2026 Instructor Updates

Happy New Year!

We hope that you all had a successful 2025 and are looking ahead to a wonderful 2026.

Below are some important dates and initiatives coming up this year.

Important Upcoming Dates

Annual Instructor Trainer Call

February 1, 2026, 6 pm EST

This is mandatory for ALL IT’s. Instructors are also welcome to join the call

Canoe IT Call

February 8, 2026, 6 pm EST

This call is specific to changes with the Canoe Program, all Its and Instructors encouraged to join.

Paddle Canada Annual General Meeting

April 12, 2026

All eligible members are encouraged to join.

Please note that to attend the annual meeting and receive the invites to the IT calls, you MUST renew your membership!

Meeting links will be sent out a few days prior to each meeting.

New Initiatives

We have many new initiatives lined up for 2026. Here’s a preview:

Strategic Planning

2018 was the last time that Paddle Canada developed a strategic plan. Shortly after, our Executive Director of 10 years stepped down, and a new one was hired 6 months later. Then COVID occurred. These two major events combined have contributed to the long time gap since we developed a strategic plan. So, we are starting 2026 off by developing a new strategic plan!

We have engaged with Sheffe Consulting based in Ottawa. They have a proven track record working with other national sports organizations, and we are very excited that they are taking Paddle Canada on!

This will be a four-step process:

1. A survey will go out to all members and stakeholders in January. Keep an eye on your inbox for it!
2. There will be a small (up to 20 members) focus group that will meet twice virtually with our facilitators. Once before step three, and once after. These focus groups will draw from existing committee members and volunteers, as well as instructor and instructor trainer members. There will be an opportunity for you to express interest in this group in the above-mentioned survey.
3. The Paddle Canada Board of Directors will have an in-person day-long session with the facilitators to review all the data collected from the survey and the focus group and develop a plan under their guidance.
4. After the focus group reviews and offers feedback on the plan, it is presented to the board for final approval…and then the work begins on implementation!

Instructor Trainer Subsidy

Purpose: Support the development, mentorship, and succession of qualified Instructor Trainers and Instructors across all disciplines to ensure program continuity, consistency, and quality nationwide.

This subsidy supports host organizations and Instructor Trainer candidates by offsetting additional costs associated with bringing in an IT from another region, or sending an IT candidate somewhere, such as travel and accommodations. By easing this financial barrier, we aim to strengthen Instructor Trainer mentorship opportunities in areas where IT availability is limited, ensuring equitable access to high-quality leadership development across the country.

Our first priority with this subsidy is to support IT mentorship and development in regions or disciplines with limited IT availability. Our second priority is to increase the number of qualified instructors across Canada to meet growing community needs.

We are currently developing a policy, application, and matrix. This will be released in the coming weeks alongside the event grant and youth grant.

Applications will be open in early March.

A Note on Manuals

In March 2025, we moved all our program manuals, policies and teaching resources over to a new website. This HTML-first approach allows us to easily keep a considerable amount of content up-to-date and to present it with a fully accessible, consistent user experience across all disciplines.

Please be advised that the new manuals website, which can be found at manuals.paddlecanda.com is the current source for all program manuals and all associated policies and resources. Any manuals published BEFORE March 2025 are no longer current and should not be used. So, please recycle (or frame!) that 10-year-old printed PDF that you have in a binder…. 🙂

Over the winter, we will be polishing up some programs and adding new teaching resources so everything is ready to go for March 2026 but we wanted to draw your attention to the new site and highlight some of the improvements we’ve made to the system this Fall.

Clinic Fees Changing

Paddle Canada clinics offer certified Instructors the opportunity to develop and run skills clinics within the scope of their instructor certification level. The objective is to foster the development of creative programs that will fill perceived gaps, support existing programs, or meet demand for specific skill instruction.

Effective April 1, 2026 the clinic fee of $5 and a 10-clinic cap will change to $10/clinic, no cap.

This increase also comes with a new offering: A guided day trip will now be covered under clinics.

Clinic Guidelines

• Everything already listed on the clinic page.
• NO overnights.
• A guided day trip must follow the course ratios of the level you are sanctioning at.
• A guided day trip must be conducted in the environment as per the level you are offering.

SafeSport Training Policy Rollout

At Paddle Canada, we are continuously seeking ways to support our members, current and future, as well as anyone who is taking part in a Paddle Canada course or clinic. Part of this includes ensuring that we are creating safe and welcoming spaces. Educating our instructor members, volunteers, directors, and staff is key to the success of this goal.

In 2024, we updated our members’ Code of Conduct, and as part of that, we have incorporated the Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport (UCCMS) into the Code of Conduct.

Beginning in 2027, we will be making it mandatory that ALL Paddle Canada Instructor and Instructor Trainer Members participate in Safe Sport training.

“Anyone involved in sport should be able to thrive and perform at their best without fear of abuse, neglect or other maltreatment. Creating safe sport environments that provide those conditions is a collective effort — one that requires proper training so people can recognize maltreatment and prevent or address it”

– Safe Sport Website

This is a free, accredited course that should take an individual 2-3 hours to complete. The roll-out of the requirement will be as follows:

• All Paddle Canada Instructor Trainers (IT’s), staff, committee volunteers and board of directors MUST complete the training by the end of 2026.
• We encourage IT’s to begin introducing it to any instructor candidates they may work with in 2026; make it part of your pre-course, pre-mentorship homework
• Starting in 2027, the training will be mandatory for all instructors.
• This will be tracked as part of the Certification Maintenance Policy.
• There will be a spot in your membership profile to indicate that you have completed the training (not unlike how you confirm that you meet the first aid requirements).

Why Do We Need This?

All of our grievances and complaints about an instructor have included an element of harassment and bullying. This is a step to help reduce incidents.