The Parliamentary Poet Laureate position helps expand the understanding and appreciation for poetry in Canada. Many other countries also have poets laureate.

Those selected to be poets laureate have made a significant contribution to Canada’s literary community through their poetry, which can be written or spoken poetry of any genre. We invite nominations of poets from all backgrounds and life experiences who are residents of Canada. Poets from any provinces or territories are welcome.

Poets can reside anywhere in Canada, but they must be available to participate in parliamentary events as required and be available to travel on occasion throughout Canada to promote the value of poetry. Travel costs are covered by the Library of Parliament.

Poets laureate must meet the eligibility and selection criteria. To ensure that Canada’s official languages are equitably represented, appointments to the position alternate between a poet who works primarily in English and a poet who works primarily in French. For the 2025–2026 term, the Poet will be expected to work primarily in English.

Nominations are currently being accepted for the 11^th Parliamentary Poet Laureate. To be considered, nominations must be postmarked by 17 June 2024. Consult the nomination process page and the press release for more details.

The Canada Council for the Arts reviews each nomination and provides the selection committee members with an evaluation for their consideration and deliberation. The selection committee includes:

• the Commissioner of Official Languages;
• the Librarian and Archivist of Canada;
• the Chair, Canada Council for the Arts; and
• the Parliamentary Librarian as chair.

The selection committee submits a short list of three nominees to the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons, who make the final selection.

The Poet may create works in either or both official languages. Other languages may also be integrated into their works. The Poet’s works are published on this website in both official languages. The Library of Parliament covers the costs of translation or adaptation.

The Poet retains ownership of copyright of the works created during their term. The Library of Parliament holds a licence to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the works created as part of the Poet’s roles and responsibilities.

The Poet receives an annual stipend of $20,000. A budget for travel, programming and administrative expenses is also made available.

The Library of Parliament is the steward of the Parliamentary Poet Laureate Program and provides support to the Poet throughout their term.

While an officer of the Library of Parliament, the Poet is not an employee, and rather holds their office as an independent contractor of the Library.

As the steward of the Parliamentary Poet Laureate Program, the Library of Parliament provides programming support to the Poet. The Library:

• advises and guides the Poet in the implementation of activities, initiatives, or projects in the fulfillment of their term. As the Poet is an officer of the Library of Parliament, the Library also provides guidance to help ensure that the work undertaken during their term does not conflict with the Library’s approach towards impartiality (i.e., providing services without regard to political or institutional affiliation, opinions or beliefs) and inclusion (i.e., valuing diverse perspectives and fostering a non-discriminatory and inclusive environment);
• administers and manages the Program budget, including approving expenses;
• facilitates access to Library resources required by the Poet during their term.

The Poet has broad discretion to determine the activities they will do in fulfilling their term, but they must carry out their duties in a non-partisan manner.

Explore the works of former poets laureate on our website.

The Poet may engage in other activities or occupations during their term as long as these do not conflict with or impair their ability to carry out their role as Poet Laureate.