January 22, 2026 - In the Fall of 2025, the Minister of AI and Digital Inclusion Evan Solomon announced the creation of Canada’s National AI Task Force. The Centre’s Founding Director, Taylor Owen, was asked to be part of it. The members of the task force had one month to develop recommendations on different AI-related themes. Taylor’s focus was governance, safety and trust. His full memo is included below.

We are thrilled to announce that Anna Jahn will be joining McGill as Executive Director of the newly merged Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy and Media Ecosystem Observatory. Anna will also serve as Associate Professor of Research at McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy.

This report presents the findings of a two-year study that draws on best practices in public service media from within Canada and in 17 other countries around the world. It is informed by consultation with a broad range of media and public media experts, as well as insights from our national survey, “Do We Need the CBC?” We sought to understand the current role of public media in the larger Canadian media landscape, to assess its relevance, and to propose appropriate recommendations to bring the CBC/Radio-Canada — and the resources allocated to it — in line with needs and expectations of Canadians today.

Press release

Haugen will support the Centre’s research and public engagement on online safety policy, youth digital rights, and data transparency.

Photo by Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.