After 20 years together, the Giller Foundation is ending its relationship with sponsor Scotiabank.

According to the foundation, Scotiabank had been a dedicated supported of the Gillers, expanding it’s prominence and reach. Before the bank came on as sponsor, the purse for the prize was $25,000; now it is $100,000.

“We are indebted to Scotiabank for their exceptional commitment over the past two decades,” said Elana Rabinovitch, executive director of the Giller Foundation, in a statement. “Their support has helped transform the Giller Prize into one of the foremost literary awards in Canada, and we look forward to building on that legacy as we move into an exciting new era.”

While the Giller Foundation didn’t detail the reason for the split in its statement, Scotiabank’s role as the literary award’s main sponsor came under fire at the 2023 Giller ceremony, when pro-Palestinian activists interrupted the ceremony with signs saying, “Scotiabank funds genocide.”

Since then, many prominent CanLit authors expressed concern with Scotiabank’s involvement, citing the bank’s subsidiary’s stake in Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. Authors withdrew their novels from consideration, and in 2024, a protest event was held across from the awards gala.

The Giller organization says it will “explore new opportunities and collaborations that continue to support and inspire both emerging and established authors.”

The Giller Prize was founded in 1994 by Jack Rabinovitch in honour of his late wife, literary journalist Doris Giller, who passed away from cancer the year before.