HavardMUN Canada
Frequently Asked Questions
International Delegations
Q: Will there be any additional support for international delegates and delegations?
A: HarvardMUN Canada has a dedicated staff member to assist international delegations with visa-related support. We also have translation services available in French, Chinese, and Korean, and other languages upon request. Please contact international@hmuncanada.org for support. Please visit hmuncanada.org/international-delegations for additional information pertaining to visas.
Info Booklet
Conference Details
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Model United Nations is a student simulation of the United Nations. Students are assigned countries (or characters) and are tasked with solving some of the world’s most pressing issues.
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HarvardMUN Canada is Harvard Model UN’s first iteration of its conference held in Canada. Most major international conferences, like Harvard MUN USA, once hitting capacity in their home conferences, expand abroad to give more students the chance to participate in their competition. These international divisions are typically known as “periphery conferences”. HarvardMUN Canada will be the first ivy league periphery conference held in Canada.
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The conference will take place from May 28 to 31, 2026, in downtown Toronto at the Westin Harbour Castle. The Westin Harbour Castle is a four-star hotel venue with a wide assortment of amenities, a Michelin-star restaurant, and breathtaking conference rooms where delegates will participate in Model UN debates. Further information regarding hotel pricing can be found here: https://www.hmuncanada.org/venue
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HarvardMUN Canada is primarily intended for high school students and CEGEP students. However, HarvardMUN Canada will allow students younger than high school to register on a case-by-case basis. Students not in high school or CEGEP will not be permitted to attend HarvardMUN Canada.
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The required dress code is Western business attire, and all delegates are expected to adhere to this standard throughout the conference. For crisis committees, delegates are encouraged to dress in a way that aligns with the setting and storyline of their simulation, while still maintaining professionalism. Additional details and examples of appropriate attire can be found in the Delegate Handbook released closer to the conference.
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No, delegates are not required to stay with a parent. However, as per hotel policy and local regulations, the same adult whose credit card was used to book the room must be present at check-in. Delegates under 18 must be accompanied by a faculty advisor or registered guardian as part of their delegation.
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Yes. All participants — including delegates, advisors, and staff — must complete liability waivers and media release forms before participating in HarvardMUN Canada. These forms will be distributed to registered delegations prior to the conference and must be submitted by the specified deadline.
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Any delegate registered in the conference is welcome to attend the delegate social. Attendance is not mandatory but strongly recommended. The delegate social will tentatively feature a dance lesson, DJ, and a large selection of games and activities.
Registration
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All delegates can register and pay here: https://www.hmuncanada.org/register
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Yes, all students are free to register on their own. Please note that these types of students are referred to as “independent delegates”.
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Delegates are not required to stay at the hotel. It is still however highly recommended to consider staying at the hotel because it often enhances the Model UN experience and provides greater immersion for activities like the midnight crisis.
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HarvardMUN Canada does not provide refunds.
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Yes! HarvardMUN Canada has the most broad financial aid policy of all major conferences in Canada, and all students below the Canadian Low-Income Cut-Off line are eligible for free admission.
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Financial aid does not cover food, travel, or hotel, and only covers the delegate registration fee.
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An advisor or guardian is not required for delegates to attend the conference, however they are required to sign liability waivers and media release forms in advance in order for a student to participate.
Awards
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All awards at HarvardMUN Canada are proportional to the number of registered attendees. The smallest committee will have at least 1 Best Delegate, 1 Outstanding Delegate, and 1 Honorable Mention. Additional outstanding delegate and honorable mention awards will be handed out to larger committees but please note there will only be 1 Best Delegate per committee.
For the Tournament of Champions, there are four categories of awards: Honorable Mention, Outstanding Delegate, Best International Delegate, and Champion.
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Yes, all delegates, regardless of committee, must write a position papers to be eligible for awards. Delegates should submit position papers by May 26, 11:59 PM ET using this form. Additional requirements, guidelines, and details are available on our position papers page.
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HarvardMUN Canada will feature delegation awards, which will be split into two categories: national and international delegations. Delegations from Canada will only be eligible for the national delegation awards, while international teams will be competing for the international delegation award. For HarvardMUN Canada, there will be no specific category for “small” and “large” delegations. Instead, There will be an honourable, outstanding and best delegation award in both categories.
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No, attendance at the Thursday training seminars and workshops is not mandatory for delegates to be eligible for awards. However, they are highly recommended, particularly for beginner, international, and TOC delegates, for increased familiarity with the Canadian circuit and our conference’s rules of procedure.
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No midnight crisis will not be considered when deciding awards; however, delegates are still recommended to attend in order to get the full conference experience.
Other
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All registrants will receive access to MUN training seminars hosted by Harvard IRC, HarvardMUN Canada ASGs, and the LinkedKey Company.
Background guides, rules of procedure documents, and academic integrity documents will be released in March.
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The workshops are free for anyone who is registered for HarvardMUN Canada.
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Please contact info@hmuncanada.org for all general inquiries.
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LinkedKey is an after school enrichment and tutoring center in the Greater Toronto Area. LinkedKey’s charity arm, the LinkedKey Foundation, is the local partner of HarvardMUN Canada, and is assisting in the development of the conference.
Committees
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General Assembly (GA):
At the center of the UN system is the 193-member General Assembly, composed of seven main committees and various subsidiary and related bodies. The GA serves primarily as a forum for discussing general issues such as international peace and security and international collaboration in economic, social, cultural, educational, and health fields. The GA is also able to establish committees and other bodies to study and report on specific issues.
Economic and Social Councils (ECOSOC):
The Economic and Social Council is composed of 54 member states and consists of a large number of commissions, agencies, and other bodies. It serves as the central forum and advisory for the UN and discusses international economic and social issues.
Crisis committees:
Crisis committees are real-time simulations of historical, fictional or conceptual events. These committees are generally fast paced as delegates must quickly solve unfolding problems through the progression of the crisis. Delegates typically take on the roles of characters and must demonstrate fast thinking, negotiation and problem solving skills in an unpredictable environment.
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HarvardMUN Canada is a minimal tech conference meaning there is no usage of technology unless strictly for writing and presenting working papers. Technology may only be used during unmoderated caucuses.
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Yes, delegates will be allowed to discuss committee matters and conduct research outside of committee sessions. However, we strictly forbid the prewriting of resolutions outside of the committee and emphasize that major committee decisions should stay inside the committee, rather than be discussed outside. All written documents will be handed to the chair before leaving the committee.
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Delegate assignments are tentatively scheduled to be released in early April. If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact us at info@hmuncanada.org.
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HarvardMUN Canada is highly committed to protecting and preserving the integrity of Model UN competition. We have a series of measures in place to ensure consistent assessment of students, transparent awards criteria, and mechanisms to tackle cheating/collusion.
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For questions related to committee assignments or country allocations, please contact: info@hmuncanada.org
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Midnight crisis is an extra committee session near midnight, simulating an urgent crisis that has occurred inside the committee. Delegates will not be told the topic in advance and will be woken up to participate in a fun and mysterious crisis. Any events occurring in the midnight crisis will not impact normal day sessions, and delegates who do not attend midnight crisis will not be penalized in any way.
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Delegates must stay at the hotel in order to participate in midnight crisis. All delegates staying at the hotel may choose to opt in to participate.
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Midnight crisis will be taking place on Friday night.
Faculty Advisors
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As long as registration is open, delegations are allowed to increase the number of students that will attend. However, delegations will not be able to reduce the size of their teams once payment is received.
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Throughout the conference, faculty advisors will have access to the Anishinaabe Luxury Suite as a dedicated faculty advisor lounge. The lounge will serve snacks and coffee throughout the weekend, and there will be a cocktail reception during the delegate gala.
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Chairs will be provided in every room for faculty advisors and parents to observe the committees. Please be advised that faculty advisors are only permitted to take videos and photos of their students and not other students.
Tournament of Champions
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If a delegate qualified or won an award at a TOC qualifying committee, they will be granted a particular spot in the HMUN Canada TOC and will have up to 30 days to register & pay to confirm their spot. If any issues or concerns arise about payment, please email info@hmuncanada.org before the thirty-days have elapsed.
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Students who have already won at a qualifier will not be permitted to compete again in a TOC qualifier for the 2025–2026 school year. Delegates who intentionally break this rule may be at risk of disqualification from the TOC if they continue to compete in these committees. Delegates are instead encouraged to participate in non-TOC qualifying committees leading up to the HMUN Canada. Please note that staff who have already won at a TOC qualifier are allowed to staff a separate TOC qualifier.
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HarvardMUN Canada is committed to ensuring the conference represents Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Calculations on how many guaranteed seats each province receives was done through the most recent census conducted by Statistics Canada: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/index-eng.cfm
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Instances where there are extra spots will be allocated as an open slot for all of the provinces/territories that are not guaranteed a spot based on population percentage.
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A Canadian Delegate at HarvardMUN Canada is defined as an applicable student (as defined previously) studying primarily at any educational institution located within Canada.
Being a “Canadian” Delegate is solely based upon location, not citizenship or any other qualification. This is to give all delegates across Canada an proportional and fair chance to compete in Canada’s most advanced committees.
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A delegate who wins at a separate province qualifies for the Tournament of Champions. If a delegate wins at a conference in a separate province/territory, that delegate receives a spot from the province/territory that they won at.
For example, if a delegate from New Brunswick competes in a qualifier in Ontario, that delegate would get an Ontario spot for the Tournament of Champions. HavardMUN Canada encourages delegates to compete across Canada, in the spirit of inter-provincial collaboration and unity.
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HarvardMUN Canada is absolutely willing and enthusiastic to help indigenous communities run a local qualifier as a part of our Local Partners Program!
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In the case that no more spots remain for the Tournament of Champions for international delegations, delegates will instead be given spots for the regular committees at HarvardMUN Canada. International delegations without Tournament of Champions spots will be prioritized on the waitlist if spots open up.
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Once payment/financial aid form is received by the HavardMUN Canada Staff, that delegate is considered a registered delegate. Simply completing the HarvardMUN Canada Tournament of Champions Form does not qualify a delegate in the TOC.
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If you win at a committee classified as none of the above, you will qualify for the ECOSOC committee at HarvardMUN Canada, unless you are in a Ad-Hoc committee; in that case, you qualify for the Crisis committee at HarvardMUN Canada.
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No committee labeled as “beginner” or "beginner-freindly” should be a qualifier for HarvardMUN Canada. Delegates who win at these committees will not qualify for the Tournament of Champions.
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We will not be taking the language of qualifiers into account. A delegate who wins a qualifier in French or any other language, will be considered to the same degree as a delegate who wins a qualifier in English.
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Delegates who won as a part of a school/composite delegation, if that school/composite delegation is not attending HavardMUN Canada, are allowed to register as an independent delegate for the Tournament of Champions. Please note that delegates are explicitly forbidden from attending as an independent delegate in the case that their school is attending.
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If you are a student younger than high school and win at a qualifier conference, you will still qualify for a Tournament of Champions Committee. There is no age minimum for the TOC Committees at HarvardMUN Canada.
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Yes, the Tournament of Champions crisis committee will have a midnight crisis.
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Midnight Crisis is not mandatory for any delegate in the Tournament of Champions crisis committee; attending midnight crisis is still strongly recommended for all delegates in the committee. Please note that the Midnight Crisis will only be available for the delegates who stay at the Westin Harbour Castle.
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No, TOC delegates are not required to stay at the Westin Harbour Castle and are free to commute to the hotel instead, however we highly recommend that delegates do stay at the Westin Harbour Castle as it allows delegates to participate in the midnight crisis and have an overall better experience at HarvardMUN Canada.
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Delegates who win at a TOC qualifier do not need to attend the Tournament of Champions, and can register for a non-Tournament of Champions committee. However, if a delegate intends to attend a non-Tournament of Champion committee, HarvardMUN Canada strongly advises delegates to refrain from entering qualifier committees.
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Top three awards refers to the three delegates who placed the highest or got the highest awards in a committee. It does not refer to the top three award categories (Best Delegate, Outstanding Delegate, Honourable Mention, etc.). If a conference gives multiple outstanding awards or honourable mentions, they are required to notify HarvardMUN Canada of the three delegates who performed the best and thereby receive the qualifying positions for a Tournament of Champions committee. It is up to the discretion of the local qualifier to determine which awards are considered the top three.