Rewarding the best Canadian political writing
Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing
Highlights
Prize
Winner: $25,000
Finalists: $2,500
2025 Important Dates
Winner Announcement
- Sept 24, 2025
Questions? Please contact:
Devon Jackson, Senior Program Manager
djackson@writerstrust.com
Gala Event
Learn more about Politics and the Pen
About the Prize
Established in honour of the outspoken and popular MP from Windsor, Ontario, the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is awarded annually for an exceptional book of literary nonfiction that captures a political subject of relevance to Canadian readers. Sponsored by CN, the prize is awarded annually at the Politics and the Pen gala in Ottawa.
2025 Finalists
Health for All: A Doctor’s Prescription for a Healthier Canada
Jane Philpott
Signal
The Prince: The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau
Stephen Maher
Simon & Schuster Canada
The Adaptable Country: How Canada Can Survive the Twenty-First Century
Alasdair Roberts
McGill-Queen’s University Press
Canada’s Prime Ministers and the Shaping of a National Identity
Raymond B. Blake
UBC Press
My affiliation with Writers’ Trust has connected me to a national network of writers and thinkers, and to politicians and policy makers. The generous prize will be used to support the research and writing of my next book.
— Rachel Giese
2018 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing winner
Sponsor
CN is a world-class transportation leader and trade-enabler. Essential to the economy, to the customers, and to the communities it serves, CN safely transports more than 300 million tons of natural resources, manufactured products, and finished goods throughout North America every year. As the only railroad connecting Canada’s Eastern and Western coasts with the US South through a 18,800-mile rail network, CN and its affiliates have been contributing to community prosperity and sustainable trade since 1919. CN is committed to programs supporting social responsibility and environmental stewardship.