Canada’s Top Talent Shines in Marketers, Media, PR, Design, Print, Film, and Digital Categories
TORONTO—April 30, 2025 – The Globe and Mail, the Official Festival Representative in Canada for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, is pleased to announce its gold-winning teams for the 2025 Canadian Young Lions Competition in the Marketers, Media, PR, Design, Print, Film, Digital categories.
Modeled after the Cannes Global Young Lions Competition, entrants received a brief and had to complete the challenge for their respective category within a 24- or 48-hour time period.
Each year the competition jury chairs select a non-profit organization as the subject of the competition briefs. This year’s selected charity was Baycrest Foundation, and the primary goal of each brief was to drive awareness and support for Baycrest’s groundbreaking work in aging and brain health, with a focus on encouraging key lifestyle changes that can help prevent cognitive decline.
Baycrest Background
Baycrest is a globally recognized leader in aging and brain health innovation with a mission to advance aging-related cognitive, emotional, and physical wellbeing for older persons. Baycrest is also home to an extensive network of research and innovation partners and the headquarters of Canada’s largest dementia research program.
With a commitment to research, innovation and education, their domestic and international clinical training programs are helping to shape the future of aging and brain health.
Competition submission entries were judged by an esteemed panel of industry leaders chaired by:
Susan Irving, Chief Marketing Officer at Kruger Products Inc. (Marketers);
Brooke Leland, Managing Partner at Mekanism Media Canada, and Shannon Lewis, President of the Canadian Media Directors’ Council (Media);
Eva Salem, Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Brand at Canadian Tire Corporation, and Shauna Roe, Vice President, Creative Director, Canada at Edelman Canada (PR);
Laura Stein, Partner, Chief Creative Officer, and Stephanie Yung, Chief Design Officer at Zulu Alpha Kilo (Design);
Luc Du Sault, Partner and CCO, LG2 Quebec, and Mary Maddever, EVP, Realscreen & Strategy, Editorial Director, Brunico Communications (Print and Film);
Karen Howe, Founder, The Township Group, and Sabaa Quao, President, PlusCo Venture Studio (Digital).
Marketers Category, sponsored by Interac.
Gold: Bring Back the Stars
- Arielle Uwonkunda, Molson Coors Beverage Company, Ontario
- Suzanne Liu, Uber, Ontario
Silver: BRAIN CHANGER: PUT YOUR BRAIN IN THE GAME
- Mateo Molinaro, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), Ontario
- Tristan Ruffo St-Amour, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), Ontario
Bronze: LiveYoung: one sip, one step at a time
- Caroline Pellegrini, Danone Canada,Ontario
- Katherine Ball, Danone Canada, Ontario
Media Category, sponsored by SNAP Inc.
Gold: By your side
- Samuel David-Durocher, Cossette Media, Quebec
- Tristan Bonnot-Parent, Cossette Media, Quebec
Silver: Anosognosia
- Teryn Clapp, Epitaph Group Inc, Ontario
- Anthony Da Rocha, Epitaph Group Inc, Ontario
Bronze: Forgot Your Password?
- Rafaela Steiner, UM Canada, Ontario
- Riley Wolfe, UM Canada, Ontario
PR Category, sponsored by Edelman Canada.
Gold: The #FADINGCITY
- Cara von Ende, No Fixed Address Inc., Ontario
- Reagan Sullivan, No Fixed Address, Ontario
Silver: Brain Barrier
- Patricia Vuckovic, Rethink PR, Ontario
- Sara Zivkovic, Rethink PR, Ontario
Bronze: Wait…Didn’t I JUST see this?
- Jessica Anderson, Craft Public Relations, Ontario
- Madeline Reston, APEX PR, Ontario
Design Category
Gold: Bike Path
- Jesse Shaw, Rethink, British Columbia
- Zoë Boudreau, Rethink, British Columbia
Silver: Outthink. Outlast.
- Chen Shang, Media. Monks, Ontario
- Iris Ti, Monks, Ontario
- Geneviève Jetté, LG2, Quebec
- Marianne St-Pierre, LG2, Quebec
Print Category
Gold: The Mindless Brain Exercise
- Laurent Tremblay, Rethink, Quebec
- Victor Pierre, Rethink, Quebec
Silver: Talk to Anyone
- An Trinh, FCB, Ontario
- Cristina Palmer Lemus, FCB, Ontario
Bronze: Stretch Your Mind
- Naqsh Sagar, Wunder, Nova Scotia
- Rebecca Benjamin, Ray, Newfoundland and Labrador
Film Category
Gold: Take care of yourself
- Alexandre Pépin, LG2, Quebec
- Nicolas Robert, Carton Rouge, Quebec
Silver: Cognition Over Coolness
- Cameron Marshall, Publicis, Ontario
- Quinlan Bruce, Leo Burnett Toronto, Ontario
Bronze: The Trailer
- Roxanne Pelletier, LG2, Quebec
- Thomas Soto, Les Enfants, Quebec
Digital Category
Gold: NeuroLingo
- Anna Ira, Tadiem, Ontario
- Elyssa Biringer, Super Proper, Ontario
Silver: Restore Your Memories
- Mriga Suchdeva, The Garden, Ontario
- Nuala Murray, The Garden, Ontario
Bronze: The Fourth Ring
- Nicole Vasarevic, Cossette, Ontario
- Santana Symeonides, Cossette, Ontario
You can view all the winning work here .
“We’re incredibly proud of the diverse talent represented in this year’s competition – from coast to coast and across two newly launched categories, PR and Design, which brought even more bold thinking into the mix. The calibre of submissions this year was exceptional.” says Marcin Zerek, Head of Trade Marketing, The Globe and Mail. “This competition is a launchpad for Canada’s next generation of creative leaders, and these finalists are a strong reflection of our industry’s future.”
“The launch of the PR category this year marks an exciting new chapter for the Young Lions in Canada,” says Bianca Freedman, CEO, Edelman Canada. “We’re honoured to support emerging storytellers who are using creativity to tackle real-world challenges and we’re excited to see their work take the spotlight in Cannes.”
“It’s been so exciting and inspiring to see the exceptional quality of passion and ideation in the Young Lions Competition Marketing category. It makes us proud to know that we’ll have such strong representation for Canada on the stage at Cannes, and Interac is so pleased to be able to provide support for this important category, and play a role in nurturing this generation of marketing talent,” says Matt Houghton, Digital and Integrated Marketing Leader, Interac.
”Canadian creative talent should be celebrated loudly – and we are proud to be part of this incredible opportunity to uplift the future of Canada’s media industry and provide the recognition they deserve” says Heather Robertson, Sr. Manager, Americas Marketing at Snap Inc. “Congratulations to this year’s Young Lions winners; we look forward to cheering for them on the world stage in Cannes.”
In addition to being crowned as Canada’s best, gold-winning teams also win a trip to Cannes, France, where they will represent Canada in the Global Young Lions Competition, taking place during the festival week, June 16 to 20, 2025, and attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the largest gathering in the creative marketing community.
As the Official Canadian Representative for Cannes Lions and the Young Lions Competition Sponsor, The Globe and Mail awards a prize per gold-winning team, which includes registration fees for the Global Young Lions Competition, delegate passes to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, flights and accommodation.
This year saw a record-breaking 784 individuals compete – an increase of 5% from last year – across seven categories: Marketers, Media, PR, Design, Print, Film and Digital – 42 teams for Design, 62 teams for Digital, 18 teams for Film, 26 teams for Marketers, 184 teams for Media, 56 teams for Print and 30 teams for PR. Notably, this year’s shortlist features participants from coast to coast, marking one of the most regionally diverse cohorts the competition has seen to date. Both the Design and PR categories are new to Canada this year, with PR proudly sponsored by Edelman Canada.
Canada ranks fifth globally in medals won in Young Lions history.
To view the profiles of this year’s competition jurors please visit https://globeandmailyounglions.ca/jury.
For complete eligibility criteria and competition guidelines, refer to the Official Rules and Regulations.
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 2025 Media category. Edelman Canada is a sponsor of the 2025 PR category. Interac is a sponsor of the 2025 Marketers category.
IG: @GlobeMediaGroup
X: @CannesLionsCAN
Hashtag: #YoungLions2025
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/.
About The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, also known as Cannes Lions, is the world’s leading celebration of creativity in communications and encompasses Lions Health, Lions Innovation and Lions Entertainment. Founded in 1954, the Festival takes place every June in Cannes, France. As the most prestigious international annual advertising and communications awards, entries from all over the world are showcased and judged at the Festival.
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 6.1 million readers every week in our print or digital formats, and Report on Business magazine reaches 2.8 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.
For media inquiries, please contact:
Alanna di Tomasso, Manager, Brand & New Business, Edelman Canada
Alanna.ditomasso@edelman.com
