Youth Forums Canada — Exchanges Canada

Youth Forums Canada is a component of the Exchanges Canada Program. It provides funding to organizations in Canada that offer workshops and conferences to youth — generally aged 14 to 25 — that may cover topics such as history and society, arts, culture and communities, official languages, geography, industry, institutions, and democracy in Canada.

The Program ultimately aims to provide participants with experiences that contribute to the development of their sense of belonging to Canada, based on 3 key objectives:

• Participants have a better understanding of the shared aspects of the Canadian experience that unite the people living in Canada
• Participants have a better understanding of diversity in Canada
• Participants create meaningful connections with youth from other backgrounds in Canada

Who can apply

The following organizations are eligible for funding:

• a non-profit organization legally constituted under relevant federal or provincial law
• a provincial or territorial government
• a public or private school
• a school board or other educational institution, such as a college or university

All applicant organizations must have at least 3 years of experience delivering youth programs.

Federal government departments, crown corporations and other federal government institutions are not eligible to apply.

Eligible projects

Eligible projects for funding must include activities designed to achieve measurable objectives and positive outcomes. The project must take place between April 1 of the year immediately following the application date and be completed by March 31 of the following year.

To be eligible for funding from Youth Forums Canada, your project must meet all of the following requirements:

• be a national or interprovincial/interterritorial forum for young people. A national forum gathers in one location youth from six or more provinces/territories. An interprovincial/interterritorial forum gathers youth in one location from two to five provinces/territories. While the minimum requirement is participation from at least two provinces or territories, broader representation from across Canada is strongly encouraged to support the objectives of Youth Forums Canada.
• each forum must be delivered in-person over a minimum of three consecutive full days (excluding travel time), and must include a total program length of a minimum of 18 hours of workshops and activities. Virtual forums are not eligible.
• include participants who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada who are generally between the ages of 14 and 25.
• contribute to the achievement of the objectives of Youth Forums Canada.

An organization’s annual general assembly, projects that support the regular and ongoing operations of an organization, and projects whose primary purpose is competition (for example, a sport tournament) are not eligible for funding.

Projects cannot receive financial support from both the Exchanges Canada and the Youth Take Charge programs.

Application deadline

The application intake period will take place from October 5, 2026, at 8 am (ET) to November 2, 2026, at 4 pm (ET).

How to apply

Read the Application guidelines in their entirety before completing your application.

Contact us to request the forms and other documents that you will need to submit in your application.

You must meet all eligibility requirements and submit a complete application package to be considered for funding.

Contact us

For further information, please contact us:

Address

Exchanges Canada Program
Department of Canadian Heritage
15 Eddy St
Gatineau QC  J8X 4B3

Email

echanges-exchanges@pch.gc.ca

Telephone

819-997-0055
1-866-811-0055 (toll-free)

TTY

1-888-997-3123 (for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech impaired)

Agents are available to answer your questions, Monday to Friday, 7:30 am to 6:30 pm (ET).