2009/10 Student Essay Contest Print this page

The Jim Hume Memorial Student Essay Contest 2009/10

US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger have all argued that the economic growth and jobs of tomorrow will be found in a green economy fueled by renewable energy. 

What has to be done to ensure that Canada's economy benefits from the transition to a low-carbon world?

FIRST PRIZE: $5,000
SECOND PRIZE: $3,000
THIRD PRIZE: $2,000

Submit now!

The winning essays will be published on Canada West Foundation's website.

Rules and Instructions

• The Canada West Foundation 2009/10 Jim Hume Memorial Student Essay Contest is open to students attending a post-secondary institution in BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan or Manitoba during the fall 2009 or Winter 2010 semester.  Proof of student status will be required to receive prize money.
• The essay should be between 750 and 1,000 words in length. The essay must be submitted to Canada West Foundation via e-mail no later than March 15, 2010.  Please send the essay as a standard Microsoft Word file. The author's name, mailing address, email address, phone number, post-secondary institution and field of study must appear at the beginning of the essay.  Please include a title for the essay.
• Essays should be sent to roach@cwf.ca.  Please write "Jim Hume Essay Contest" in the subject line.  One entry per student, please.
• Employees of Canada West Foundation, its Directors, and their immediate families are not eligible for this contest.  Past cash prize winners are not eligible for this contest.
• The three best essays will be chosen by a panel of judges.  To ensure that the judging is unbiased, the judges do not see the author's name, address, post-secondary institution or field of study during the judging process.  Essays will be judged on both style and content.  Judges will look for writing that is clear, articulate and logically organized.  Decisions of the judges are final.
• The essay must be solely the work of the entrant. Plagiarism will result in disqualification.  Include standardized citations and a bibliography.

2008 Winning Essays:
Wasted Ballots
Brian Baker, University of British Columbia  
Shared Destiny: A Common Sense Approach to Strengthening Canada Through Proportional Representation
Matthew Sharp, Simon Fraser University

2008 Honourable Mentions:  
Systems for Sanity: The Processes Toward Democracy
Luke Freeman, Simon Fraser University  
Canada and Proportional Representation: The Rhetoric of Voting Reform versus the Reality of Representative Democracy
Michael Kulicki, University of Alberta

More on the winning essays and authors

2007 Winning Essay:
You Alone Can't Save the World by Kaija Belfry

2007 Honourable Mentions:
Hoping for the Best but Planning for the Same: The Crucial Role of Government in Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Tyler Bryant
Escaping the Greenhouse Gas Prisoner's Dilemma: A Government Solution by Francois de Soete