, University of Toronto