Apply for Action Canada Fellowship Program (Canada)

Each year, Action Canada select Fellows from a wide variety of backgrounds—both personal and professional—who want to have a significant impact on how public policy is made in their communities and across Canada.

Each Action Canada Fellowship cohort aims to reflect the country’s population in geography, cultures, political views, economic background, language and gender, and represent a range of personal and professional experiences;

Cost Covered

• All costs associated with the Fellowship (travel, accommodation, meals, etc.) are covered by the Fellowship program;

Who should apply?

• They are looking for emerging leaders who:
  • Are curious;
  • Have an intense desire to learn and understand Canada and its future public policy choices better;
  • Are strongly motivated to share, collect, analyse and appreciate different perspectives;
  • Inspire change by identifying potential areas to influence and asking difficult questions intended to understand trade-offs;
  • Are interested in self-reflection and stretching themselves as leaders;
  • Are excited by the idea of collaborative leadership, working in teams and taking action;
  • Are open to develop real relationships and long-lasting friendships with a diverse group of leaders;
  • Want to engage in civic engagement and dialogue;
  • Have a track record of leadership, work experience, achievement and impact in their respective field or community; and
  • Can commit to an intensive and immersive learning experience consisting of four week-long study tours, 10 virtual sessions and 8-10 hours of individual work a week on their research project throughout the Fellowship year.

Commitment

• The Action Canada Fellowship program is an intensive and immersive learning and development experience for Fellows and will demand your full presence, active participation and openness to learn, be challenged, and take charge of your own leadership development.
• In addition to your presence and active participation in all the virtual sessions and study tours, Fellows must also commit to:
  • Task Force project: Fellows will be divided into three teams at the beginning of the program and will independently, with the support of a mentor, develop a research project and write a policy report to be presented at the end of the program. This commitment typically represents 8-10 hours of work a week, with the potential for longer hours in the final stages of the report.
  • Op-eds: Each Fellow will write an op-ed on a topic of their choice.
  • Blogs or vlogs: Fellows will be asked to write a blog or record a vlog after one of the study tours that will be published on the Action Canada website to capture and share their experience.
  • Roles during virtual sessions and study tours: Each Fellow will be tasked several times over the program year with roles such as being discussant lead during presentations, thanking the speakers, etc.
  • Public policy videos and podcasts: Fellows will be asked to participate in the creation of videos and podcasts about public policy-making.
• The approximate time commitment for Fellows over the 10-month Fellowship program is six to eight weeks of intensive full-time work, time that is concentrated (study tours) and spread out (research project work). They strongly encourage you to consider this carefully before applying and discuss the commitment with (if applicable) your employer, team, family, partner, and broader support system.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Action Canada Fellowship is open to all Canadian citizens and permanent residents;
• The program is for emerging leaders, with a focus on those under 35, but there is no age maximum for Action Canada Fellows;
• They accept applications from all sectors, regions in Canada, in English and French;
• Bilingualism is not a selection criterion;

Selection Criteria

• Recent record of leadership, achievement and impact;
• Open-mindedness, curiosity, energy, motivation to learn new things and acquire new experiences;
• Demonstrated teamwork ability and interest in working with others;
• A passion for Canada, with the potential to become a leader in Canada and the commitment to make a positive contribution to Canada;
• A noted interest in public policy; and
• Demonstrated understanding of the program’s commitments and workload, with a desire to fully commit to these obligations.

For more information, visit Action Canada.