NUPGE Scholarship for Indigenous Students

Open to the children and grandchildren (including stepchildren, foster children, step-grandchildren and foster grandchildren) and legal wards of current or retired members of a NUPGE Component or a Component's affiliate; only unions on NUPGE's list of Components and affiliates qualify, and CUPE, LIUNA, PSAC, Teamsters, UFCW, teachers' unions and Unifor do not. You must be planning to enter the first year of a public university or college in Canada, full-time or part-time, in the coming year, with no post-secondary credits. You must be an Indigenous person in Canada (First Nations, Status or Non-Status, Métis, or Inuit) and confirm your Indigenous identity when you apply, in one of two ways. Option 1, legal documentation: First Nations applicants provide a copy of a Secure Certificate of Indian Status, a Certificate of Indian Status, or proof of citizenship from a First Nation or band on the list kept by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada; Métis applicants provide a copy of a Métis Nation Citizenship card from Métis Nation British Columbia, Métis Nation of Alberta, Métis Nation Saskatchewan or Métis Nation of Ontario, a valid Métis Citizenship and Harvester Identification Card from the Manitoba Métis Federation, or a valid Citizenship card from the Métis Settlements of Alberta or the Northwest Territory Métis Nation; Inuit applicants provide a copy of an Inuit membership card from Nunavut Tunngavik Incorporated, the Nunatsiavut Government, Makivik Corporation or the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation. Option 2, if you do not have that documentation: a statement of at least 200 words about your lived experiences and ongoing relationship to a legally recognized Indigenous community, Nation or people, signed by 2 guarantors from that community who are over 18 and not members of your immediate family (no siblings, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, children, grandchildren, or any step variations). Membership in a pan-Indigenous organization is not recognized. You can enter every NUPGE scholarship you qualify for, but can win only one in any one year.

Submit an original 750- to 1,000-word essay on this year's topic for the scholarship through NUPGE's online application form, and agree to the publicity conditions: results are publicized on the social media and websites of NUPGE, its Components and their affiliates. Winners provide proof of enrollment. Scholarships are taxable as income: a winner gives NUPGE their Social Insurance Number and a mailing address for a T4A slip and must declare the $2,500. The 2026 deadline was July 15, 2026 at 5 p.m. EDT.