Central to the French Common Law Program's mission, this competition offers students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of language law by applying their knowledge in a simulated court setting.
The 2025 competition brought together 25 talented students from six universities across Canada: Université de Moncton, McGill University, the University of Ottawa, the University of Manitoba and, through the French Common Law Certificate, the Universities of Calgary and Saskatchewan.
A Bilingualism Debate at the Forefront
The moot’s case centred on the bilingualism of New Brunswick's Lieutenant-Governor. The Supreme Court of Canada recently agreed to hear an appeal filed by the Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick (SANB), or Acadian Society of New Brunswick, over whether New Brunswick's lieutenant-governor must be able to speak both English and French.
The SANB filed application for leave to appeal last August over the 2019 federal appointment of former lieutenant-governor Brenda Murphy, who made attempts to learn and speak French but was not fluent.
Representing the University of Ottawa were Xavier Champagne (JD-BCom ’26), Natalie Comfort (3L), Victoria McDowall (2L), and Gabrielle Muzychka (JD-BSocSc ’26). They were coached by Marc Tremblay, professor at the Common Law Section, and Maxine Vincelette and Millie Lefebvre, lawyers at Power Law.
The preliminary rounds saw several prominent lawyers from the Francophone legal community acting as judges. The finals were presided over by the Honourable Julie Thorburn (Ontario Court of Appeal), the Honourable Michelle Flaherty (Ontario Superior Court of Justice), and the Honourable Marc Labrosse (Ontario Superior Court of Justice).
The Faculty of law extends its gratitude to the Honourable Michel Bastarache, law firm McLennan Ross, and Power Law for their sponsorship and unwavering support of this competition. Appreciation is also extended to the many judges, clerks, and coaches who contributed their time and expertise.
Congratulations to all participants for their outstanding efforts and dedication to advancing language rights and to this year’s winners.
Competition results
Best pairs (chosen by the judges in the final)
- 1st place - McGill (appellants)
- 2nd place - McGill (respondents)
Teams Moncton (respondents) and Moncton (appellants) also reached the finals.
Best litigants - oral pleadings
- 1st place - Serena Dugelay (McGill, appellants)
- 2nd place - Matteya Wendling (Moncton, respondents)
- 3rd place - Maria Mallouche (McGill, respondents)
- 4th place - Lena Clayton (Calgary, callers)
Pierre-Foucher Prize - best factums
- 1st place - Team McGill (Nicholas Duguay, Maria Mallouche, Raphaël Tremblay, Serena Dugelay)
- 2nd place - Team Calgary/Saskatchewan (Danielle Bazinet, Lena Clayton, Sarah Rezazadeh, Sarah Valentine)
Michel-Bastarache Award - spirit of fair play, camaraderie and devotion to French
- Université de Moncton (Jennifer Duguay, Jasmine Martin, Sarah Leblanc, Matteya Wendling)