IMPORTANT:
Changes have been made to how the COMC will be administered, starting in 2026. Please see our Changes page for more details.
The Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge (COMC) is Canada’s premier national mathematics competition open to any student with an interest in and grasp of high school math.
CLMC -> COMC -> CMO -> IMO
The CMS thanks its major corporate sponsor:
Overview
The Canadian Open Mathematics Challenge (COMC) is Canada’s premier national mathematics competition open to any student with an interest in and grasp of high school math. The purpose of the COMC is to encourage students to explore, discover, and learn more about mathematics and problem solving. The competition serves to provide teachers with a unique student enrichment activity during the fall term, it is 2.5 hours long. It is the most prestigious open math competition in Canada, and one of the most prestigious in the Americas. The COMC is the only way to be invited to the CMS’ free, exclusive training camps and compete internationally as part of Math Team Canada!
Depending on their grade level and performance, students participating in the COMC will also have the opportunity to be considered for university scholarships, get invited to math camps, garner awards, and win prizes.
CMO Qualifier: The results of the COMC matter! Approximately 100 – 120 top-ranking students from the COMC are invited to write the Canadian Mathematical Olympiad (CMO) or the Junior CMO (CJMO) in March. The CMO, in turn, is a qualifier for Team Canada at the International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in a different city each July.
EGMO Qualifier: The top 6 – 8 COMC female contestants will also qualify for selection to represent Canada at the European Girls’ Mathematical Olympiad (EGMO). EGMO is an international mathematics competition held each April in a European host city each year.
APMO Qualifier: Approximately 10 – 20 top-ranking students from the COMC are also selected to write the Asia-Pacific Mathematical Olympiad (APMO) as Team Canada.
Date
This year’s COMC competition will take place on Thursday, October 29th in Canada and the Americas (anywhere in North/South American time zones), and on Friday, October 30th elsewhere in the world.
Registration
Normally, all registration is done by teachers or school staff using their Portal accounts.
* Last day for registration is Thursday, October 22nd (or October 15th for shipped exams).
Participating Schools & Organizations
Normally, all registration is done by teachers or school staff.
Independent Students
Only for students whose school is not participating.
Parents: If you have not already, please reach out to your child’s school and ask if they are interested in creating a school account and hosting students for the competition.
For students whose schools are not participating through a teacher, we plan to offer a limited number of spaces hosted by some of our university partners. These students must pre-register and pre-pay to attend one of these Open Writing Centres located at the universities.
Further information about these (locations, times, etc.) will be posted here when available.
*Registrations have not opened for independent student registration yet, they will be opening on or around September 16th.
Paper Exams
All students – with rare, authorized exception – will write the COMC on paper in the physical presence of a qualified proctor, typically a teacher at their school.
Rates and Delivery Methods
Schools can order exams to be pre-printed by the CMS and shipped to them by courier (“Shipped by Courier”) or can receive the exams as PDF files which are uploaded directly to the Competitions Portal (“PDF Delivery”) that their proctor/teacher can download and print locally prior to the competition. Due to the shipping, printing and handling costs, the PDF option is less expensive.
| Shipped by Courier (deadline: Oct 15) | PDF Delivery (deadline: Oct 22) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| School Location | Cost/exam | Minimum order size | Cost/exam | Minimum order size |
| Canada | $35.00 CAD | 5 | $30.00 CAD | 3 |
| USA | $40.00 USD | 5 | $35.00 USD | 5 |
| Elsewhere | n/a | n/a | $35.00 USD | 5 |
Payments and Cancellations: All payments must be made by October 22 (October 15 for exams shipped). We reserve the right to cancel unpaid orders.
Paid orders cannot be modified or refunded.
Poster
The CMS hopes to encourage students to challenge themselves in mathematics through the COMC! Please consider downloading and printing any of the materials below for display at your school or promoting the competition online.
8.5″ x 11″
11″ x 17″
