It’s official, Canada’s Young Lions are bringing home hardware from Cannes! Congratulations to Lydia Yoon and Joanne Chen, who have earned Silver in the Young Lions Marketers competition at the 2026 Global Young Lions competition at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
A huge congratulations to all 14 of our Canadian Young Lions for competing against hundreds of young professionals from more than 70 countries, to develop a creative idea and concept in just 24 – 48 hours, a remarkable achievement on one of the industry’s biggest global stages.
MARKETERS – Silver
Recognized with a Silver Medal in the Marketers competition, Lydia Yoon and Joanne Chen from Google Canada, had to create a brand partnership campaign that drives measurable impact. This year, Re:wild – a global conservation organization founded alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, working across 90+ countries – asked competitors to create a brand partnership campaign that reconnects people to the wild and transforms passive concern into measurable support for the charity.
DESIGN
In the design category, Brandon Methner and Matt Funk from Rethink, had to focus on creating an effective, refined and attractive brand identity. This year’s brief was set by Re:wild, a global conservation organization founded alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, working across 90+ countries. Re:wild challenged the Young Lions teams to design a flexible visual identity and shareable festival installation that makes nature the headline act.
FILM
In film, Matthew Custode from Mint (previously Lifelong Crush) and Meagan Enriquez from Critical Mass, had 48 hours to create an engaging 60-second film. Their brief, from the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, challenged competitors to craft a powerful film that ignites behavioural change around water safety by reshaping how people perceive drowning.
PR
In the PR competition, Sara Zivkovic and Patricia Gonzalez from Rethink PR were tasked with shifting the public perception through a powerful communications idea. This year, the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs asked competitors to reframe space from a distant frontier to shared infrastructure that people depend on daily to make its governance feel visible, relevant and worth caring about.
DIGITAL
In the Digital competition, teammates Shelby Harper and Zacharie Cloutier from Leo Toronto focused on building a social-first digital campaign rooted in platform behaviour and cultural participation. Comic Relief challenged teams to reimagine the Red Nose as a symbol of modern activism for Gen Z, transforming what the Red Nose stands for in a world where young people believe change comes from communities, not institutions, and make it something they want to use, share, and shape.
In the Print competition, Chloée Desjardins and Émile Parenteau from VML Montreal, were challenged to produce a stand-out, captivating and unique print ad. This year’s brief was provided by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, and challenged competitors to reframe water safety by transforming how people recognize danger around water.
MEDIA
In the media category Gabrielle Lapointe and Louis Chevallier from Touché!, had to craft a campaign for ABC Global Alliance that makes the undercounting of advanced breast cancer impossible to ignore. Designed for earned media first, with paid media used only to accelerate reach, the media idea should not simply explain the problem; it should make the consequences of missing data tangible.
All winners will also be available to view on The Work and the Press Portal. Learn more about the Canadian Young Lions Competitions here.
About the Young Lions Competition
The Globe and Mail has been the official Canadian representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity since 2005, and has hosted the Canadian Young Lions competitions since 2007.
Strategy Magazine, Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA) and The Canadian Media Directors’ Council (CMDC), support the competition as Canadian program partners. Snap Inc. is a sponsor of the 2026 Media category. Edelman Canada is a sponsor of the 2026 PR category. WPP Motion Entertainment is a sponsor of the 2026 Film and Digital categories.
IG: @GlobeMediaGroup
Hashtag: #YoungLions2026
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/globemediagroup
For more information about this year’s Young Lions Competition, visit globeandmailyounglions.ca. To learn more about The Cannes Lions Program in Canada, visit globemediagroup.ca/cannes-lions/.
