PO Box 523, Station B, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5P6

Sponsorships and Awards

The Historical Society of Ottawa offers a range of awards on an annual basis that are available to local students ranging from elementary school to university. HSO is the official patron of the Ottawa Regional Heritage Fair which provides two awards, The Richard Scott Award and The Sacred Chaudière Falls Award, to up to four local students, ranging from Grades 4 to 10. In addition, HSO provides The Colonel By Award to one undergraduate student at each of our two local universities which have a History department: the University of Ottawa and Carleton University, as well as our Applied Museum Studies Award for one student at Algonquin College. The awardees of the ORHF awards are selected by a selection committee made up of judges from a wide variety of local organizations and our post-secondary awards are selected by their respective faculties.

Children categories

Ottawa Regional Heritage Fair

The Historical Society of Ottawa is an official sponsor of the Ottawa Regional Heritage Fair (ORHF), which is usually held in April.

Indigenous Sacred Chaudière Falls Award

The Indigenous Sacred Chaudière Falls Award is given for a project that reflects and celebrates Indigenous history, culture and traditions in the Ottawa region, or that looks at the impact of settler colonial policies on Indigenous peoples in the Ottawa region. Award consists of $300 and a certificate.

Le Prix Sir Richard William Scott Award

Le Prix Sir Richard William Scott Award is presented annually at the Ottawa Regional Heritage Fair. The award is given to research project on an Ottawa-themed historical project. A certificate is awarded, along with a cash prize of $300.

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The Colonel John By Award

The Colonel John By Award in History is a prize of $750, awarded annually to both a Carleton University student and a University of Ottawa student in a graduate or undergraduate history course who write the best paper in their respective university in either English or French on a topic concerning the history of Ottawa or the Ottawa Valley. The students will be awarded an additional $300 on submitting acceptable manuscripts for publication in the Bytown Pamphlet Series.

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The Algonquin College Applied Museum Studies Award

The Algonquin College Award is a prize of $750, awarded annually to a student in the Applied Museums Studies program at Algonquin College.

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The François Bregha Storyteller Award

The Historical Society of Ottawa François Bregha Storyteller Award was created to recognize individuals who have made an outstanding contribution toward increasing awareness of Ottawa history — HSO’s mission these past 125 years.

The award is named to honour the late François Bregha, former HSO member and creator/author of the History of Sandy Hill website and, posthumously in 2022, the inaugural recipient of the François Bregha Award.

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