The Canadian Individual Poetry Slam (CIPS) will take place on April 29, 30th, and May 2nd 2026 during Verses 2026 (online and in person) with events held at Chill X Studio (2270 Manitoba St).
CIPS is a nationally recognized poetry slam that brings together 24 poets from across the country to celebrate and battle through spoken word as part of the Verses Festival of Words. The competition will take place in a hybrid format, with live in person shows in Vancouver, BC, as well as opportunities for poets to compete virtually.
Poets representing spoken word series and regions across what is colonially known as “Canada” will compete in two nights of preliminary competitions, performing 2-, 3-, 4- and 1-minute poems. The top 10 qualifying poets will compete for the title of National Champion at the CIPS Finals featuring Spin El Poeta!
CIPS PRELIMS Bout 1 & 2: 2- & 3-minute Poems
Wednesday April 29
CIPS PRELIMS Bout 3 & 4: 4- & 1-minute Poems
Thursday April 30
CIPS FINALS feat. Spin El Poeta
Saturday, May 2nd
Past CIPS Winners
2011 – Ikenna ‘OpenSecret’ Onyegbula
2012 – R.C. Weslowski
2013 – Ikenna ‘OpenSecret’ Onyegbula
2014 – IF the Poet
2015 – Prufrock Shadowrunner
2016 – Andre Prefontaine
2017 – Ifrah Hussein
2018 – Lady Vanessa Cardona
2019 – Nisha Patel
2020 – Qurat Dar
2021 – Zayn Ojoawo
2022 – Eddie Lartey
2023 – MayaSpoken
2024 – Karessa McQueen
2025 – …