The McMaster Master of Public Policy (MPP) program is pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Capstone Competition. The capstone course is the culmination of each student’s educational journey and allows them to apply everything they’ve learned – from policy and data analysis to stakeholder managerment to subject-matter expertise – to an original research problem of their choosing. Students present their analysis and recommendations to a jury of policy experts drawn from government, the private sector, and the non-profit world. This year’s projects demonstrated an exceptional level of policy and political acuity while bringing forward concrete solutions to real-world problems. The winning projects are:
Our Digital Society stream winner is Sarah Mariani, whose capstone project focused on competitiveness in Canada. Honourable mention goes to Erin Coakley, whose capstone explored policy responses to AI-mediated sexual harm. Our thanks to judges Mark Surman, Manon Paquet, and Graeme Stewart (who stood in for Vasiliki (Vass) Bednar).
You can watch the Digital Society stream capstone presentations at:
Our Housing stream winner is Jen Koornneef, whose capstone project examined the Housing Accelerator Fund. Honourable mention goes to Sawyer Buchanan, who looked at unlocking asset-based capital mobilization within Ontario’s non-market housing. We’re grateful to Janet Hope, Claude Gautreau, Samantha D., and Steve Pomeroy for serving as judges for these capstone presentations.
You can watch the Housing Policy stream presentations at:
Congratulations to our winners and to all of our students for an outstanding round of capstone presentations. And a special thanks to course mentors Ally Beacock-Schmura, Alicia D., and Angelo Gio Mateo for their guidance and unwavering support throughout the semester.
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