2026 Canada: My Country Competition

2026 Canada My Country Competition

Scope of Competition

Welcome to the 2026 Canada My Country Competition. This annual event celebrates the rich diversity of people and places across our nation.

This year, we want to showcase the varied landscapes that shape our national identity. From the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast to our Far North, your submitted photographs should bring our regional flavours and local pride to life.

Equally important are the stories of the people who call this land home. Photos of immigrant families starting new lives, school children growing together, workers driving local economies, and senior citizens passing down traditions, all reflect the fabric of our country.

For CAPA members, a maximum of three (3) images can be entered into the Individual category of this competition. 

For camera clubs, a maximum of six (6) images can be entered into the Club category of this competition.  All six (6) images must be from six (6) different club photographers

Competition Process

Competition Coordinator – Sheldon Boles – CAPA Director of Competitions: competitions@capacanada.ca

Questions about the scope of the competition and/or the editing criteria should be directed to the Coordinator well in advance of  the closing day of the competition.

Closing Date of Competition – April 30, 2026 at midnight Standard Time (Ontario).

Check out our – How To Upload Images To CAPA Competition here. 

Special Note : Following a period of 2 weeks after the competition’s closing date, you can access the final competition report by logging into the CAPA website and navigating to the ‘Competition Reports’ under the ‘Competitions’ dropdown menu

Competition Details (click arrow for more details)
Themes

Submitted image must fall within one of the following themes:

  • Atlantic Zone (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador & Prince Edward Island)

  • Pacific Zone (British Columbia & Yukon)

  • Prairie Zone (Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan & Northwest Territory)

  • Ontario Zone (includes Nunavut Territory)

  • Quebec Zone

Editing Criteria

  • Eligibility Criteria – Prior to submitting any photo in a CAPA competition, all entrants must first read the CAPA Eligibility Criteria relating to images submissions. – READ ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA HERE
  • Permitted Editing Techniques:

All In-Camera Techniques: Any adjustments made directly within the camera during image capture.

On-Camera Techniques: Utilizing on-camera features and settings for image enhancements.

Post-Processing Techniques: Editing the image using post-processing software.

Sky Replacement: Sky replacement is permitted, but the replacement sky must have been captured by the same photographer submitting the image into the competition.

Triptychs (an image of three (3) separated images contained in a single image) are  permitted in this competition.

  • Editing Techniques Not Permitted:

Images without Photographic Origin: Images that are entirely generated electronically with no photographic origin.

Frames, Borders, Pin-lines, and Mats: Photograph must not contain any decorative elements like frames, borders, pin-lines, or mats.  This includes the edges and markings of scanned film.  When the frame is integral to the captured image, for instance a window frame or door frame that has been captured by the camera, these elements are permitted.

Artificial Intelligence Renderings:

Images created or modified using Generative AI (GEN-AI) technology are not permitted in this competition. Any submitted Generative AI image (in whole or in part) will be disqualified.
Entrants are reminded that all parts of the image have to be photographed by the author who is holding the copyright of all works submitted.

These GEN-AI restrictions apply whether or not text prompts are used in the AI generation process.

For details on what Artificial Intelligence features are approved for our competition, please review our- February 1, 2025 – Updated CAPA Stance on AI-Generated Images in Photographic Competitions (English) (French)

  • Image Metadata Required:

All submitted photographs should maintain complete, unaltered original metadata (EXIF). Preserving this information facilitates verification of potential winning entries.

Submissions must include full metadata from post-processing applications to ensure competition integrity. Screenshots and screen captures are not accepted as they remove essential metadata needed for fair evaluation.

The Competition Director will request original un-retouched JPEG or RAW files for potential winning images to verify compliance. Only images with intact metadata will be accepted for verification and authentication purposes.

Photographers of potential winning entries may be required to submit all original files, including unretouched JPG/RAW files, XMP files, and any other image files incorporated into the final submission.

If a photographer fails to provide requested image files when asked by the Director, their potential winning entry will be withdrawn and competition results recalculated.

These requirements aim to ensure transparency and verify adherence to the competition’s specifications regarding image authenticity and compliance with the editing criteria.

  • Accepted Image Types:

– Colour images
– Black & White images
– Colour images converted to black & white
– Infrared images which can contain a range of colours beyond black & white

Image Specifications

Title of Image

When images are uploaded into a competition, you are required to enter the title of your image into the Title Field which is now limited to 32 characters. Title can be in either  English or French.

Do Not: enter your name, the name of the photographer or the club name in the Title Field (that is for the Title of the image)

Do Not: include punctuation or symbols (such as / –_  , ; : ‘’ “” ! ? & $%*{} [ ] @ # &) or quotation marks in the Title of your image.

The Image Title should be simple, and introduce or set the mood or perspective for your image.  For example:  Sublime Nova Scotia Sunset

A weak image title, such as ‘pretty flower,’ will fail to stimulate the judge’s interest in the image and may result in a lower score than expected.

Image File Name

The image file name that you create prior to uploading into this competition should also be simple, and could be the same as the Image Title. For example: John Snow-Sublime Nova Scotia Sunset

Image Size – Dimensions

You must ensure your image is re-sized to meet the following two parameters:

    1. Saved as a jpg image with a maximum file size of 1.8 MB.
    2. Dimensions: Maximum horizontal size: 1400 pixels and maximum vertical size: 1050 pixels.

Example of Image Sizing – Double-click to view image

Note: Images smaller than the maximum dimensions will ONLY be accepted when one of the image edges has a horizontal size is 1400 pixels or the vertical size is 1050 pixels.  For example: square image – 1050 x 1050 pixels; 1400 x 800 pixels; or 700 x 1050 pixels.

Note: Images will NOT be rotated by the judges and will scored as submitted.

During the uploading process of your image, our online competition system will verify if the image is less than 1.8 MB and meets the two parameters.

If your image fails this verification process, you will receive an error message and it will appear below the upload image box.

Depending on the error message – you will need to either reduce the file size of the image to be 1.8 MB or less or re-size the dimensions of your image.  After doing so, please re-try uploading your image.

Suggestions – Use sRGB colour space for your image.  For colour accuracy: we strongly recommend that you calibrate your monitor to ensure colour accuracy from your monitor to the image projected to the judges.

Judging Criteria

  • Judges will assign scores primarily based on the Creative Intent of the image maker. Creative Intent refers to the characteristics of originality, expressiveness and imagination in communicating a story or eliciting an emotional response that gives the image a strong and lasting impact.
  • Judges will also take into consideration in their scoring the degree to which the Organizational and Technical Components contribute to or support the Creative Intent.

    *Organizational Component refers to composition/design, use of space, balancing of elements, use of lighting, and presentation of the image.

    *Technical Component refers to the exposure triangle (aperture, ISO, shutter speed), sharpness, in-camera and post-processing techniques such as intentional camera movement, use of colour, monochrome, duo and multi-tone, HDR, focus stacking, or any other technique permitted by the competition rules. 

  • An Image’s title may be used by the judges in evaluating a submission, so entrants should take care in selecting a title that complements or contributes to the vision or message being presented in the image.