Le défi démocratique du Canada : peut-on aller de l'avant sans perdre ce qui compte ?

Akaash Maharaj, Director of Policy, Nature Canada

Akaash is responsible for shaping the policies of Canada’s federal, provincial, and Indigenous governments, to protect and conserve wildlife and habitats across our country.

Outside of Nature Canada, he is Ambassador-at-Large for the Global Organization of Parliamentarians Against Corruption, and a Senior Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
Earlier in his life, he was an international athlete for Canada, and was a triple gold medallist at the International Championships of Equestrian Skill‑at‑Arms. He subsequently led the Canadian Equestrian Team and federation as its CEO, to the team’s most successful Olympics and Paralympics of all time.

Akaash earned his Master of Arts from Oxford University, where he was the first overseas student elected President of the student government in the history of the 900-year‑old University. He completed further studies at the Sorbonne Université and the United Nations University.

Anoush Fraser Terjanian, Research Fellow, uOttawa Human Rights Research and Education Centre

Anoush Fraser Terjanian has a longstanding interest in how research addresses public challenges, particularly in the field of democracy. In 2015, on secondment from her tenured university post, she became founding director of the Social Science Research Council’s Anxieties of Democracy program (U.S.), where she brought together more than 75 researchers, practitioners, and journalists to solve for democratic capacity and legitimacy. Since repatriating to Canada, she has continued to lead and support cross-sector initiatives, most recently as co-convener of the Revitaliser notre/nos démocratie/s | Revitalising our democracy/ies action research project.

Twice appointed by the Governor in Council to the Governing Council of SSHRC, where she also served on the Executive Committee, Dr Terjanian is an alumna of the Parliamentary Internship Programme (PIP) and has worked at the Privy Council Office and on Canada’s G7 Summit delegation. A research Fellow at uOttawa’s Human Rights Research and Education Centre, she also advises decision-makers and mobilises researchers, policymakers, and civil society for the public good. Multilingual and an enthusiastic Francophile, she is committed to advancing Indigenous rights, inclusion, and to making real the promise of Canada.

Jon Lomow, Managing Partner, Catalyze4

Jon Lomow is a multi-time founder and entrepreneur who has spent his career building ideas and organizations that go beyond the expected—creating new ways to tackle complex commercial, societal, and environmental challenges.

He launched his first company in 2000, a communications firm that was acquired by Venture Communications in 2003. Over the next 20 years, Jon founded, led, or advised a range of private companies and projects across sectors as varied as infrastructure, food, cleantech, fintech, and marketing—bringing both startup grit and strategic clarity to the table.

Since 2018, Jon has focused on advancing Canada’s food sovereignty. This includes founding Fieldless, a modern food and controlled-environment agriculture company. As CEO, he led the company in raising over $33 million to grow safe, sustainable Canadian food year-round before its sale in 2026.

Most recently, Jon co-founded Catalyze4, a consulting firm focused on accelerating large-scale change in Canada by helping organizations execute high-impact projects.