Democratic Resilience

The AI Competitiveness Project is a Munk School initiative that brings together researchers, policy-makers and industry leaders to examine how Canada can strengthen its position in the AI landscape while preserving its sovereignty. Its report “Sovereign by Design” sets out policy options across procurement, security classification, regulation and public investment.

The Citizen Lab is internationally recognized for research into spyware, disinformation campaigns and digital threats to civil society. Its interdisciplinary team draws on expertise in law, computer science and the social sciences to analyze and expose surveillance and influence operations, and to report its findings publicly.

CDL Defence is an objectives-based accelerator stream for founders developing dual-use technologies that improve mission capability, resilience and national security. It helps ventures align with real buyer needs, navigate government pathways, and build evidence for testing and procurement with allied partners.

The Munk School is a leading centre for interdisciplinary research, teaching, and global engagement on major public policy challenges. Through partnerships with governments, civil society and the private sector, the Munk School advances evidence-based policy research on global security, geopolitical risk and democratic governance.

PATRON-ROTIP is an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional research program based at U of T. It uses computational methods to analyze Canadian governance, from representation and lobbying to political finance, procurement and electoral integrity, and partners with civic non-profits to train students through projects such as MaRiPoSa, which samples electoral district boundaries.

The Public History Lab at the Munk School shows how historical context can inform contemporary political discourse on freedom and democracy. Understanding how political movements operated in the past, it argues, sheds light on politics shaped by today’s technologies. The lab shares this research-based scholarship widely, working with community members, writers, thinkers and policy-makers.

SRI coordinates interdisciplinary research on the societal impacts of advanced technologies, including safe and aligned AI development, fairness in machine learning and trusted data sharing. SRI develops governance approaches for emerging technologies by integrating technical research with social, legal and regulatory analysis.

UTE connects the accelerators across U of T’s three campuses that help students, faculty and alumni turn research into companies, among them dual-use ventures that serve civilian and defence customers alike. Its “no wrong door” approach gives founders a way in at any stage or in any industry, with mentorship, funding and domain expertise.

Vox Pop Labs builds data-driven tools for civic engagement and public consultation, among them Vote Compass, which shows voters how their views align with the candidates’ and has helped millions of people take part in elections in Canada and abroad. It was founded by Clifton van der Linden while a PhD candidate in U of T’s Department of Political Science.