Did you know that Canada had a bijural legal system? As a legacy left by the colonisation of North America by France and Great Britain, Canadian bijuralism is an expression of the coexistence of the civil law and common law legal traditions in Canada. Daniel Judd, our CMF Scholar, was awarded the most unique opportunity to undertake his LL.M at McGill University, fully funded by the Canadian Memorial Scholarship Fund.

The Hampshire native says, "my research focused on certain duties of care: ‘equitable’ ones. I had always been intrigued by the dual systems of ‘equitable’ and ‘common law’ obligations. Graduate study provides a chance to try and convert a curiosity into new understanding – and in my research, I was seeking to understand some rather fundamental things about these duties. How did they arise? Were they distinct from common law duties? Where did they fit in the broader scheme of private law? My thesis sought to answer some of these questions by arguing that equitable duties of care all protected defined legal relationships, and should be understood as a distinct group." He has very fond memories of his time in Montréal, notably "snow, on snow, and then some, the Canadians, learning to skate backwards (since forgotten), and conversations interweaving between English and French so seamlessly."

Daniel has recently qualified as a junior barrister, specialising in commercial and private law. He is unequivocal about how the CMF scholarship has helped pave his legal career: "further study in law was made possible by the CMF scholarship, and assisted me at an important time as I sought to join my chosen profession, where a strong academic foundation really matters. The year enabled me to develop both as a lawyer and as an independent thinker, and also provided me with an array of interesting talking points when it came to interviews. Being taught the courses in two languages was a unique opportunity as well as having the chance to take classes in subjects that were quite new to me, such as international arbitration and political philosophy. Fellow graduate students, Canadian and indeed from all over the world, soon became friends who I am still in touch with to this day."

Applications close on January 31st; for more information please visit our website.

For more information about supporting scholars such as Daniel, you are warmly welcomed to be in touch.

Exciting news from the Québec Office in London

Québec culture, an uplift during challenging times. We have heard from many of our readers that access to Canadian arts and culture has been an important antidote to the current situation in lockdown and a great uplift to spirits. We are delighted to share with you the wonderful programme of Québec cultural and artist events being put forward by our colleagues at the Délégation générale du Québec. Headed in London by Pierre Gabriel Côté, the Délégation générale promotes Québec culture and trade in the UK, as well as Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Ireland.

We recently caught up with them about their December 2020 to March 2021 cultural programming and are very pleased to share that many events are accessible online for free. Highlights include virtual cinema, music, literature events as well as a theatre web series. Their calendar of events is available here.

The Foundation also wishes to extend a warm welcome to the new Director for Culture at the Québec Office, Ingried Boussaroque. Originally from Québec, Ingried had been living in Scotland for five years prior to joining the Québec office in the United Kingdom. She is highly respected in the cultural field, having spent more twenty years in the public eye as an artist in her own right. She is well known as a musician, singer, composer and actress. With her group, La Mandragore, Ingried was nominated for an ADISQ by the Québec Music Industry Awards in 2011, amongst many other achievements. We look forward to hearing much more about Québec culture in the year ahead Ingried and wish you well in your new role.

Canadian Centennial Scholarship fund now open for applications. Founded in 1967 by the Canadian Women’s Club to mark Canada’s centennial, the Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund (CCSF) has awarded some 500 scholarships to outstanding students from across Canada who are enrolled in postgraduate programmes at UK universities, colleges, institutes or conservatories. CCSF celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2017 with special guest speaker Mark Carney, and more recently promoted their scholarships and scholars’ achievements in an interesting newsletter available here.

Canadian Centennial Scholarship fund now open for applications. Founded in 1967 by the Canadian Women’s Club to mark Canada’s centennial, the Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund (CCSF) has awarded some 500 scholarships to outstanding students from across Canada who are enrolled in postgraduate programmes at UK universities, colleges, institutes or conservatories. CCSF celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2017 with special guest speaker Mark Carney, and more recently promoted their scholarships and scholars’ achievements in an interesting newsletter available here.

Scholarships are for postgraduate academic and artistic studies in the UK, and are exclusively for students who have already commenced their postgraduate programme of study in the UK. Recipients are chosen on the basis of academic excellence, as well as on their ability to represent Canada within the UK academic and artistic community. They represent a breadth of academic interests and pursuits. The scholarships, including The Mary LeMessurier Award for the Study of History and The Belle Shenkman Award for the Study of the Arts, are among the most prestigious annual scholarships for Canadians studying in the UK. The CCSF is a UK-registered UK charity, administered by volunteer committee members.

Information about applying for a CCSF scholarship is available here, with a deadline for applications of March 7, 2021. If you are interested in supporting the CCSF, you are warmly welcomed to contact their volunteers directly. The main sponsor of the CCSF is the Maple Leaf Trust, who host numerous fundraising events on behalf of the CCSF. Chair Robin Mansell (in our spotlight below) says, "we are very appreciative of the support we receive from the Canadian community in the United Kingdom."

In the spotlight this week is Professor Robin Mansell, Chair of the Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund (CCSF). Robin Mansell grew up in Vancouver. She has been a member of the CCSF for ten years and Trustee for three years. She is Professor in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where her interests focus on digital technology innovation, regulation and the social impacts of online services. She is trained in several social science disciplines including social psychology, politics and economics. She previously worked at the Science Policy Research Unit, University of Sussex, and at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. She is an elected member of Academia Europaea and the UK Academy of Social Sciences; Board Member and Secretary of the annual Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy, Washington DC; and former President of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR).

Robin has been an active contributor to LSE life, having served as head of her department, Academic Governor, and interim Deputy Director and Provost. Robin received her PhD in 1984 in Communication from Simon Fraser University and holds an MA (Simon Fraser University, 1980), MSc (University of London, 1976), and BA Hons (University of Manitoba, 1974). Robin loves hiking in countries around the world, with her next adventure booked (hopefully) for summer 2022. She is also fascinated by urban architecture and dabbles in photography in her spare time.

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