Eligibility
To apply to the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Scholarship, you must meet the following eligibility criteria:
- You must be already accepted into or in year one or two of a full-time doctoral program, and expected to complete your doctoral studies in 2025 or later.
- Your field of study is broadly related to the humanities or human sciences of direct relevance to the future of Canada; (please refer to the FAQ for more details and read up on past scholarship recipients)
- Your doctoral work must relate to at least one of the Foundation’s Four Themes: Human Rights and Dignity, Responsible Citizenship, Canada and the World, People and their Natural Environment.
- Be a Canadian citizen studying at a Canadian or foreign institution, or a non-Canadian (permanent resident of Canada or foreign national) enrolled in a doctoral program at a Canadian institution.
Further Information
While the Foundation continues to seek scholars with the greatest intellectual capacity and a track record of academic achievement, they are also looking for those demonstrating a willingness to engage with a plurality of perspectives, people, cultures, and ideologies, and who are committed to deep listening, profound curiosity, and exploring grey areas.
The Foundation welcomes applications from candidates in a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, in business schools, public health and law. Candidates’ research must be related to one or more of the Foundation’s four central themes: Human Rights and Dignity; Responsible Citizenship; Canada and the World; and, People and their Natural Environment.
The Foundation remains committed to ensuring that universities in all regions of the country are represented and is committed to recognizing First Nation, Métis, and Inuit scholars in our selection. We are also committed to ensuring diversity in other respects, including gender, race, language, disability, and socioeconomic background, as well as a plurality of perspectives and disciplines.
PETF Leadership program
More than a scholarship, the Foundation’s Leadership program is designed to train Engaged Leaders who will have meaningful impact in their institutions and communities. This three-year journey, rooted in the Foundation’s Brave Spaces concept, offers leadership training, academic resources, mentorship opportunities, as well as a stipend of up to $40 000 per year. It also offers a generous annual allocation for language courses for one of the two official languages, participation in our events and research and networking.
Without privileging one specific discipline, PETF selects applications related to the Foundation’s Four themes: Human Rights and Dignity, Responsible Citizenship, Canada and the World, and People and their Natural Environment. Moreover, every cohort of the Leadership program is tied to a specific scientific cycle. Global Economies will be featured for the 2022-2025 cycle.
PETF Scholars
Coming from across Canada and around the world, PETF Scholars are selected for their academic excellence, leadership, and engagement, as well as their openness to a plurality of perspectives, their agility, and their resilience. In 2022, at least 12 doctoral students will be chosen to participate in the PETF Leadership program. These Scholars will represent a variety of disciplines.
Last year, PETF Scholars represented the following disciplines: medicine, religion, political science, international health, law.
More information can be found on the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation website.

Contact us
Technical issues with registration, the online application or the predetermined referral forms must be directed to leadership@trudeaufoundation.ca.
More information can be found on the Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation website, as well as the PETF Frequently Asked Questions page.
How to apply
Candidates who are committed to a three-year leadership program and who meet the eligibility criteria can apply directly to the Foundation through the application portal.
The Foundation remains committed to ensuring that universities in all regions of the country are represented, and is committed to recognizing First Nation, Métis, and Inuit doctoral students in our selection. The Foundation is also committed to ensuring diversity in other respects, including gender, race, language, and socioeconomic background.
Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation Application Portal
All eligible candidates who submit a completed application by December 21, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. EST will go through a rigorous selection process. Shortlisted candidates (Round One) will be contacted in February 2022 and invited to group interviews. Finalists (Round Two) will then be invited to meet for individual interviews with members of the ANRC in March 2022.

To read how we process personal data, applicants can review our 'Privacy Notice for Student Applicants and Potential Applicants' on our Privacy notices' web page.