Ottawa, July 6, 2022 – Earlier this year, the Parliament of Canada issued a call for nominations to find Canada’s 10th Parliamentary Poet Laureate.

The role of the Parliamentary Poet Laureate is to promote the importance and value of poetry to Canadians. Pursuant to the Parliament of Canada Act, the Parliamentary Poet Laureate may perform the following duties: compose poetry, especially for use in Parliament on occasions of state; sponsor poetry readings; advise the Parliamentary Librarian on the Library’s collection and acquisitions to enrich the collection’s cultural holdings; and perform related duties at the request of the Speaker of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Commons, or the Parliamentary Librarian. The Parliamentary Poet Laureate holds office for a maximum of two years.

To ensure that Canada's official languages are equitably represented, the person selected alternates every two years between poets who work primarily in English and poets who work primarily in French. The 10th Parliamentary Poet Laureate will work primarily in French. The Parliament of Canada recognizes the diversity of Canada’s literary scene and encourages the participation of poets from all communities.

The deadline for nominations has been extended to September 4, 2022. Nominations for the position can be submitted by a member of a literary or writing organization, a parliamentarian, or directly by interested candidates. Nominations will be reviewed by a selection committee chaired by the Parliamentary Librarian, who will submit a short list of three candidates to the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Commons for final selection.

When it created the position of Parliamentary Poet Laureate in December 2001, Canada joined the United Kingdom, the United States and many other countries that have established poets laureate.

For more information on the Parliamentary Poet Laureate, the nomination process, and to learn more about the works of our current and previous Poets, please visit the Parliament of Canada website at www.parl.gc.ca/poet.