History | Canadian Physics Olympiad National Program

The International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) has risen from very humble beginnings in 1967, when only three nations from Eastern Europe participated. The Olympiad has been held every year since and they now attract close to 80 countries from all continents. The goal of these competitions was, and continues to be, the encouragement of excellence in science education throughout the world; these competitions are the most prestigious of their kind for students at the high school or CÉGEP level.

All participating countries, Canada included, devote an enormous amount of time, energy, and money encouraging and preparing their most talented students so that they will do well in these competitions. The caliber of the competition is high and encompasses both theoretical knowledge and laboratory expertise.

Each year, the IPhO competition is held in different countries. In 1997, Canada was honoured to serve as host for the 28th IPhO (in Sudbury, Ontario).

Our national teams performed well at these competitions. Canada first participated in the International Physics Olympiad in 1985. As of 2024, our previous participants have won 10 Gold, 25 Silver, and 64 Bronze Medals, in addition to 42 Honourable Mentions.

2024 Competition

This year we had a different experience, participating in the European Physics Olympiad (EuPhO), which has a different style and format from the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) where we usually compete. This year’s IPhO was held in Isfahan, Iran. We brought our Team Canada to the 8th EuPhO, which took place in Kutaisi, Georgia from July 15 to July 19th, 2024.

Last Name	First Name	School	Province
Chen	Yixuan (Daniel)	Oakvill Trafalgar High School	ON
Choi	Daniel	Eric Hamber Secondary	BC
Concini	Luke	Strathcona Composite School	AB
Gong	He (Harry)	St. George’s School	BC
Hurba	Matei Valentin	college Jean-de-Brebeuf	QB
Li	Zander	Laurel Heights Secondary	ON
Liu	Frank Zehao	University Hill Secondary	BC
Long	Zhou	Access Academy	AB
Luo	Yuzhong	Port Moody Secondary	BC
Mavrakanas	Athanasios	Marianopolis college	QB
Pu	Tian (James)	Bayview Secondary School	ON
Tang	Hao Ran (Ben)	St. George’s School	BC
Yang	Robert	Walter Murray Collegiate	SK
Yan-Klassen	Tristan	Eric Hamber Secondary	BC
Ye	Juntian (Jun)	Lord Byng Secondary	BC
Zhou	Jiake (Clement)	Semiahmoo Secondary	BC
Zhu	Tingkai (Kaden)	Eric Hamer Secondary	BC

The following students were selected from the above group to serve as members of the Canadian team for the 2024 European Physics Olympiad in Kutaisi, Georgia! Zander Li won a gold medal, finishing 21st of 186 competitors. Harry Gong and Tristan Yan-Klassen won bronze medals, and Zhou Long and Athanasios Mavrakanas won honourable mentions.

Last Name	First Name	Award
Gong	He	Bronze
Li	Zander	Gold
Long	Zhou	Honourable Mention
Mavrakanas	Athanasios	Honourable Mention
Yan-Klassen	Tristan	Bronze

Final results for all participating countries will be posted on the European Olympiad website: EuPhO 2024 – EuPhO

See Previous Competition Results Here:

2023 Competition

The 2023 Canadian Physics Olympiad National Training Camp took place at the University of British Columbia between May 22 to 27, 2023. Fifteen students who received top results in the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) High School Exam came to Vancouver to compete for the five places on the team, which represented Canada at the 53rd International Physics Olympiad (IPhO), in Tokyo, Japan between July 10-17, 2023.

The students attended lectures, problem solving sessions and a lab and had four 5 hour-long (IPhO standard) theoretical and experimental tests.

2023 Canadian Physics Olympiad National Training Camp participants were:

Last name	First name	School	Province
Chen	Yixuan	Oakville Trafalgar high School	ON
Ding	Qi Xuan	Access Academy	AB
Li	Zander	Laurel Heights Secondary School	ON
Lu	Anthony	Eric Hamber Secondary School	BC
Marshall	Ryan	St. John’s Ravenscourt	MB
Millington	Vincent	CEGEO de Dte Foy	QB
Pu	Tian	Bayview Secondary School	ON
Shao	Eric	Semiahmoo Secondary School	BC
Sheth	Parth	Dr. E.P. Scarlett High School	AB
Tian	Dongli	Mulgrave School	BC
Wang	Marven	Bayview Secondary School	ON
Wong	Connor	St. George’s School	BC
Yan-Klassen	Tristan	Eric Hamber Secondary School	BC
Zhang	Wenhe	Marianopolis College	QB

The following students were selected from the above group to serve as members of the Canadian team for the 2023 International Physics Olympiad in Tokyo, Japan!

Last name	First name	Medal
Li	Zander	Bronze
Shao	Eric	Bronze
Wong	Connor	Bronze
Zhang	Wenhe	Bronze
Millington	Vincent	Honourable Mention

Final results for all participating countries will be posted on the unofficial 2023 International Physics Olympiad website.

2019 Competition

Due to lack of funding, we were unable to organize the the Canadian Olympiad Finals. The top scoring students in the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) High School Exam were invited to represent Canada at at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO, Tel Aviv, Israel, July 7-15).
The students received one week of training prior to the competition. It is worth mentioning that teams from other countries are given anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 years of additional training for this competition.

2019 Canadian Team members were:

Last name	First name	School	Province
Li	Zhening	Sir John A. Macdonald S.S.	ON
Xu	Yuheng (Jack)	Unionville High School	ON
Shen	Eric	University of Toronto Schools	ON
Liao	Isaac	Earl Haig Secondary School	ON
Li	Roger	Marc Garneau C.I.	ON

The following students were selected based on their performance in the CAP High School Prize Exam to serve as members of the Canadian team for the 2019 International Physics Olympiad in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Last name	First name	Medal
Li	Zhening	Silver
Liao	Isaac	Silver
Xu	Jack	Silver
Li	Roger	Bronze
Shen	Eric

2017 Competition

The 2017 Canadian Physics Olympiad Finals Camp took place at the University of British Columbia from May 19 to 26. Fourteen students who got top results in the Canadian Association of Physicists High School Exam came to Vancouver to compete for the five places on the team, which will represent Canada at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO, Yogyakarta, Indonesia, July 16-24).

The students attended lectures, problem solving sessions and a lab and had four 5 hour long (IPhO standard) theoretical and experimental tests.

2017 Canadian Physics Olympiad Finals Camp participants were:

Last name	First name	School	Province
Zheng	Guo	Richmond Hill High School	ON
Ye	Ming Yang	Bayview Secondary	ON
Amani	Pedram	West Vancouver Secondary	BC
Li	Michael	Marc Garneau Collegiate	ON
Yu	Felix	Crescent School	ON
Tang	Henry	Marc Garneau Collegiate	ON
Zhang	Matthew	Mulgrave School	BC
Xu	Jack	Unionville High School	ON
Tian	Edward	University of Toronto Schools	ON
Jiao	Xinyu	Western Canada High School	AB
Zheng	Ce	Western Canada High School	AB
Lamoureux	Benjamin	Strathcona High School	AB
Cui	Wentao	Old Scona Academic	AB
Khoroshilov	Anna	Lisgar Collegiate	ON

The following students were selected from the above group to serve as members of the Canadian team for the 2017 International Physics Olympiad in Yogyakarta, Indonesia and all received medals!

Last name	First name	Medal
Ye	Ming Yang	Gold
Amani	Pedram	Bronze
Xu	Jack	Bronze
Tang	Henry	Bronze
Zheng	Guo	Silver

2018 Competition

Due to lack of funding, we were unable to organize the the Canadian Olympiad Finals. The top scoring students in the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) High School Exam were invited to represent Canada at at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO, Lisbon, Portugal, July 21-29).
Our students did not get any formal training to prepare them for IPhO. It is worth mentioning that teams from other countries are given anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 years of additional training for this competition.

2018 Canadian Team members were:

Last name	First name	School	Province
Wu	Manqiu	A.Y. Jackson Secondary School	ON
Mai	Steven	University of Toronto Schools	ON
You	Alex	Richmond Secondary	BC
David	Tang	University of Toronto Schools	ON
Liao	Isaac	Earl Haig Secondary School	ON

The following students were selected based on their performance in the CAP High School Prize Exam to serve as members of the Canadian team for the 2018 International Physics Olympiad in Lisbon, Portugal and all received prizes!

Last name	First name	Medal
Wu	Manqiu	Bronze
Tang	David	Bronze
You	Alex	Bronze
Mai	Steven	Bronze
Liao	Isaac	Honorable Mention

2016 Competition

The 2016 Canadian Physics Olympiad Finals Camp took place at the University of British Columbia from May 25 to 27. Fifteen students who got top results in the Canadian Association of Physicists High School Exam came to Vancouver to compete for the five places on the team, which will represent Canada at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO, Zurich, Switzerland, July 11 – 17).

The students attended lectures, problem solving sessions and a lab and had four 5 hour long (IPhO standard) theoretical and experimental tests.

2016 Canadian Physics Olympiad Finals Camp participants were:

Last name	First name	School	Province
Liu	Stephen	Bayview S. S.	ON
Mai	Steven	UofT Schools	ON
Amani	Pedram	West Vancouver Secondary	BC
Ameri	Abtin	Bloor Collegiate	ON
Loo	Noel	Western Canada High School	AB
Xing	John	University Hill Secondary	BC
Zhang	Yiqun	Marc Garneau C. I.	ON
Van Duong	Vincent	Marianopolis College	QC
Verkhovskaya	Anna	Western Canada High School	AB
Jiang	David	North Toronto C. I.	ON
Chen	Sean	Burnaby North Secondary	BC
Fugleberg	Nathan	Vincent Massey High School	MB
Wang	Shuolin	York Mills C. I.	ON
Li	Robert	Albert Campbell C. I.	ON
Xu	Yuheng (Jack)	Unionville H. S.	ON

The following students were selected from the above group to serve as members of the Canadian team for the 2016 International Physics Olympiad in Zurich, Switzerland and all received a prize!

Last name	First name	Medal
Liu	Stephen	Bronze
Mai	Steven	Bronze
Loo	Noel	Bronze
Zhang	Yiqun	Bronze
Xu	Yuheng (Jack)	Bronze

Final results for all participating countries will be posted on the 2016 International Physics Olympiad website.

The report on Canada’s participation in the 47th International Physics Olympiad in Zurich, Switzerland can be found here.

2015 Competition

Due to limited funding, members of the 2015 Canadian Physics Olympiad team were selected based on their results Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) High School Exam, and no National Camp or training was organized. The International Physics Olympiad 2015 was held in Mumbai, India July 4-13

The following students were selected based on their performance in the CAP High School Prize Exam to serve as members of the Canadian team for the 2015 International Physics Olympiad in Mumbai, India and all received a prize!

Last name	First name	School Name	Province	Medal
Wu	Qingyue (Austin)	University of Toronto (extra students)	ON	Silver
Liu	Stephen	Bayview Secondary School	ON	Bronze
Wang	Oliver	St Robert Catholic Secondary School	ON	Bronze
Wu	Wilson	Pierre Elliot Trudeau High School	ON	Honorable Mention
Kim	Andrew (Jinwook)	University of Toronto Schools	ON	Honorable Mention

Final results for all participating countries will be posted on the 2015 International Physics Olympiad website.

The report on Canada’s participation in the 46th International Physics Olympiad in Zurich, Switzerland can be found here.

2014 Competition

Due to limited funding, members of the 2014 Canadian Physics Olympiad team were selected based on their results Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) High School Exam, and no National Camp or training was organized. The top five students were selected out of 996 writers from 170 Canadian Schools. The International Physics Olympiad 2014 was held in Astana, Kazakhstan July 13 – 21.

The following students were selected based on their performance in the CAP High School Prize Exam to serve as members of the Canadian team for the 2014 International Physics Olympiad in Astana, Kazakhstan and all received a prize!

Last name	First name	School Name	Province	Medal
Wu	Henry	University of Toronto Schools	ON	Silver
Ni	Chris	A. Y. Jackson Secondary School	ON	Bronze
Molina Lovett	Antonio	Ecole Sainte-Anne	NB	Honorable Mention
Muthukuda	Pasindu	Burnaby Central Secondary School	BC	Honorable Mention
Kim	Andrew (Jinwook)	University of Toronto Schools	ON	Honorable Mention

Final results for all participating countries will be posted on the 2014 International Physics Olympiad website.

The report on Canada’s participation in the 45th International Physics Olympiad in Zurich, Switzerland can be found here.

2013 Competition

The 2013 Canadian Physics Olympiad Finals Camp took place at the University of British Columbia from May 19 to 25. Eleven students who got top results in the Canadian Association of Physicists High School Exam and one selected on the basis of his performance at POPTOR (Toronto provincial Olympiad program) came to Vancouver to compete for the five places on the team, which will represent Canada at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 7 – 15).

The students attended lectures, problem solving sessions and a lab and had four 5 hour long (IPhO standard) theoretical and experimental tests.

2013 Canadian Physics Olympiad Finals Camp participants were:

Last name	First name	School	Province
Barszcz	Jean-Alexandre	Bois-de-Boulogne	QC
Dai	Zheng	Lisgar Collegiate	ON
Fan	Jia Hui	St. Robert Catholic High School	ON
Gu	Bailey	Lisgar Collegiate	ON
Han	Yifei	Burnaby North Secondary School	BC
Li	Ziyan	St. George’s School	BC
Mei	Jiaxi (Jannis)	University of Toronto Schools	ON
Ni	Chris	A. Y. Jackson Secondary School	ON
Sheng	Hao Zhe	Bayview Secondary School	ON
Suo	Shun Da	Victoria Park Collegiate Institute	ON
Totz	Keiler	St. Michaels University School	BC
Wu	Henry	University of Toronto Schools	ON

The following students were selected from the above group to serve as members of the Canadian team for the 2013 International Physics Olympiad in Copenhagen, Denmark and all received a prize!

Last name	First name	Medal
Gu	Bailey	Bronze
Mei	Jannis	Honorable Mention
Sheng	Hao Zhe	Bronze
Suo	Shun Da	Honorable Mention
Wu	Henry	Silver

Final results for all participating countries will be posted on the 2013 International Physics Olympiad website.

The report on Canada’s participation in the 44th International Physics Olympiad in Zurich, Switzerland can be found here.

2012 Competition

The 2012 National Olympiad Finals (NOF) were held at the University of British Columbia from May 21 to 25. Fifteen students came to Vancouver to compete for the five places on the team, which represented Canada at the International Physics Olympiad (IPhO, Tallinn, Estonia, July 15 – 24).

2012 Physics NOF participants were:

Last name	First name	School	Province
Bhatla	Christopher	Western Canada High School	AB
Blouin	Simon	Bois-de-Boulogne	QC
Borissov	Anton	Waterloo Collegiate Institute	ON
Downing	Tristan	Semiahmoo	BC
Ebadi	Sepher	Langstaff Secondary School	ON
Fan	Jia Hui	St. Robert Catholic High School	ON
Fisher	Wesley	Dartmouth High School	NS
Yun Jia	Guan	University of Toronto Schools	ON
Kim	Ji Sup	Yale	BC
Lu	Sean	Vincent Massey Secondary School	ON
Mei	Jannis	University of Toronto Schools	ON
Wu	Henry	University of Toronto Schools	ON
Yao	Yuan	Colonel By Secondary School	ON
Cao	Run Ze	Martingrove C. I.	ON
Zhan	Eric	University of Toronto Schools	ON

The following students were selected from the above group to serve as members of the Canadian team for the 2012 International Physics Olympiad in Tallinn, Estonia and all got medals!

Last name	First name	Medal
Blouin	Simon	Bronze
Downing	Tristan	Bronze
Ebadi	Sepher	Bronze
Guan	Yun Jia (Melody)	Bronze
Wu	Henry	Silver

Final results for all participating countries will be posted on the 2012 International Physics Olympiad website.