Women veterans across Canada are gathering in Ottawa on Oct. 30 to build connections, exchange ideas and move the ACVA report into action. Apply now to be at the table.
Call for participants
Apply now for the Women Veterans Engage Ottawa Workshop on Oct. 30, 2025.
Your voice matters — and this is your chance to use it.
Are you a Canadian woman veteran who cares about the experiences of women during and after service? Do you want to help shape how Canada listens to, values and acts on the needs unique to women veterans? If so, apply for the Women Veterans Engage: Ottawa Workshop — a one-day, in-person event in Ottawa designed to bring together women veterans from across the country to connect, collaborate and create change. Travel subsidies are available for eligible applicants.
Why you’ll want to participate
For decades, women veterans have shared their experiences and offered solutions, only to see the resulting reports and research recommendations left sitting on a shelf. In June 2024, the all-party-supported ACVA report, Invisible No More. The Experiences of Canadian Women Veterans was released with 42 concrete recommendations to improve the quality of life of Canadian women veterans.
For a concise, reader-friendly summary of the key findings and recommendations, refer to the overview document from the Centre for Social Innovation and Community Engagement in Military Affairs (SICEMA) team at MSVU.
This workshop is about ensuring women veterans are engaged in the implementation of these recommendations — and that they are put into action in ways that are meaningful to the women they affect. If you weren’t part of the ACVA study and want your perspective to count, this is an opportunity to be heard – apply to join the workshop today.
Why now?
Momentum is on our side. The ACVA report provides women veterans with a rare opportunity to push for meaningful change. Your voice at this workshop will help shape possible future regional events and research priorities.
Who we’re looking for
We’ll be inviting 20–30 regionally diverse Canadian women veterans from the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP, with a focus on those living outside Ottawa, who:
- Were not part of the ACVA study, Experience of Women Veterans.
- Are passionate about women veteran issues and advocacy.
- Are ready to participate in meaningful discussion and collaborative action with others.
Together, we will identify and discuss barriers that keep women veterans from participating in parliamentary studies and policy work. We will explore the ACVA recommendations and what they mean in our real lives, while also building connections with other women veterans, researchers, advocates and parliamentarians.
This event will be conducted in English only. French-language opportunities are being explored for the future.
Submit your application to participate.
Organizers
This event is part of the project, Invisible No More: Canadian Women Veterans Moving The ACVA Report to Implementation, and is co-hosted by the National Association of Federal Retirees (Federal Retirees), SICEMA at Mount Saint Vincent University (Dr. Maya Eichler) and the Women Veterans Research and Engagement Network (WREN).
Thanks to Veterans Affairs Canada, SSHRC and DRDC funding, travel subsidies are available for eligible applicants.
Apply here before midnight EDT on Sept. 5, 2025.
Questions? Contact advocacyteam@federalretirees.ca or check out www.msvu.ca/invisiblenomore.