You Could Win $3,000 in Canada's Brandon Langhjelm Essay Contest

Canadians aged 15 to 25 can write about rights, freedoms, social media, or AI privacy for a chance to win.

The deadline for Canada's most exciting essay contest is fast approaching: Sunday, September 27, 2026.

Do you care about rights and freedoms in Canada? Do you enjoy discussing controversial topics?

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has a scholarship just for you!

This year, their Brandon Langhjelm Essay Contest invites Canadians aged 15 to 25 to develop their writing skills and explore Canada's most critical freedom issues:

• Social media restrictions for youth; or
• The balance between safety and privacy in AI chatbots.

Don't miss your chance — enter the contest to contribute to a national conversation, defend rights and freedoms in Canada, and win $3,000!

About the Brandon Langhjelm Essay Contest

Contest deadline: September 27, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. MT

Essay length: 1,200 to 1,500 words

Sources and bibliography: Essays should include a variety of sources

Eligibility: Canadians aged 15 to 25 (citizens or permanent residents)

For a full list of essay requirements, check out the Essay Contest criteria and guidelines.

Win your prize

The Brandon Langhjelm Essay Contest seeks to support young Canadians just like you, with its lucrative scholarship.

Join the contest to win your prize!

• First prize: $3,000
• Second prize: $2,000
• Third prize: $1,000

Essay questions

This year's essay contest features two critical topics. Choose one and submit your essay.

Option one: Social media restrictions for youth

Social media allows us to express ourselves and access information about the world. However, minors are sometimes exposed to harmful content and interactions via social media, and studies have linked significant social media use to anxiety, depression, and reduced wellbeing, particularly among young people.

In response, countries like Australia, France, and Portugal are banning social media access for minors, while Poland, Spain, and Canada are considering doing the same. Supporters of these laws argue that social media bans for minors will protect them from online harms. Critics argue that social media bans for minors restrict their freedom of expression and access to information, while inappropriately transferring parents' responsibility to protect their children to the state. Enforcing age restrictions would also require some sort of digital identification, compelling users — including adults — to share personal information, thereby violating their privacy.

Question #1:

Do governments have the right to restrict access to social media for minors? Do social media bans violate the rights or freedoms of minors, such as their freedom of expression, access to information, or privacy? Do social media bans transfer excessive power to the state by undermining the right and responsibility of parents to protect and direct their children?

Option two: Safety and privacy in AI chatbots

People increasingly rely on AI chats to ask questions, explore ideas, and work through their most private thoughts. In some cases, however, individuals who have interacted with AI chats have gone on to commit atrocious crimes (e.g., the person who committed the Tumbler Ridge school shooting in British Columbia).

In response, some want to grant law enforcement access to users' chats, or to compel AI platforms to proactively disclose flagged conversations to law enforcement in the interest of preventing crime and protecting the public. Others argue that this will erode privacy, accelerate government surveillance, and undermine users' freedom of expression, autonomy, and capacity to explore ideas.

Question #2:

Is an AI chat different from a private journal or diary? To what extent, if any, should governments be permitted to access or regulate private interactions with AI chats in order to prevent harm? What impact would government interference with AI platforms have on Canadians' privacy, freedom of expression, and autonomy? How should society balance public safety with privacy and freedom in the age of AI?

What makes a good essay?

Writing an essay can be daunting when you don't know where to start. Luckily, the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms provides helpful guidelines for what makes a good essay:

Strong theory engagement: Strong essays do more than present facts or opinions; they interact with ideas and theories. This could include referencing key thinkers and academics, assessing their ideas and theories, and applying these to the issues at hand.

Practical policy proposals: After exploring the theoretical aspects of the problem, strong essays provide practical policy proposals.

About Brandon Langhjelm

Despite being born with a significant disability, a connective tissue disorder called Loeys-Dietz syndrome, Brandon Langhjelm went on to earn a law degree and join the Justice Centre team to fight for freedom. Brandon carried a deep passion for academic excellence, love of freedom, and compassion for the vulnerable.

After his passing due to cancer in 2021, the Brandon Langhjelm Essay Contest was established in his honour to celebrate academic excellence and fuel the ambitions of the next generation of scholars and leaders in Canada.

The power of writing

Watch this video of Nigel Hannaford, speechwriter to a former Prime Minister of Canada, talk about the power of good writing.

So join the contest and submit your essay. Your essay could change the way we think about freedom in Canada.

Don't forget: the submission deadline is September 27, 2026!

Get started on your essay today. Good luck!

About the Justice Centre

The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms is a registered, national charity committed to defending the constitutional freedoms of all Canadians through litigation and education. Founded in 2010, our vision is a free society where governments uphold human dignity by respecting fundamental rights and freedoms and where Canadians can realize their potential and fulfil their aspirations. Learn more about the Justice Centre here.