Barriers and Bridges: Reimagining Trade in the Federation  

Philippe Couillard was the 31st Premier of Québec, and has been a senior business advisor with StrategyCorp Inc. since March 2023. Dr. Couillard’s long and distinguished career has included politics, academia, and the practice of medicine. He began his career as a neurosurgeon and a member of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sherbrooke. Dr. Couillard then stepped away from the practice of medicine to serve as the Minister of Health and Social Services from 2003–2008 in the cabinet of Premier Jean Charest.  He became leader of the Quebec Liberal Party in 2013 and defeated the Parti Quebecois to win a majority government mandate in 2014. He served as the Premier of Quebec from 2014-2018. Since leaving politics, Dr. Couillard has been a corporate director while providing strategic advice through StrategyCorp Inc.  

Maryse Picard has exceptional experience as a lawyer and manager in Indigenous law and governance. Formerly Executive Director of the Huron-Wendat Nation and Chief of Staff to the Minister of Indigenous Affairs, her track record in the public service has led her to develop specialized services for issues relating to relations with First Nations and Inuit, the sharing of constitutional powers concerning First Nations and Inuit, and governance among First Nations. She has a long track record in the Quebec and Canadian public service. She was the first Indigenous woman to be appointed Chief of Staff to the Government of Quebec. Previously, she worked as a strategic planning analyst for First Nations economic development issues, then as an advisor to the Office of the Vice-President of Special Projects at the Economic Development Agency of Canada. She then served as Advisor for Governance and Community Development at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada. During her career, she has participated in two national commissions of inquiry. The first, as an expert, focused on relations between Indigenous peoples and certain public services in Quebec, and the second, as a lawyer, focused on murdered and missing Indigenous women and girls.

Stéphane Paquin is a full professor at the École nationale d’administration publique (ENAP) and holds the Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières. He heads the Groupe d’études et de recherche sur l’international et le Québec (GERIQ) and co-edits the Politique mondiale collection at Presses de l’Université de Montréal and Presses de la société québécoise de droit international.  He was admitted to the Cercle d’excellence de l’Université du Québec in 2024 and has received several distinctions, including a Canada Research Chair in International and Comparative Political Economy and a Fulbright Chair at the State University of New York. In 2008, he was also selected by the US government to participate in the International Visitor Leadership Program. In 2014, he chaired the local organizing committee for the International Political Science Association (IPSA) World Congress, held in Montreal. He has taught at several universities, including Northwestern University (Chicago) and Sciences Po (Paris). Author, co-author, or editor of 45 books, including Theories of International Political Economy (Oxford University Press, 2015), he is recognized for his work on paradiplomacy and the international relations of non-central governments, particularly on the issue of Canadian provinces’ participation in international negotiations. His publications appear in academic journals such as the Journal of World Trade, New Political Economy, Politics and Governance, International Journal, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, Canadian Journal of Political Science, Canadian Journal of Public Administration, and International Studies. 

Valérie holds a PhD in political science from the University of Ottawa, with a major in Canadian politics, and completed post-doctoral studies in comparative politics at the University of Edinburgh. A specialist in the political debates surrounding diversity within the Canadian federation and in contemporary Westminster-style democracies (Canada, UK), Valérie also has expertise in political parties and electoral dynamics within Canada and its provinces, and a keen interest in federalism. Her award-winning research has been published in national and international scientific journals and has received media coverage across the country.