Each year the Canadian Student Debating Federation holds the National Debating Seminar, an event which aims to expose students to the art of debating while providing an opportunity for cultural exchange between young people from all regions of the country. Over the course of a week-long event, delegates will attend debate and thematic workshops, debate in practice rounds critiqued by experienced coaches, experience a sample of the host province’s unique culture, and wrap it up with a fun tournament.

The C.S.D.F. embraces both of Canada’s official languages, offering students the opportunity to attend the Seminar as English, French or Bilingual delegates. The only bilingual speaking event in Canada, this component of the Seminar involves delegates switching from one language to another during their speeches and debates in true recognition of Canada’s bilingual nature.

Information regarding themes, locations, and convenors of all our past seminars can be found here!

Number of Delegates: Each Member has been assigned a total for their delegation to the Seminar. Based on the number assigned to you, please select in this order, one delegate for each of the three linguistic categories; if you have remaining spots choose the next one from either French or Bilingual and the remaining delegates from any category.  Should you require additional spots, you may request them and every effort will be made to accommodate your request.

Code of Conduct for all Students attending the National Seminar can be found here!

Code of Conduct for all Adults attending the National Seminar can be found here!

Professional Development for Teachers: Annual Seminar Professional Development Opportunities Letter.

Eligibility and delegate selection requirements:  To be eligible to attend a Seminar as a delegate, a student:

(i) Must be in Grade 9, 10, 11 or 12 during the academic year of the Seminar; and

(ii) Must not have attended a previous Seminar as a delegate. Students are selected for the National Seminar by their provincial or territorial debate organizations.

Seminar is about educational debate, non-competitive debate. If you are already an experienced debater then the Seminar is not for you.

When selecting your delegation, please note that the CSDF’s National Seminar Regulations require that the student delegate selection process must:

(i) Be transparent, publicized, and accessible to all students in the region;

(ii) Select students as individuals, with no more than one delegate selected from any school; (please check to ensure your student selected in this school year will not be moving schools in September)

(iii) Encourage diverse representation from and the expansion of debate within the region; and

(iv) Select delegates who are keen to learn more about debate, whose selection will most benefit themselves and their school, and who have no national or international debate experience.

National or international experience includes: Senior High National Championships, Oxford Cup and International Events attended, either as a Team Canada member or independently.