Shauna Labman

Dr. Shauna Labman is an Executive Director at Global College and an Associate Professor at the University of Winnipeg, specializing in refugee law, resettlement, and private refugee sponsorship within human rights and public international law. She has authored and co-edited influential books, including Crossing Law’s Border: Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program (2019) and Strangers to Neighbours: Refugee Sponsorship in Context (2020), both recognized in The Hill Times’ Best Books lists.

• PhD and LLM, University of British Columbia Faculty of Law
• LLB, University of Victoria
• Member, Law Society of Manitoba; former member, Law Society of Ontario (2004–2018)

Her research explores refugee resettlement frameworks, executive discretion, and the moral and legal tensions in humanitarian sponsorship. She has contributed to debates on citizen-driven migration and gender-related persecution, with a focus on policy reform and international cooperation.

Recent publications analyze refugee sponsorship expansion, executive discretion in resettlement, and the role of community activism in shaping refugee systems. These works often intersect with themes of human rights, legal compliance, and policy innovation.

• 2019 K.D. Srivastava Prize for Crossing Law’s Border
• Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Fellowship
• Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Funding
• Liu Institute for Global Issues Fellowship
• CBC Manitoba’s Future 40 (2016)

As Executive Director of Global College, Labman bridges academic research and practical refugee policy. Her career spans roles at the University of Manitoba Faculty of Law, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Canadian Embassy, and federal court clerkships, reflecting a commitment to integrating legal scholarship with humanitarian action.