Last updated: August 2026
If you’ve been researching Government of Canada scholarships using older articles or guides, there’s something important you need to know before you go any further: three of the most commonly recommended programs — the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships, the Canada Graduate Scholarships–Master’s (CGS-M), and the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships — have all been discontinued in their original form. They were formally sunset following Budget 2024 and merged into a new, harmonized program. A lot of scholarship content online hasn’t caught up to this yet, so it’s worth understanding clearly before you plan an application around a program that no longer exists under that name.
Here’s an accurate, current picture of Canadian federal scholarships available to international students in 2026.
The Big Change: Introducing CRTAS
In 2024’s federal budget, the Government of Canada announced it would streamline the scholarship and fellowship programs run by its three federal research funding agencies — the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) — into a single new structure: the Canada Research Training Awards Suite (CRTAS), which opened for applications in summer 2025.
What this replaced:
- The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships held their final competition in the 2024–25 cycle, with results released in mid-April 2025. The program is no longer accepting applications, and its website now redirects candidates to the new program.
- The Canada Graduate Scholarships – Master’s (CGS-M) program held its final competition in the 2025–26 cycle, with results released April 1, 2025.
- The Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships program was also sunset, with its final results released mid-February 2025.
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What replaced them:
- Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS-D): the direct successor to Vanier (as well as the older agency-specific CGS-D and PGS-D awards). It’s valued at $40,000 per year for up to three years — lower than Vanier’s former $50,000/year, but still among the more generous doctoral awards available internationally. It’s open to all citizenships, provided you’re enrolled in an eligible Canadian PhD program.
- A harmonized master’s-level award, replacing CGS-M, under the same CRTAS structure.
- A harmonized postdoctoral award, replacing Banting, also under CRTAS.
According to the Government of Canada’s own announcement, the new harmonized structure actually increases the total number of awards available — by roughly 1,720 additional scholarships and fellowships annually across the master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral levels combined.
One important nuance worth flagging: the old CGS-M program was, despite frequently appearing on “scholarships for international students” lists, actually restricted to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and protected persons — not open to international applicants studying from abroad in the way the label suggested. If you’re specifically an international (non-Canadian, non-PR) applicant, confirm the new harmonized master’s award’s citizenship rules directly with CIHR/NSERC/SSHRC before assuming it opens that door, since Vanier’s successor (CGRS-D) explicitly is open to all citizenships, but the master’s-level award’s rules deserve independent confirmation for your specific situation.
Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS-D)
The direct successor to Vanier CGS. Supports doctoral studies (PhD, or combined MA/PhD or MD/PhD) across health, natural sciences and engineering, and social sciences and humanities.
Benefit: $40,000/year for up to three years (36 months total).
Eligibility highlights:
- Open to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and international students alike.
- You must be nominated/apply through an eligible Canadian institution — you can’t apply directly without institutional involvement.
- Selection weighs Research Potential (50%) and relevant experience and achievements, both within and beyond academia (50%).
- University-level internal deadlines are typically earlier than the national agency deadline — missing your specific university’s internal date is one of the most common, avoidable mistakes applicants make.
Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program (ELAP)
ELAP continues to support students from Latin America and the Caribbean for short-term study or research at Canadian institutions — it’s worth being clear that this is short-term mobility funding, not a full-degree scholarship, despite sometimes being described alongside full-ride programs.
What’s changed for 2026: the program’s delivery model shifted — Canadian institutions are now directly responsible for selecting students, rather than Global Affairs Canada making the selection centrally. In practice, this means you apply through your target Canadian institution’s international office, not a single national portal.
Eligibility highlights: citizens of eligible Latin American and Caribbean countries or territories, enrolled full-time at a post-secondary institution and currently paying tuition at that institution.
Scholarships and Educational Exchanges for Development – Phase 2 (SEED-2)
This is an expanded relaunch of the original Canada-ASEAN SEED program, formally launched under this new name in January 2026 as part of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. The eligible pool has grown: SEED-2 now covers not just ASEAN member states, but also Pacific Island Countries and Mongolia.
Like ELAP, this supports short-term study or research exchanges, not full degree funding, and applications must demonstrate alignment with the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — specifically how your proposed research or study would help reduce poverty and narrow the development gap in your home region.
African Leaders of Tomorrow (ALT) Scholarship Program
This program remains active and largely unchanged in structure. It supports young professionals from sub-Saharan Africa pursuing Master’s degrees in public administration, public policy, or public finance at select Canadian universities, with a mission tied to developing the next generation of African public-sector leadership.
Eligibility highlights:
- Citizens and residents of sub-Saharan Africa.
- Completed undergraduate degree (equivalent to four years of university study).
- Applicants generally between 22 and 35 years old at the start of the program.
- Proficiency in French or English required.
Commonwealth Scholarships and Fellowships in Canada
This program continues to support academically strong students from Commonwealth countries pursuing Master’s or PhD studies in Canada, historically valued at roughly $10,000 toward transportation, living expenses, and related academic costs. Because allocations and terms under Commonwealth-wide scholarship arrangements can shift from year to year, confirm the current award value and application channel directly through the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan or your home country’s nominating agency before applying, rather than relying on a fixed historical figure.
What This Means for Your Application Strategy
- If you were planning around Vanier, CGS-M, or Banting specifically, update your plan now. Look at CGRS-D (doctoral) and the new harmonized master’s/postdoctoral awards under CRTAS instead — the underlying opportunity hasn’t disappeared, but the name, structure, and in some cases the funding amount has changed.
- If you’re targeting ELAP or SEED-2, go through your target Canadian institution directly, not a centralized national application, given the 2026 delivery model change for ELAP specifically.
- Always check your specific university’s internal deadline, which is very often earlier than the national agency deadline for CRTAS-linked awards — a mistake specifically flagged by multiple Canadian university graduate offices as a common, avoidable error.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship still available? No — Vanier’s final competition released results in mid-April 2025, and the program is no longer accepting applications. Its successor, the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS-D), is the current equivalent, valued at $40,000/year for up to three years.
What happened to the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowships? Banting was sunset alongside Vanier and CGS-M, with final results released mid-February 2025. It’s been replaced by a harmonized postdoctoral award under the new Canada Research Training Awards Suite (CRTAS).
Is CGRS-D open to international students? Yes — unlike the old CGS-M program (which was restricted to Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and protected persons), CGRS-D is explicitly open to all citizenships, provided you’re enrolled in an eligible Canadian doctoral program.
Are ELAP and SEED-2 full scholarships for a whole degree? No — both support short-term study or research exchanges rather than funding a complete degree program. If you’re looking for full-degree funding, CGRS-D (doctoral) or a university-specific award like ALT (Master’s) are closer fits.
Where do I apply for ELAP now that the delivery model has changed? Directly through your target Canadian institution’s international office, since Canadian institutions — not Global Affairs Canada centrally — are now responsible for selecting ELAP scholars as of 2026.
This guide reflects publicly available Government of Canada program information as of August 2026, including the 2025 CRTAS harmonization. Award amounts, eligibility, and application processes change — always confirm current details directly through the relevant federal agency (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) or Global Affairs Canada/EduCanada before applying.
