Atlantic Undergraduate Policy Case Competition

AUPCC 2025 Winners

First Place: Mount Allison University

$1,200 Prize (Max Bell School of Public Policy, McGill University)

Emily Pachell, Jack Pemberton, Mae Ward, Hinke Younger, Dr. Carla VanBeselaere (Faculty Advisor)

Second Place: Acadia University

$1,000 Prize (Frank McKenna Centre for Leadership)

Lucy Goddard, Larque Law, Sterling Shannon

Third Place: StFX Team 2

$700 Prize (Brian Mulroney Institute of Government)

Georgia Schofield Chapman, Sophie Gallant, Brandon Varteresian, Dr. Hailey Murphy (Faculty Advisor)

Fourth Place: StFX Team 1

$50 Starbucks Gift Card (Brian Mulroney Institute of Government)

Landyn Cooke-Bithrey, Rena Cameron, Erin MacCallum, Haley Qualizza, Dr. Asa McKercher (Faculty Advisor [with Dr. Peter Kikkert])

2025 Sponsors

• Max Bell School of Public Policy, McGill University
• Frank McKenna Centre for Leadership
• Brian Mulroney Institute of Government

About the AUPCC

The Atlantic Undergraduate Policy Case Competition (AUPCC) is an inter-university case competition designed to get students from across Atlantic Canada interested and involved in the policymaking process. Participants will spend their time researching policy options, developing clear recommendations, devising actionable implementation strategies, and delivering persuasive arguments to judges.

The 2025 AUPCC is organized by a team of undergraduate students, in conjunction with the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government and will take place on November 7–8, 2025, at Mulroney Hall on the St. Francis Xavier University Campus (StFX).

Monetary awards will be presented to those teams whose submissions best exemplify effective policies, with a specific focus on impact, feasibility, and originality. The award values are as follows:

• First Place – $1,200
• Second Place – $1,000
• Third Place – $700

For more information, download the complete Event Guide.

Date and Location

The 2025 AUPCC will take place between November 7-8, 2025, at Mulroney Hall on the St. Francis Xavier University campus (StFX).

How It Works

The competition evaluates each team’s ability to bridge the gap between ideas and actionable policy through three primary deliverables:

• Policy Proposal (60% of score): A formal Memorandum to Cabinet (2,000-3,000 words) that presents a clear, justified, and feasible recommendation.
• Policy Presentation (40% of score): A 15-minute live presentation followed by a 10-minute Q&A with judges, where teams will persuasively defend their ideas.

Each school may field a maximum of 2 teams of up to 3–4 people each on a first come, first served basis. The AUPCC is open to undergraduate students from all disciplines and creativity is encouraged.

For more information, download the complete Competition Format.

Policy Theme

The theme of this year’s conference is as follows:

What can Atlantic Canada do to support the federal government’s goal of promoting national unity and self-sufficiency?

Date and Deadlines

Participating Schools

• Acadia University
• Mount Allison University
• StFX

Downloads

• AUPCC 2025 Schedule
• Event Guide
• Competition Format
• Policy Proposal Rubric
• Policy Presentation Rubric
• StFX Parking Guide

Contact

Questions? Email atlanticpolicycompetition@gmail.com.