Selection process

To be eligible for selection, candidates must complete steps 1 to 4 of the “5 steps to get you on your way” and submit their applicant file which includes:

• Volunteer questionnaire
• Identification document
• Proof of citizenship and/or permanent residence

Volunteers will be selected 4 to 5 months before the program start date. Candidates can be selected later to replace volunteers who had withdrawn.

Once a candidate has been selected, acceptance is conditional to the approval of the selected candidate’s medical evaluation by Katimavik’s medical team and criminal record and vulnerable sector check.

In order to volunteer for Katimavik, candidates must pay a $300 participation fee and a $350 travel deposit that will be returned upon completion of the program.

Selection criteria

Katimavik is required to respect specific criteria when comes to selecting candidates for all programs. Each Katimavik house needs to replicate Canada’s geographic landscape.

Candidate selection is done randomly and according to socio-demographic criteria:

• Geographic provenance of volunteers
• 50/50 Male/female ratio
• Quotas on visible minorities 
• Quotas on aboriginal volunteers

Once all demographic conditions are met, various rounds of selection take place. If the number of eligible candidates does not meet the above-mentioned conditions, more than one round can take place per departure date. Each round is performed at a fixed date.

Candidates can be selected, put on a waiting list or not selected. Each candidate is informed of their status within 48-72 hours following a round of selection.

Waiting list

Candidates placed on the waiting list are informed of their status and offered the possibility to become eligible for the next selection rounds or for other Katimavik programs without it affecting their status on the waiting list. In the event of their selection for another program, the candidate is taken out of the waiting list of the program for which they first became eligible. 

Being on the waiting list implies that they can be asked to join a group if someone with a similar demographic profile has decided to drop out before the beginning of the program or leave during the first six weeks of the program.