TORONTO — January 13, 2025 — Registration for The Globe and Mail’s 2025 Canadian Young Lions Competition is officially open. From now until February 9, 2025, Canada’s young creative minds can register to compete for the opportunity to represent the country on the world stage at the Global Young Lions Competition at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in Cannes, France.
The Canadian Young Lions Competition has long been a cornerstone of the creative industry, offering young professionals the chance to showcase their ingenuity in one of six competitive categories: Print, Film, Digital, Media, Marketers, and, new to Canada in 2025, PR and Design.
The 2025 competition introduces the new PR category, proudly sponsored by Edelman Canada. Edelman joins the lineup of sponsors, which also includes Interac as the sponsor of the Marketers category and Snap Inc., returning as the Media category sponsor. This year’s competition also benefits from the creative expertise of LG2, which has contributed to its design, and Edelman Canada, whose PR support has helped amplify its reach and visibility.
Over the weekend of March 1 to March 3, 2025, creativity, innovation, and grit will take center stage as teams of two participate in the competition. Teams will receive a creative brief and must complete the challenge for their respective category within 24 or 48 hours. Submissions are judged by a panel of industry leaders within each category, and Canadian Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners will be announced on April 30, 2025 at the CMDC Media Summit.
In addition to being crowned as Canada’s best, Gold-winning teams win a trip to Cannes, France, to compete against the best creative teams all over the world in the Global Young Lions Competition and attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity from June 16 to 20, 2025, the largest gathering in the creative marketing community.
As the Canadian Competition Representative, The Globe and Mail covers registration fees, delegate passes, flights, and accommodation for competitors traveling to Cannes, France.
The 2025 Canadian Young Lions competition is further supported by the addition of new advisory board members Bianca Freedman, CEO, Edelman Canada and Sabaa Quao, President, PlusCo Venture Studio. Their insights and guidance will help shape the future of the program. For the full list of advisory board members, visit our updated board page: https://globemediagroup.ca/cannes-lions/canadian-cannes-advisory-board/.
Marcin Zerek, Head of Trade Marketing, The Globe and Mail, says “We’re thrilled to kick off another exciting year of the Young Lions Competition. With the introduction of the new PR and Design categories, this year promises to highlight even more of the creativity, energy, and determination that make Canada’s young talent stand out on the global stage.”
“At Edelman, we’re passionate about creativity that drives impact. The Canadian Young Lions Competition showcases the future of our industry, and we are thrilled to support emerging talent and see their ingenuity unfold at Cannes,” Bianca Freedman, CEO, Edelman Canada.
“We couldn’t be more excited for Interac to join the Young Lions Competition as sponsor of the Marketing category. We believe in the power of creative marketing and the impact it can have on brands and businesses, and it’s an honour to be supporting and recognizing the next generation of marketing talent in Canada,” said Matt Houghton, Digital and Integrated Marketing Lead, Interac.
“For the second consecutive year we are proud to partner with the Canadian Young Lions Competition to champion the thriving, creative talent ecosystem in Canada. Uplifting and celebrating the future of Canada’s media industry both here and on the ground in Cannes is an exceptionally important opportunity, and we are excited to see the groundbreaking work Canadians bring to the world stage again this year,” said Matt McGowan, General Manager, Canada, Snap Inc.
For full competition guidelines and to register, visit https://globeandmailyounglions.ca.
Competition entries for the 2025 Canadian Young Cannes Lions Competition are judged by an esteemed panel of industry leaders, bringing their expertise and dedication to recognizing the country’s brightest creative talents. For more details on the jury, please visit: https://globeandmailyounglions.ca/jury/
Young Lions Design Co-Chairs
- Laura Stein, Partner, Chief Creative Officer
- Stephanie Yung, Chief Design Officer, Zulu Alpha Kilo
Young Lions Design Jury
- Brian Banton, Co-founder and Creative Director, Plan of Record
- Bryan-K. Lamonde, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Principal
- Claire Dawson, Co-Founder and Creative Director, Underline Studio
- Hans Thiessen, Partner & ECD of Design, Rethink
- Jacqueline Lane, Executive Creative Director, Whitman Emerson
- Jennifer Taback, Co-CEO, Design de Plume
- Kyosuke Nishida, Design Director, Public Address
- Man Wai Wong, VP, Group Creative Director, Design, Leo Burnett Design
- Marie-Elaine Benoit, Executive Design Director, Sid Lee
- Maude, Lescarbeau, Founder and Head of Design, maubau
- Mooren (Mo) Bofill, Partner, CCO One Twenty Three West (123w)
- Ronald Tau, Founder and Creative Director, Meat Studio
- Ryan Crouchman, Partner, VP, ECD Design, LG2
Young Lions PR Co-Chairs
- Eva Salem, Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Brand, Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited
- Shauna Roe, Vice President, Creative Director, Canada, Edelman Canada
Young Lions PR Jury
- Amber Ciolfe, Director, Citizen Relations
- Brendan Watson, Creative Director, Weber Shandwick
- Halla Rafati, Founder & President, Halo & Co.
- Jenn Harper, Founder & CEO, Cheekbone Beauty Cosmetics
- Jessica Savage, CEO (MSL/North), Publicis Groupe
- Krista Webster, President & CEO, Veritas Communications and Meat and Produce, Vice Chair at Stagwell Global (DPN)
- Lisa Pasquin, President & Founder, Craft Public Relations
- Lynne Piette, Director, Marketing / Directrice du marketing, Volkswagen Canada
- Maja Neable, Canadian Chief Marketing Officer, TD
- Melanie Johnston, Chief Marketing Officer, The Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation
- Sandra Sanderson, Chief Marketing Officer, Empire Company Limited and Sobeys Inc
- Vanessa Eaton, President, Proof Strategies
Young Lions Digital Co-Chairs
- Karen Howe, Founder, The Township Group
- Sabaa Quao, Chief Creative and Innovation Officer, Cossette
Young Lions Digital Jury
- Alexis Bronstorph, Chief Creative Officer, No Fixed Address
- Carlos Garavito, Founder, Executive Creative Director, CommandAlpha_
- Chris Barrett, Creative Director, Razorfish
- Christina Yu, Partner and Chief Creative Officer, Lifelong Crush
- Gail Pak, Executive Creative Director and Art Director
- Garett Tonge, Executive Creative Director, We Are Social
- Ian Mackenzie, Chief Creative Officer
- Jenny Glover, Chief Creative Officer, Zulu Alpha Kilo
- Marta Hooper, Group Creative Director, AntiSocial Solutions
- Sanya Grujicic, Executive Creative Director, Experience Monks
- Wain Choi, Owner and Chief Creative Officer, BLKW Inc.
Young Lions Media Co-Chairs
- Brooke Leland, Managing Partner, Jungle Media
- Shannon Lewis, President, Canadian Media Directors’ Council
Young Lions Media Jury
- Alastair Taylor, CEO, Publicis Media Canada
- Alessia Grosso, SVP, Communications Strategy, Havas Media Canada
- Alice Digiovanni, Client President, Wavemaker
- Christine Scott, Founder, The Accomplice Project
- John Killam, Chief Operating Officer, INNOCEAN Canada
- Lauren Redman, VP, Media Services, Think Shift
- Matt McGowan, Director & General Manager, Snapchat Inc.
- Mike Rumble, Founder, Chief Strategy Officer, Epitaph Group Inc
- Nikki Stone, Chief Commerce Officer, GroupM Canada
- Richard Ivey, Executive Vice President, Business Solutions, Horizon Media
- Samantha Kelly, CEO, touché!
- Shelley Smit, CEO, IPG Mediabrands Canada
- Thierry Lessard, Vice President, Audiences & Insights, Glassroom
Young Lions Marketers Chair
- Susan Irving, Chief Marketing Officer, Kruger Products Inc.
Young Lions Marketers Jury
- Aaron Nemoy, Founder & CEO, Crowdiate
- Andrea Hunt, President and CEO, ACA
- Christine Cruz-Clarke, Vice President and Global Head of Marketing Excellence, Kraft Heinz
- Deyra Jaye Fontaine, Inclusive Marketing Strategist
- Jacqueline Ryan, Chief Brand and Commercial Officer, Canadian Olympic Committee; Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Olympic Foundation
- Jonelle Ricketts, Head of Marketing, IKEA Canada
- Matt Houghton, Digital and Integrated Marketing Leader, Interac Corp.
- Maxine Chapman, VP Brand and Marketing Officer, OLG
- Rachel MacAdam, Vice President of Marketing, Skip
- Shannon Hosford, Chief Marketing Officer, MLSE
- Shirley Mukerjea, Senior Global Marketing Director – Positive Brands, PepsiCo Inc.
- Steve Levy, Ipsos Canada
- Tracey Cooke, CMO, SVP, Marketing & Commercialization; Head of the Centre of Marketing Excellence, Nestlé Canada Inc.
Young Lions Print & Film Co-Chairs
- Luc Du Sault, Partner and CCO, LG2 Quebec City
- Mary Maddever, EVP, Realscreen & Strategy; Editorial Director, Brunico Communications
Young Lions Print & Film Jury
- Alex Bernier, Executive Creative Director
- Anthony Chelvanathan, Global Creative Partner & Chief Creative Officer, Edelman Canada
- Derek Blais, Chief Creative Officer, Lifelong Crush
- Erin Kawalecki, Partner, Chief Creative Officer, Angry Butterfly
- Geneviève Jannelle, Creative Director, Rethink
- Helen Pak, Senior Vice President – Creative-Marketing/Design/Content, The Walt Disney Company
- Hemal Dhanjee, Creative Director, Courage
- Jordan Hamer, VP, ECD, ONE23WEST
- Terri Roberts, Creative Director, Ray, St. John’s, NL
- Thimalay Sukhaseum, Creative Director & Radio Columnist
- Vic Bath, Creative Director, Zulu Alpha Kilo Inc
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About the Canadian Young Lions Competition
The Globe and Mail has been the official Canadian representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity since 2005, hosting the Canadian Young Lions competition since 2007.
To qualify, participants must:
- Be Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or hold a valid Canadian work permit.
- Be professionals employed in the creative industry (specific criteria apply).
- Be at least the legal age of majority in their province or territory and under 31 years of age as of June 20, 2025.
*For complete eligibility criteria and competition guidelines, refer to the Official Rules and Regulations.
IG: @GlobeMediaGroup
X: @CannesLionsCAN
Hashtag: #YoungLions2025
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/globemediagroup
Strategy Magazine, Association of Canadian Advertisers (ACA), and the Canadian Media Directors’ Council (CMDC) support the competition as partners of the Canadian Cannes Program.
About The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is Canada’s foremost news media company, leading the national discussion and causing policy change through brave and independent journalism since 1844. With our award-winning coverage of business, politics and national affairs, The Globe and Mail newspaper reaches 6.2 million readers every week in our print or digital formats, and Report on Business magazine reaches 2.9 million readers in print and digital every issue. Our investment in innovative data science means that as the world continues to change, so does The Globe. The Globe and Mail is owned by Woodbridge, the investment arm of the Thomson family.
Source: Vividata SCC Fall 2024, National, Total 14+
For media inquiries, please contact:
Alanna di Tomasso, Manager, Brand & New Business, Edelman Canada
Alanna.ditomasso@edelman.com
