Scholarships for Caribbean students in Canada

Dalhousie has two in its 2027-28 entrance program. The international Sankofa Scholarship goes to one student of Black or African descent from the Caribbean, with a preference for the former British West Indies. The Murray Family Jamaican Engineering Scholarship is for students from Jamaica entering the Bachelor of Engineering who show financial need. Both run through one General Entrance Award form in your Dalhousie portal. It opened October 1, 2026 and closes February 15, 2027.

McMaster's Nicholas and Janice Brathwaite Award, funded by the PETNA Foundation, covers tuition, housing, food, books and deposits. It's open to students from every CARICOM member and associate state, plus Martinique. The last published round was the 2026 award, which closed November 1, 2025 and asked for a financial need statement, CSEC or CAPE results and a two-page essay. As of October 26, 2026, McMaster hasn't posted a fall 2027 round. Check its page again in November.

Waterloo's scholarships for Black students include students of Caribbean descent, and they're open to international applicants. That's a heritage award, not a country award, so a Trinidadian of Indian descent wouldn't qualify. Read each award's exact wording.

Waterloo gives $10,000 to every international fee-paying student admitted to full-time first year, with no form. A few groups are excluded, including Social Work and Doctor of Pharmacy students and transfer students. uOttawa's International English Scholarship pays $7,500 a term to students admitted with at least 80% to approved English programs in six faculties. Carleton's renewable awards start at an 85% admission average. For September 2027 it adds a new President's Welcome Award of $2,000 to $5,000, for students who come straight from high school.

Queen's considers you automatically for its Dean's International Award. The yearly value depends on your faculty: $5,000 to $25,000 in Arts and Science, and $15,000 to $25,000 in Commerce. York sets its automatic awards by final average, starting at 75%, and uses "or equivalent determined by curriculum" for systems like CAPE.

Some awards need a form, and the dates come early. McGill's major entrance scholarships close January 21 for students at schools outside Canada, six days after its January 15 admission date. You need two reference letters. The University of Alberta's application-based awards close January 10. Dalhousie needs its award form for every entrance award, including the general ones.

Carleton says its entrance scholarship offers aren't assessed or reassessed on final high school grades. The value comes from the marks you sent with your application. Dalhousie bases its decisions on Grade 12 first-semester final grades and won't reassess with later grades. If your school doesn't use semesters, Dalhousie says it can submit your grades from the first half of the school year, which may be called predicted or mid-term grades. McGill's automatic award asks for every grade and interim grade up to its admission deadline, then later grades as soon as they're issued.

Waterloo works the other way. Once you meet the conditions in your offer, you keep the $10,000 even if your average drops.

The practical rule: send every CSEC result, your CAPE Unit 1 results and any predicted Unit 2 grades your school issues, as early as each university allows. A strong result that arrives after the award decision may not raise the award. Our CAPE and CSEC routes guide explains how schools count units and subjects, and the CSEC equivalence guide covers CSEC-only applicants.

Manitoba's general bursary doesn't accept international students in their first year of study in Canada. Waterloo offers bursaries of up to $2,000, but only after first year. McGill's entrance bursary is open to newly admitted international students from low- to modest-income families. The last cycle ran November 15, 2025 to June 30, 2026, and McGill suggests applying within 30 days of acceptance because the money runs out.

Two of the Caribbean awards above weigh need: the Murray Family scholarship at Dalhousie and McMaster's Brathwaite Award. Both ask for proof of family finances. Gather income records early, because a ministry or employer letter can take weeks.

York's President's International Scholarship of Excellence is worth $45,000 a year, renewable to $180,000. York says its Fall/Winter 2027-2028 application opens November 1, 2026, with a student application deadline of January 26, 2027 and nominations due February 4, 2027. York's general international award form closes a day later, on January 27, 2027.

Alberta gives up to $120,000 over four years to 25 international students with superior averages and leadership. Apply for admission first, then submit its scholarship form by January 10.

Additional Scholars are funded for UWI St. Augustine or another local school. They can study abroad, but the ministry only pays what a UWI student in a similar field gets. For a school abroad you'll need an ACTT statement of recognition, which costs TT$100. The ministry calls a scholarship a loan. You repay it with service to the government: one year for a scholarship costing up to TT$100,000, rising to five years above TT$600,000, in the ministry's own figures.

Jamaica's Students' Loan Bureau says it only funds courses in Jamaica or at UWI's St. Augustine, Cave Hill or Bahamas campuses. Don't plan on an SLB loan for a Canadian degree.

Barbados, Guyana, the Bahamas and the OECS countries run their own national awards. We couldn't confirm current rules on an official government page on October 26, 2026, so we don't describe them here. Ask your ministry of education whether its award can be used in Canada and whether it carries a service bond. If you're sponsored, Queen's asks you to send proof of the sponsorship and its length to the registrar. Expect other schools to want the same.

You must be enrolled full time and paying fees at a university or college in an eligible country, such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Guyana or the Bahamas. The undergraduate award is $8,600 for four months or one term. Students already in a Canadian degree are excluded. EduCanada's other featured programs cover short exchanges, research, professional training or graduate study. None is listed as paying for a bachelor's degree for Caribbean high school graduates.

Now add the awards. With a 92% average, Carleton's renewable scholarship pays $2,000 a year, and the President's Welcome Award adds $2,000 to $5,000 in first year. That's $4,000 to $7,000 against a bill of at least $59,910. Waterloo's $10,000 or uOttawa's $15,000 a year help more, but they still leave most of the bill.

Your study permit asks for proof of the gap. IRCC wants $23,448 a year for one student's living costs if you apply on or after September 1, 2026, in every province and territory except Quebec. For McGill, check IRCC's separate Quebec rules. Tuition and travel come on top. Memorial's 2026-27 international tuition of $22,500 shows how much the school changes the total; Fall 2027 rates aren't posted yet. Compare schools in our lowest international tuition guide before you count on any award.

For school details, see the Dalhousie financial aid guide, the Waterloo guide, the Carleton guide, and our U of T financial aid page. Then run the Scholarship Finder with your average and program.

Awards that are closed for this cycle are left out of the tables. They come back when the provider posts new dates. Dates refresh on their own, so a passed date drops off the page.

A listing isn't a promise that you qualify. Each provider sets its own rules and picks its own winners. Read the official page before you apply.