The Department of National Defence (DND) has published another IDEaS challenge, this one with a twist. It’s a fictional intelligence contest called Polar paradigms 2045: Defending Canada’s sovereignty.
Your goal should use choose to accept this challenge is to write a “visionary” essay “in hard science fiction that explore how emerging technologies can empower military forces to defend Canada’s sovereignty and national interests in the Arctic.”
The scenario as outlined on the contest web page which you must use for the basis of your essay states, “Intelligence has indicated that an adversary nation has recently felt emboldened to stake a physical claim within the Canadian Arctic and enforce it militarily. Canada has responded through multiple avenues to dissuade any territorial incursion. However, these efforts have all failed and Canada stands alone in attempting to protect its sovereign territory. It has established a floating base between Ellesmere and Devon Islands in the eastern portion of the Canadian Arctic. Reports have indicated that the adversarial nation is currently outside of Canada’s territorial claim, and they are posed to move forward and claim Arctic lands in the name of their government.”
There are a total of $49,000 in prize money with $10,000 going to 1st place along with $30,000 distributed between 2nd to 10th place. There are also $3,000 prizes for each of these categories; Student Writer Prize, Indigenous Writer, and Women and Gender-Diverse Writer. Federal employees can enter but not win prize money. If selected, employees may have their essay published on the IDEaS website.
The deadline to apply is January 16, 2026, 12:00 pm ET.
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