CEMC Contests

Key facts

Eligible grades

A ladder of contests by grade. Gauss for grades 7 and 8; Pascal for grade 9; Cayley for grade 10; Fermat for grade 11; Euclid for senior secondary, designed for grade 12; CIMC for grades 9 and 10; CSMC for grades 11 and 12 and CÉGEP students; Fryer, Galois and Hypatia as full-solution contests for grades 9, 10 and 11 respectively.

Motivated students in lower grades are welcome to write a higher contest, and students working ahead a grade or more may choose the more advanced one. But a participant may write only ONE of Pascal, Cayley and Fermat in a school year, and only one of the Gauss contests. Choose deliberately.

Source, checked 2026-09-02

Official divisions

A ladder with a contest per grade: Gauss for grades 7 and 8, Pascal grade 9, Cayley grade 10, Fermat grade 11, Euclid designed for grade 12, plus full-solution contests Fryer, Galois and Hypatia for grades 9, 10 and 11. You may write only one of Pascal, Cayley and Fermat in a year, so choose the one matching your course.

Based on the organiser's own divisions.

Eligible ages

Not confirmed. This organiser may set eligibility by grade rather than age. We do not convert one into the other.

CEMC sets eligibility by grade, not age.

Individual or team

Individual · Individual, with an optional school Team Competition on some contests where the team score is the sum of the three highest-scoring participants. Schools may opt out of the team competition. New in 2026, CEMC no longer provides team honour rolls or awards at zone, provincial or national levels.

Where it runs

In person · Canada, International

Entry cost

A modest per-student fee paid by the schoolCEMC charges the school for contest orders rather than publishing a per-student price, and schools pass on varying amounts. One Toronto school charged students $7 for Pascal, Cayley or Fermat. Ask your school. Separately, all CEMC practice resources, past contests and problem sets are free with no registration required.

Registration deadline

Set locally, not published as a single national date CEMC begins accepting contest orders for 2026-27 in September 2026. There is no single student deadline: your school sets its own, typically about four weeks before each contest. In a recent cycle one school's Pascal, Cayley and Fermat registration closed 30 January for a 25 February contest.

Competition dates

Tentative 2026-27 dates published by CEMC: Canadian Senior and Intermediate Mathematics Contests 19 November 2026; Canadian Computing Competition 18 February 2027; Pascal, Cayley and Fermat 25 February 2027; Euclid 7 April 2027; Fryer, Galois and Hypatia 8 April 2027; Canadian Team Mathematics Contest 14 April 2027 or later; Gauss 10 to 21 May 2027; Team Up Challenge 1 June 2027 or later.

Difficulty

Some preparation neededYou will want a few weeks of targeted practice. Most motivated students place respectably.

Prizes

Certificates, medals and Waterloo scholarship considerationRecognition through honour rolls and results booklets rather than cash prizes. CEMC reserves the right to disqualify students or withhold publication of results at its discretion.