The Samara Centre for Democracy

06/01/2026

📢 We’re hiring!

The Samara Centre for Democracy is looking for 2 people to join our team:

- Director of Content & Public Relations
- Executive Assistant

If you’re passionate about strengthening Canadian democracy and helping Canadians better understand and participate in politics, we’d love to hear from you.

Know someone who’d be a great fit? Tag them below or share this post.

🔗 Apply now: samaracentre.ca/careers

05/27/2026

Tomorrow - join us at Beyond Elections as we hear from Dr. Seana Glennon about how to involve citizens more meaningfully in public decision-making. Learn about Ireland’s internationally recognised Citizens’ Assembly process and Alberta’s “referendum on a referendum.”

In this event, Dr. Seána Glennon, Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law, will introduce the idea of deliberative mini-publics and explore how they are being used globally as a tool of democratic renewal.

05/19/2026

Get your tickets while you still can! Join us for Beyond Elections: Mini-Publics as a Tool of Democratic Renewal with Dr. Seána Glennon (uOttawa) who will share how deliberative mini-publics are being used globally as a tool of democratic renewal.

​This event includes a 45-minute discussion with a networking reception to follow.

🎟️ https://luma.com/fmzsz0l4

05/15/2026

Democracy & AI at Toronto Tech Week is sold out! If you are on the waitlist please know that we’ll be in touch if a spot becomes available. We’re also pleased to share a speaker update: Anatoliy Gruzd, Director of Research at the Social Media Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University will be a panelist.

Waitlist: https://tinyurl.com/bdfb66bu

05/15/2026

Across the world, democracies are grappling with declining trust, political polarization and questions about how to involve citizens more meaningfully in public decision-making. What are lessons for Canada? Join us for Beyond Elections: Mini-Publics as a Tool of Democratic Renewal with Dr. Seána Glennon (uOttawa) who will share how deliberative mini-publics are being used globally as a tool of democratic renewal.

​This event includes a 45-minute discussion with a networking reception to follow.

Get tickets: https://luma.com/fmzsz0l4

05/14/2026

Our CEO Sabreena Delhon is quoted in a CBA National / National ABC Magazine article titled “Up against an existential threat.” Her comments addressed how Canada can respond to foreign interference in our democracy through platform regulation and by adapting how fellow middle powers approach civic education. Sabreena recently shared related recommendations in Ottawa before the Procedure and House Affairs Committee to inform their study about enhancing Canada’s civic resilience.

Read: https://tinyurl.com/4cnvd9a5

05/11/2026

Join us at Toronto Tech Week for Democracy & AI, a panel discussion about how advances in AI and declining transparency from social media platforms are shaping Canada's democratic culture.

Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/bdfb66bu

05/07/2026

We just dropped a new Group Chat episode 🎧

In collaboration with Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, our CEO Sabreena Delhon hosts this conversation with Debra Thompson (McGill University, Eve Haque (York University), and our own Beatrice Wayne to unpack how political pressures in the United States are shaping academic freedom here in Canada.

What does this mean for the health of our democracy?

Listen now, follow Group Chat wherever you get your podcasts: 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/muuac69y

🗣️ Hosting a Group Chat Listening Party? Add this one to your playlist: https://tinyurl.com/2r2e9x52

04/29/2026

Go behind the scenes of the Group Chat podcast with a BONUS episode featuring host Sabreena Delhon in conversation with Executive Producer Debbie Pacheco. They reflect on the making of the show, what shaped it, and why these conversations matter right now.

Listen here: https://www.samaracentre.ca/articles/bonus-episode-behind-the-mic

04/27/2026

With Alberta's Bill 28 and public libraries in the headlines, we're resharing our IDEAS for a Better Canada episode from Burlington: Your library is open (and believes in democracy).

The episode features host Nahlah Ayed (CBC/Radio-Canada IDEAS), Lita Barrie (Chief Executive Officer of the Burlington Public Library), Meg Uttangi Matsos (Director of Service Design and Innovation at Burlington Public Library), and Ira Wells (journalist and academic, and the author of On Book Banning: Or, How the New Censorship Consensus Trivializes Art and Undermines Democracy).

📻 Learn more:

The Samara Centre for Democracy partnered with CBC Radio’s IDEAS to host a cross-country public library tour that featured local active citizens discussing solutions to some of Canada’s most pressing challenges.