Through聽out聽2025, the Max Bell School was a dynamic hub for debate, analysis, learning, and collaboration on some of today鈥檚 most pressing public policy challenges. Through teaching, research, policy engagement, and public programming, the School inspired students with new knowledge, practical skills, and networks to make a difference in public policy; connected policy-makers with our cutting-edge research; and convened public policy conversations on issues from the impact of US tariffs, to the war in Ukraine, the challenges of digital governance, and the changing nature of Canadian immigration policy.聽聽聽
This year鈥檚 highlights reflect how the Max Bell School community catalyzed and supported better public policy, from the local to the global.聽聽
Policy in Practice聽
A cornerstone of the MPP program, the聽Policy Lab聽marked another successful year as the聽School鈥檚聽sixth cohort completed their capstone projects. Working in teams, students partnered with organizations across government, civil society, and the private sector, including the Competition Bureau, the Metcalf Foundation, and Social Capital Partners.聽
The 2025 projects spanned a wide range of policy domains, from rebuilding Canada鈥檚聽defence聽industrial base and regulating algorithmic pricing, to supporting veterans鈥� mental health, strengthening youth trust in public institutions, protecting civilians from emerging drone technologies in conflict zones, and exploring pathways to wealth-building for young Canadians. Through these collaborations, students developed evidence-based policy recommendations addressing complex, real-world challenges while gaining hands-on experience in applied policy analysis.聽
Faculty Contributions and Research Leadership聽
Max Bell faculty continued to play a prominent role in national and global policy debates throughout the year. Director Jennifer Welsh聽participated聽in a United Nations Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect panel focused on early warning and atrocity聽prevention, and聽advised聽UN Member States on civilian protection in peacekeeping as part of the Global Alliance for Peace Operations. Professor Taylor Owen was appointed to the Government of Canada鈥檚 AI Strategy Task Force, where he advised on a renewed national artificial intelligence strategy. Professor Vincent Rigby co-authored a white paper assessing the Canada鈥揈U Security and聽Defence聽Partnership, highlighting both its strategic potential and the challenges facing its implementation.聽Professor Pearl Eliadis was elected as Chairperson of the Charter Challenges Program鈥檚 Official Language Rights Expert Panel, and also founded and chairs the new Legal Reform Project of the Quebec Homelessness Prevention Collaborative, which convenes lawyers, community organizations, and people with lived experience to develop legal reform solutions for housing, instability, and homelessness. She engaged extensively with national media and public forums on Qu茅bec language and secularism legislation and Charter rights.
Public Events and Dialogue聽
Public engagement remained central to the聽School鈥檚聽mission in 2025, with a wide range of events that聽convened聽scholars, policymakers, practitioners, and students around critical policy issues.聽
The third edition of the Evaluation Capacity Case Challenge (EC3) took place in May, led by Max Bell faculty member Leslie Fierro. Partnering with the organization 鈥淏ridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM)鈥�,聽the 2025 challenge tasked four student teams with developing strategies to strengthen organizational dialogue around evaluation findings and to improve the use of evaluation in program design and implementation.聽
The聽School聽also hosted the聽2025 Jack Layton Essay Prize聽event, in partnership with the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation. The winning student essay was recognized at a public event featuring a roundtable discussion on the goals of Canadian immigration policy, informed by new data on public attitudes and economic impacts. The discussion addressed related policy areas including housing affordability, temporary foreign workers, refugee resettlement, and international student pathways.聽
In the spring, the Max Bell School welcomed Nobel Prize鈥搘inning economist Joseph Stiglitz for a public conversation on his book聽The Road to Freedom: Economics and the Good Society. Joined by Christopher Ragan, Founding Director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy, Stiglitz discussed the relationship between markets, democracy, inequality, and economic freedom.聽
The Centre for Media, Technology, and Democracy (MTD), based at the Max Bell School, hosted a range of events and roundtables throughout the year, including two major international conferences. In March 2025, the Centre and the Media Ecosystem Observatory聽co-hosted聽聽about safeguarding democracy and international cooperation in the face of growing authoritarianism, foreign interference, and digital threats. In October 2025, MTD hosted聽, a high-level international conference focused on the governance of digital spaces. The conference brought together lawmakers, academics, civil society leaders, journalists, and technologists to explore how democratic societies can reclaim聽agency聽over digital infrastructure and information ecosystems. Speakers included Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, entrepreneur Frank McCourt, and technology leader Jim Balsillie, among others. The Centre also launched聽it鈥檚聽, as well as two events in Ottawa on Securing Canada鈥檚 Digital Sovereignty.聽
In June 2025, the Max Bell School organized聽Journalist Bootcamp: Wildfire Mitigation聽in partnership with Simon Fraser University鈥檚 Centre for Dialogue. The off-the-record gathering brought together journalists and wildfire experts to strengthen how wildfires are reported and understood. A key outcome was a co-created national聽, developed collaboratively by participants to support more聽accurate, inclusive, and solutions-focused coverage.聽聽
罢丑别听厂肠丑辞辞濒听肠辞苍惫别苍别诲听Climate at a Crossroads: Tackling Disinformation in Economic and Environmental Policy, a day-long, in-person conference in Ottawa featuring three panels and a keynote address. The event 鈥� co-hosted with聽The Walrus聽- brought together experts from academia, media, civil society, and government to examine how climate disinformation undermines democratic governance and weakens environmental聽policy outcomes.聽
In collaboration with the Quebec Homelessness Prevention Collaborative, Max Bell was a partner in the聽Homelessness, Housing, and the Law聽conference, which brought together policymakers, researchers, and community actors to explore how legal frameworks and comparative research can prevent homelessness in Qu茅bec, using academic presentations, international case studies, and participatory workshops.聽
The聽School聽also continued its signature聽9I制作厂免费 Max Bell Lectures, a national public lecture series held annually in three Canadian cities. This year鈥檚 lectures were delivered by Tony Keller,聽Globe聽and Mail聽columnist, and drew on his book聽Borderline Chaos: How Canada Got Immigration Right and Then Wrong.聽Tony鈥檚 engagement with audiences in Calgary, Halifax, and Toronto allowed our School to deepen the national conversation around Canada鈥檚 immigration system, its recent challenges, and the policy choices聽required聽to rebuild public confidence.聽
Welcoming our Seventh MPP Cohort聽
In the fall of 2025, the Max Bell School welcomed its seventh cohort of MPP students. The incoming class of 34 students聽represents聽21 nationalities and brings a wide range of academic backgrounds, professional experiences, and lived perspectives. Their arrival further enriched classroom discussions and strengthened the聽School鈥檚聽vibrant intellectual community at 9I制作厂免费 and across Montreal.聽
As part of their introduction to policy in practice, MPP students聽participated聽in the聽School鈥檚聽annual Ottawa field trip. During the visit, our students met with senior public servants and policymakers across federal institutions, the media, and civil society, gaining firsthand insight into how policy is developed, evaluated, and implemented within Canada鈥檚 federal system.聽
Season鈥檚 Greetings from the Director聽聽
As we approach the holiday break and the close of the year, I would like to extend my warmest聽season鈥檚聽greetings to the Max Bell community. This moment offers an opportunity to reflect on a year of accomplishments and our shared commitment to supporting better public policy, both in Canada and the wider world.聽聽
In 2025, our students, faculty, staff, and partners came together to confront complex policy challenges with care, curiosity, and evidence. Across classrooms, applied policy projects, and public events, we created spaces where research and practice inform one another and where聽difficult questions聽can be examined openly and constructively.聽聽
As I look back on my first year as Director, I am deeply grateful - to our students for their energy and camaraderie, to our faculty and staff for their leadership and generosity, and to our partners and supporters for their continued collaboration with the聽School. These relationships are central to our mission to deliver a high-caliber MPP experience that prepares students for meaningful careers and impact in public policy, to drive policy transformation through rigorous and independent research, and to聽convene聽conversations that matter.聽
As you take time to rest and reconnect over the coming weeks, I send my sincere thanks and best wishes for the holiday season. I look forward to welcoming you back in the new year,聽 聽and to continuing our joint efforts to make the Max Bell School 'the' hub for learning and deliberation on the public policy challenges of today and tomorrow.
Jennifer Welsh聽聽
Director, Max Bell School of Public Policy聽
