Moncton, September 17, 2026 – The Donald J. Savoie Institute is pleased to announce the election of three new members to its board of directors. They are Marc-Antoine Chiasson, an attorney and partner at the law firm McInnes Cooper; Stéphanie Chouinard, a political scientist and full professor at the Canadian Forces College – Royal Military College of Canada; and Kenneth Deveau, president of the Université Sainte-Anne.
“We are privileged to welcome to our board of directors three individuals, each recognized for their leadership and achievements in their respective fields,” said Board Chair Ms. Andrée Savoie. “I would like to thank them for agreeing to put their expertise in governance, research, and economic development to work for our organization. I would also like to thank Mr. Byron James, who had been a board member since 2019 and whose term ended last June.”
Profiles of the Newly Elected Members
Marc-Antoine CHIASSON, KCMarc-Antoine Chiasson is an attorney and a partner at the law firm McInnes Cooper. His practice focuses on business and corporate law, litigation, administrative law, labor and employment law, as well as health law. In his role, he advises entrepreneurs, businesses, institutions, and municipalities on complex matters involving commercial transactions, governance, regulatory compliance, and risk management.
Mr. Chiasson holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the Université de Moncton and a Bachelor of Social Sciences with a major in political science from the University of Ottawa. Deeply committed to his alma mater, the Université de Moncton, he served on the University’s Board from 2017 to 2022 and served as its vice-chair from 2019 to 2022. He also served as president of the Université de Moncton’s alumni association—alUmni—from 2016 to 2019.
Thanks to his professional background, Mr. Chiasson has an in-depth knowledge of the business world and entrepreneurship, and solid expertise in organizational governance. He served on the board of directors of McInnes Cooper from 2019 to 2025 and chaired its Human Resources Committee from 2023 to 2026. He also served on the board of directors of the New Brunswick Investment Management Corporation (Vestcor) from 2008 to 2013. A member of the board of directors of the New Brunswick Economic Council since 2023, he has served as its chair since 2026.
Stéphanie CHOUINARD, Ph.D.Stéphanie Chouinard is a full professor in the Department of Defence Studies at the Canadian Forces College, a component of the Royal Military College of Canada (Kingston) located in Toronto. Prior to this position, she was a professor at the Royal Military College in Kingston, a role she held since 2017.
Stéphanie Chouinard earned her Ph.D. in political studies from the University of Ottawa in 2015, specializing in Canadian politics. She then conducted postdoctoral research at the Center for Public Law Research at the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Law from 2015 to 2017. She was also a visiting scholar at the Center for Canadian Studies at the University of Edinburgh during the winter of 2016. Her academic career began at the Université de Moncton, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in social sciences with a concentration in political science in 2008.
An expert on Canadian politics and public policy, Ms. Chouinard focuses her research on issues of language rights and minority rights. She is the author of numerous peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on these topics. Her most recent work has appeared in Recherches sociographiques, Review of Constitutional Studies, Francophonies d’Amérique, and the International Journal of Canadian Studies. Recognized for the rigor of her analyses of Canadian politics, she has written columns for the newspaper L’Acadie Nouvelle and the magazine L’actualité, while also appearing regularly on television news and public affairs programs. Finally, her expertise in official languages has been sought by Canadian parliamentarians in the context of parliamentary committee proceedings.
Kenneth DEVEAU, Ph.D.Kenneth Deveau has been President and Vice-Chancellor of the Université Sainte-Anne in Nova Scotia since 2024. Prior to assuming these duties, he served as Vice President for Academic Affairs and Research from 2011 to 2021. His career at Université Sainte-Anne began in 2004, when he was appointed professor in the Department of Educational Sciences.
Holding a Ph.D. in Education from the Université de Moncton, which he earned in 2007, Mr. Deveau is recognized for his expertise in education in minority contexts, ethnolinguistic vitality and development, and bilingualism within minority communities. He has authored more than 40 publications, including 27 peer-reviewed articles, and presented some 60 academic papers. His research has received financial support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, among other sources.
Kenneth Deveau’s interest in regional development issues has manifested itself in various ways throughout his career. In 2023–2024, he served as Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Economic Development Council. He also served on the board of directors of Invest Nova Scotia from 2014 to 2020, and as its chair from 2016 to 2020. This organization’s mission is to support initiatives aimed at strengthening Nova Scotia’s competitiveness in the global economy. In 2025, at the request of the Nova Scotia government, he chaired a commission tasked with reviewing electoral district boundaries to ensure effective representation of the Acadian region of Chéticamp and its surrounding areas.
About the Donald J. Savoie Institute
As an independent research organization, the Donald J. Savoie Institute’s mission is to contribute to the advancement of knowledge on regional development—particularly in the Atlantic region—related public policies, and the economic, social, and political issues facing Atlantic Canada and Acadia. This mission is carried out by funding basic research projects and activities and disseminating their findings. The Donald J. Savoie Institute, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 1983.Source: Céline Basque, Administrative Director, Donald J. Savoie Institute.
Email: [email protected]
Download the PDF version