Speak Up!
The Annual Persuasive Speech Competition invites students to deliver original 5–7 minute speeches on the theme “Making Canada Stronger.” Participants identify issues facing Canada, a province, or a community, explain their impact, and propose solutions. The competition accepts entries in English and French. Students are free to experiment with speech structure as long as they remain on theme.
Price: Free
Location: Online
Prize: Each division winner recieves $250 plus $250 to donate to a non-profit
Division: Junior (Grades 6-9), Senior (Grades 10-12), and French (Junior and Senior)
Evaluation Criteria: Research (25%), persuasiveness (25%), speaking style (25%), and clarity of the problem and solution (25%)
Third Edition
Date: February 11, 2024
Theme: Making Canada Stronger
Winners:
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Junior: (1) Emily Qian, (2) Carolyn Smart, (3) William Wong
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Senior: (1) Yuri Salcedo, (2) Zhilun Yu, (3) Michaela Chan
Judges:
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Preliminary: Lisa McLeese, Marilyn Lunde, Jordan Burg, Efrain Vasquez, John Robinson
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Finals: Tracey Lee, Lisa McLeese, Jordan Burg, John Carmichael, Scott Stirrett
Fourth Edition
Date: February 22, 2025
Location: Making Canada Stronger
Winners:
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Junior: Olivia Liu (Winner), Durga Anand (Finalist), Logan Gordon (Finalist)​​
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Senior: Nicole Liu (Winner), Muskaan Jaiswal (Finalist), Carol Qin (Finalist)
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French: Eric Sweeny (Winner)​
Judges:
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Preliminary: Richard Picotin, Jordan Burg, Marilyn Lunde, Efrain Vasquez, Arghya Dev Biswas Aryan, Arka Dev Biswas Deepra. Alaa Ibrahim, Ethan Curry, Massoma Kisob
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Finals: Tracey Lee, John Carmichael, Nikki Cupit, Massoma Kisob, Vinayak Mishra, Robert McLeese