Resources
Bourstad Financial Education Program
An exciting way to get familiar with the world of economics and finance!
Subject: Invitation to register your school in the 2025-26 Bourstad Program
Hello,
Including a Bourstad simulation into a course curriculum can be a very effective way to improve the financial literacy of students. Indeed, this makes it possible to touch most of the concepts identified in the PISA 2018 survey as having a positive impact on financial literacy when learned at school: budget, interest payment, entrepreneurship, exchange rate, shares/stocks, return on investment, central bank, depreciation, compound interest and dividend (note 1).
Bourstad simulations use a platform that implements cutting-edge features: real-time transactions, interface for mobile devices, daily payment of dividends … In a Bourstad simulation, the participant is an investment advisor to a fictitious saver, investing in real financial markets. The website hosts three types of simulations: the Bourstad Challenge which is held annually from February to April, private Bourstad simulations organized in schools registered with the program at any moment during the school year and Bourstad Anytime, an individual, permanent and free simulation. The application of the 2026 Bourstad Challenge and Bourstad private simulations includes supervision functions for teachers and those responsible for these activities. At the end of the 2026 Bourstad Challenge, the jury will award prizes totaling more than $ 40,000 to participants who will have distinguished themselves in one or more of the three components of the contest: portfolio management, responsible investment and financial performance.
In the 2024-2025 school year, there were more than 12,500 participants in Bourstad simulations in Canadian schools. A school’s registration, that enables individual student’s enrolment in the Bourstad Challenge and/or in private simulations, is done by completing the registration form on the website or by filling and submitting the dynamic PDF form available on request.
Two webinars will be held in the coming weeks if you want to learn more about Bourstad:
- Bourstad program for high schools, CEGEPs and community colleges
(Wednesday, September 24, 12:15 to 1 p.m., EDT) - Integrating a Bourstad simulation into your courses
(Tuesday, October 7, 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m., EDT)
To register for any of these webinars, visit the Bourstad homepage (https://bourstad.cirano.qc.ca). See the relevant illustrations in the carousel that appears in the middle of the screen.
Hoping to welcome your institution in the 2025-2026 Bourstad program, I wish you an excellent start for the new academic year.
Marielle Maheu
Director for relations with institutions and participants
Bourstad stock market simulations and FinÉcoLab games
CIRANO
1130, Sherbrooke West, suite 1400
Phone: (514) 985-4000, poste 3006
Previous Year’s Conference Resource Shares
2019 Conference Resource Share
2018 Conference Resource Share
OBEA Posters
2024 Poster Background Only (for Teachers to add their own school information)
2020 Poster (version 1)
2020 Poster (version 2)
2019 Poster (COVID-19)
OBEA’s Curriculum Library
When you join OBEA you will gain access to an extensive collection of business studies resources available exclusively to our members. These resources are provided by business teachers, workshop presenters and business organizations.
The resources you see below have been provided by the Ministry of Education and are available to all teachers.
Business Studies Curriculum Documents (Ministry of Education)
Business Studies Curriculum Update – 2023
Financial Literacy: Scope and Sequence of Expectations, Grades 9-12, 2016