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 Canda and Sabaa Quao, Chief Creative and Innovation officer, Cossette. 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 here.
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.
Co-Chairs for the 2025 Canadian Young Lions Competition
Young Lions Design Co-Chairs
- Stephanie Yung, Chief Design Officer, Zulu Alpha Kilo
- Laura Stein, Creative Director, Bruce Mau Design
Young Lions PR Co-Chairs
- Shauna Roe, Edelman Canada
- Eva Salem, Canadian Tire
Young Lions Marketing Co-Chair
- Susan Irving, Chief Marketing Officer, Kruger Products
Young Lions Film/Print Co-Chairs
- Mary Maddever, EVP & Editorial Director, Brunico Communications
- Luc Du Sault, Partner and CCO, LG2
Young Lions Media Co-Chairs
- Brooke Leland, Managing Partner, Jungle Media
- Shannon Lewis, President, CMDC
Young Lions Digital Co-Chairs
- Karen Howe, The Township Group
- Sabaa Quao, Cossette
For full competition guidelines and to register, visit https://globeandmailyounglions.ca.
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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
