Conference Scholarships

Conference Scholarship Program

In recognition of the importance of promoting professional development opportunities for members, the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators established the CAMA Conference Scholarship Program.

Through the Scholarship Program, CAMA provides sixteen scholarships for the registration fee (in the amount of $770.00) for the Annual Conference (four to young professionals pursuing a career in local government; four to members working in municipalities located north of the 60th parallel; four to members from smaller municipalities, and four to new Chief Administrative Officers.  Individuals are only eligible to receive a scholarship once to provide an opportunity to others to access this scholarship.  The scholarship is not transferable and must be used in the same year that it was awarded.

ELIGIBILITY

Scholarship applicants must be a CAMA member (or working with a CAMA member under the Young Professionals category).  Please see the details below where four scholarships are awarded for each category:

Young Professionals

The CAMA Scholarship Program is designed to engage the young Canadians who are pursuing a career in municipal government and thereby encouraging these young people to be champions in their communities in subsequent years.  To be eligible for a scholarship, applicants must:

1. Be working with a CAMA member in their municipality.
2. Be under the age of forty.
3. Have written confirmation from their municipality's Chief Administrative Officer verifying their employment with the municipality and granting permission to attend the CAMA Conference if selected.

Smaller Municipalities

The CAMA Scholarship Program is designed to assist CAMA members of smaller municipalities who have limited training funds.  To be eligible for a scholarship, applicants must:

1. Be an active member in good standing of CAMA.
2. Work for a municipality with a population under 20,000.

North of the 60th Parallel

The CAMA Scholarship Program is designed to assist CAMA members working in remote northern Canadian communities who have limited training funds and have higher travel costs to attend the Conference.  To be eligible for a scholarship, applicants must:

1. Be a member in good standing of CAMA.
2. Work for a municipality in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, or Nunavut.

New Chief Administrative Officers

1. Be a member in good standing of CAMA.
2. Be working as a Chief Administrative Officer for less than five years.

APPLICATIONS

The application process for the 2026 CAMA Conference is now closed.  Applications for the 2027 CAMA Conference will open in Fall 2026.

As part of the application process, each applicant must write a statement in 200 words or less briefly answering the following questions:

• Summarizing what attending the CAMA Conference would mean to his or her professional development.
• Why they feel the scholarship should be granted.
• How they intend to share the information that they learned at the Conference with others.

JUDGING PROCEDURE

All applications will be reviewed by a Committee comprised of CAMA Board members and staff.  The successful candidates will be selected based upon the individual application and information submitted, taking into consideration the fact that attendance at the Conference may not occur without scholarship.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR ACCEPTANCE

Successful recipients will be notified by e-mail.   If a scholarship is awarded, applicants must respond and confirm their acceptance by the deadline date as set by CAMA in the e-mail notice.  If the applicant does not respond to CAMA`s scholarship offer by the date outlined in the e-mail offer, the scholarship shall be rescinded without appeal.  Scholarships are non-transferable and have no redeemable cash value.

Unsuccessful applicants are encouraged to resubmit the following year if they meet the criteria.

All recipients of this Scholarship Program are responsible for their own hotel and travel arrangements and any other related costs to and from the CAMA Conference.  The hotel must be booked directly by the scholarship recipient under the Conference room block.