The 2018 National Seminar took place in Quebec, Quebec from Wednesday, September 26th to Monday, October 1st, 2018.   The theme for this year’s seminar was Self-Assertion of a Nation through Its Culture. This particular theme was important because it addressed diversification as a part of our history and heritage. The theme was about the responsibilities of individual “nations” within the country to emerge as “Canadian” via an exploration of the diversity of cultures and how they are defined. This was a challenging and interesting concept that we simply called “Nationhood”.

Prepared Motions:

Motion 1: This House supports that all public schools shall be secular.
Motion 2: This house supports all schools in Canada teaching a main course on the founding nations of our country.

The following link was used to aide with research: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-15.html

2018 – SEMINAR AWARD WINNERS

Tom Lawson Awards: Awarded to the students who best embodied the spirit of the Seminar.
Ben Plathan (AB) & Amina Sanogo (ON)

Richard Picotin Award: Awarded to the student who best embodied the spirit of bilingualism.
Kyla Goulet-Kilgoar (MB)

Speaker’s Citation: Awarded to the top Parliamentarians.
Abnash Bassi, En. (BC) & Kaiden Crowell, Fr. (NS)

Top Speakers for each Linguistic Category:
Weedon Trophy (English) – Ben Plathan (AB)
Governor-General’s Award (French) – Laurie-Anne Vidori (QC)
Chief Justice Award (Bilingual) – Mollie Wheller (MB)

Founder’s Cup: Awarded to the top speaker from each Provincial Member present.
NWT – Reegan Jungkind
BC – Abnash Bassi
Alberta – Ben Plathan
Saskatchewan – Michael Orthner
Manitoba – Mollie Wheeler
Ontario – Kathleena Henricus
Quebec – ADDEQ – Joey Provost
New Brunswick – Abigail Jamieson
Nova Scotia -Nora McLennan
Prince Edward Island – Isabella Tatlock
Newfoundland – Jessica Casey

SPONSORSHIP ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The CSDF and our Host Province could not have provided such a unique experience for students and chaperones without the generous support of our sponsors.

As in previous Seminars, the CSDF secured a grant from the Government of Canada’s Exchanges Canada program which subsidized travel costs for delegates, as well as one adult per province and territory.  This generous contribution allowed many students who could otherwise not attend for financial reasons to participate in the Seminar.