Octavie Bellavance
Associate Director, Democratic Futures
About
Octavie Bellavance holds a PhD in History from Yale University, where she studied press freedom and the political role of the daily press in late imperial Russia. Prior to joining CIFAR, she spent a decade in senior policy roles in the governments of Canada and of Ontario, most recently as a Deputy Director and trade negotiator at Global Affairs Canada. She also served as Co-Chair of the Recruitment of Policy Leaders during her time with the federal government. Octavie holds a BA (joint honours) in Russian Studies and History from McGill University and masters degrees from both McGill and Yale.