The upcoming 2025 Canadian federal election is a critical moment for the social sciences and humanities in Canada. With their role in society and policymaking increasingly under question in Canadian politics, it is vital to reaffirm their value in shaping evidence-informed policies and addressing the nation’s most pressing challenges.

On February 20th, 2025, Evidence for Democracy (E4D) and the Federation for Humanities and Social Sciences (FHSS) are co-hosting an evening non-partisan panel event at Impact Hub Ottawa to foster a diverse and dynamic conversation on the role of the social sciences and humanities in society. Bringing together leaders from academia, policy, and the broader research community, this event will highlight the indispensable contributions of these disciplines and discuss strategies to advocate for their importance. Participants will engage in a thought-provoking panel discussion with experts and leave with tangible policy outcomes and actionable take-home lessons for the sector.

This event is the second installment in our Safeguarding Science and Research in an Election Year series. Join us on February 20th to take part in this timely and essential dialogue about advancing the social sciences and humanities for the betterment of society and policy.

Event Schedule

Panel Speakers

Dr. Kelly Bronson, Associate Professor, School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies University of Ottawa – Kelly Bronson holds the Canada Research Chair in Science & Society at University of Ottawa where she is an Associate Professor in the School of Sociological and Anthropological Studies. Kelly draws on her diverse academic background in biology and the social sciences to study tensions that erupt around controversial technologies (GMOs, fracking, big data and AI). Kelly aims to bring public needs and concerns into evidence-informed policy-making by investigating the societal impacts of technologies. Kelly publishes her work in interdisciplinary journals (Journal of Responsible Innovation, Big Data & Society) and she has several recent books (Immaculate Conception of Data, MQUP, 2022; Smartification of Everything, UofT, in press).

Louis Patrick Leroux, Rector, Saint Paul University in Ottawa  – Louis Patrick Leroux is the Rector of Saint Paul University in Ottawa. Previously, he was at Concordia University in Montreal for twenty years, where he was a professor in both departments of English and Études françaises as well as Associate Dean of Research for the Faculty of Arts and Science. He has been a visiting scholar at Duke University, Universidad de Chile, University of Milan-Bicocca, Charles University in Prague, and École normale supérieure de Lyon. Dr. Leroux served on the Executive of the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Scientists and Artists. Throughout the 1990s, he founded and led Ottawa’s Théâtre la Catapulte and later cofounded La nouvelle scene theatre space. A playwright and scholar, he has written on the research-creation process, organisational management in the arts, Québec theatre and contemporary circus. His most recent book, a co-edited collection, studies the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Québec culture.

Jonathan Malloy, Professor, Political Science, Carleton University – Jonathan Malloy is a professor of political science at Carleton University and the current president of the Canadian Political Science Association. He has previously served as chair of his department and as Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Studies) in the Faculty of Public and Global Affairs. With Loleen Berdahl and Lisa Young, he is co-author of the recent book For the Public Good: Reimagining Arts Graduate  Programs in Canadian Universities, and also Work Your Career: Get What You Want From Your Social Sciences of Humanities PhD Program.  His other recent books are The Paradox of Parliament and The Politics of Ontario and he comments regularly on parliamentary and political topics.