Top 10 Fully Funded Scholarships in Canada 2026 for International Students

Canada's scholarship system is built around government programmes and university awards that fully fund graduate study and research. For 2026, these are the ten fully funded scholarships international students should target.

1. Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships (Vanier CGS). Canada's best-known doctoral award is worth $50,000 per year for up to three years, open to doctoral students at Canadian universities.

2. Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship Program at the University of Toronto. One of the most valuable undergraduate awards in Canada, covering tuition, books, incidental fees and full residence support.

3. Canada Graduate Research Scholarships - Doctoral (CGRS-D). Federal funding for doctoral research at Canadian universities, worth $40,000 per year for up to three years.

4. Canada Graduate Research Scholarships - Master's (CGRS-M). The master's tier of the federal programme, worth $17,500 for one year.

5. UBC Affiliated Fellowships Doctoral Program. A portfolio of fully funded doctoral fellowships at the University of British Columbia.

6. UBC International Tuition Award. Covers the difference between domestic and international tuition for international graduate students at UBC.

7. BC Scholarship Society: One World International Scholarship. Fully funds international students at participating British Columbia institutions.

8. BC Scholarship Society: Premier's International Scholarship. A companion BC award funding international students with strong academic records.

9. Foundation Program International Distinction Scholarship at the University of Alberta. Supports international students with strong grades in the Foundation Program.

10. Canada Graduate Scholarship Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement. Adds funding on top of a CGS for a research stay abroad.

Vanier applications run through the university and require a nomination, so contact the graduate school early. Most Canadian doctoral programmes also fund students through supervisor research grants. Reaching out to faculty with a strong research proposal is often the most effective strategy.

Most of these awards are not applied for directly. Vanier and the federal graduate scholarships are awarded through the university, which ranks its own candidates and forwards a limited number to the national competition. That makes the internal deadline the real one, and it makes a supervisor's support the difference between a strong file and a file that is never forwarded.

The practical sequence is: choose a department, write to a potential supervisor with a research proposal, apply to the programme, then apply for the internal award nomination when the department invites it. Applicants who start with the scholarship form usually discover too late that nobody at the university is expecting their file.

At master's level, funding is thinner and more departmental. Course-based master's degrees are usually unfunded, while thesis-based degrees can carry a stipend or an assistantship. If funding is the deciding factor, apply to thesis programmes and ask the graduate coordinator what funding is attached before you accept.

Budget the non-tuition costs separately. The study permit requires proof of funds for tuition plus living costs, and the permit process takes weeks after admission. An award letter helps, but the financial documents still have to add up on their own.