Canada Growth Summit 2025: Unleashing Canada’s potential in turbulent times

Michael Serapio is a renowned television anchor and reporter, whose broadcasting career has spanned more than two decades of covering some of the most challenging news stories in real time. In addition to being the face of CPAC’s live programming, he hosts the channel’s nightly political round-up, PrimeTime Politics, and is the first Filipino-Canadian male to anchor a national newscast in Canada. In 2023, Michael was recognized with a Canadian Screen Award for his work anchoring a breaking news special on the Ottawa occupation in February 2022.

Prior to joining CPAC in 2022, Michael spent 12 years as a host and anchor with CBC News Network. Before that, he was a reporter with CTV British Columbia and CityNews Toronto.

Jean Paul (JP) Gladu is currently Principal of Mokwateh, and previously served as the President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) from September 2012 until April 2020.

Anishinaabe from Thunder Bay JP is a member of Sand Pont First Nation located on the eastern shores of Lake Nipigon, Ontario. JP completed a forestry technician diploma in 1993, obtained an undergraduate degree in forestry from Northern Arizona University in 2000, holds an Executive MBA from Queens University and the ICD.D from Rotman School of Management University of Toronto. JP has over 30 years of experience in the natural resource sector. His career path includes work with Indigenous communities and organizations, environmental non-government organizations, industry and governments from across Canada.

Currently, JP serves on the board of Suncor, Institute for Corporate Directors, Broden Mining, First Nations Major Projects Coalition Advisory Centre and is Chair of Canadas Forest Trust and the Boreal Leadership Champions. He previously served on the Board of Ontario Power Generation, Noront Resources and past Chair of the Mikisew Group of Companies. He is a senior fellow with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and served as the Chancellor of St. Paul’s University College Waterloo from 2017 to 2020. His previous appointments include Canadian Electricity Association Public Advisory Panel, Colleges and Institutes Canada (previously ACCC), the Northern Policy Institute, Canadian Foundation for Economic Education, advisory member to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, a committee member to the Ontario Provincial Forest Policy Committee. In 2014, he was identified as a Diversity 50 Board Ready Candidate from the Canadian Board Diversity Council and a recipient of the Community Service Award – Transformation Awards from Diversity Magazine.

JP is an accomplished public speaker with countless engagements not only across Canada but internationally as he shares the challenges and successes of Indigenous business and the growing Indigenous economy in Canada today.

As a father to his daughter Chloe, along with a passion for his community, his culture and traditions; JP brings the past, present and future to the table, moving non-Indigenous and Indigenous business toward sustainable partnerships and shared economic prosperity.

Specialties: Leader, excels at understanding people and values, in-depth and skilled negotiator, financial sourcing, proposal development, building confidence in others, strong work ethic, excellent communication skills (written and verbal) and strategist with a long-view.

Doug Ford is the Premier of Ontario. He was also elected as the MPP for Etobicoke-North in 2018.

Andrew Coyne is a columnist for The Globe and Mail. Raised in Winnipeg, Andrew is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the London School of Economics‎. He has worked previously for The National Post, Maclean’s and Southam News, contributing as well to a wide range of other publications in Canada and abroad, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and The Walrus. He is also a weekly panelist on CBC’s The National. His book The Crisis of Canadian Democracy will be published by Sutherland House in May.

Avery Shenfeld is Managing Director and Chief Economist of CIBC Capital Markets. He has been with CIBC since 1993 and is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading economists for his perceptive analysis and insight on economic developments and their implications for financial markets.

He is a repeat winner of the Dow Jones Market Watch forecasting award and has received awards for forecast accuracy on the U.S. and Canadian economies by Bloomberg Markets. He has also been consistently ranked as one of the top Canadian economists by institutional investors.

His prior background includes experience in management consulting. He was on the economics faculty at the University of Toronto and in the summer program at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has addressed numerous business groups and has been quoted in the media in the United States, Canada, Asia and Europe.

Jacomo Corbo is the CEO and Co-Founder of PhysicsX. The company is building a new software stack to bring AI-native physics simulation to complex engineering and manufacturing across advanced industries.

Previously, he was Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of QuantumBlack and a partner at McKinsey & Company. Between 2005 and 2008, Jacomo was the Chief Race Strategist for the Renault F1 (Alpine) Team during which time the team won two double world championships.

Jacomo is an engineer with both a PhD in computer science and a master’s in applied statistics from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of electrical engineering from McGill University. He was a Senior Fellow at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and held the Canada Research Chair of Information Management between 2011 and 2015.

Former Ambassador Louise Blais was Canada’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2017-2021. During this time since, she also served as Vice President on UNICEF’s Executive Board.

She is now Associate at the Pendleton Group and Special Senior Advisor to the Business Council of Canada and the QG100 in Quebec. She is a public speaker and frequent commentator on international affairs and economic development.

Louise began her professional career as an Art Theft Analyst at Interpol before joining the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1996. As a senior diplomat, she served abroad in Washington, Tokyo and as Minister-Counsellor for Political Affairs at the Embassy in Paris as well as Director of the Canadian Cultural Centre. She was Consul General in Atlanta before being named Ambassador to the UN.

She is a member of the BMW Foundation’s Global Responsible Leaders Network. She sits on numerous boards, including Sherritt International; Invest in Canada; on the Advisory Board of ADC Technologies and Applied General Intelligence; and chairs the Board of l’OBVIA.

She is a Distinguished John Robson Lecturer at Emory University and non-resident expert at Laval University and the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs of Georgia Institute of Technology. She is the recipient of many honours including a Distinguished Leadership Award from the Business Council of Alabama.

Louise holds a B.A. from McGill University.

Prior to her appointment as Clerk in 2023, Sarah Thiele served as Manitoba’s deputy minister of transportation and infrastructure, overseeing investments in Manitoba roads, water control infrastructure and northern airports. Sarah also served as the deputy minister responsible for Manitoba’s Emergency Management Organization.

Sarah spent much of her public service career in the Department of Finance with the Treasury Board Secretariat as assistant deputy minister of strategic management and analysis, providing advice on provincial operating and capital budgets. She also served as secretary to the Fiscal Responsibility Committee of Cabinet.

She supports a government-wide approach to delivering responsive, citizen-centred services across systems. She has participated as an executive steering committee member for a number of major initiatives, from procurement modernization, finance and administration consolidation to IT services innovation. As Clerk of the Executive Council, Sarah champions the importance of a mature and professional public service that is agile in meeting the elected government’s direction during uncertain times.

Sarah holds a Master of Arts degree in political science from McGill University and an Associate Diploma (ARCT) in piano performance from the Toronto Royal Conservatory.

Todd was recently promoted to VP, Advanced Manufacturing Innovation, where he is responsible for the implementation and integration of advanced technologies within the factory of the future. Advanced robotics, data analysis, strategic partnerships, and continual education are just some of the tools that will be used to create cutting-edge technologies, making Magna a global leader in industrial innovation.

Todd is a visionary leader with over 20 years of experience in tooling, manufacturing, product design, and innovation within the global automotive industry. As Vice President of Advanced Manufacturing Innovation at Magna, Todd is responsible for driving the integration of advanced technologies such as robotics, data analysis, and strategic partnerships within the factory of the future. His commitment to continual education ensures that Magna remains at the forefront of industrial innovation.

Throughout his illustrious career, Todd has led numerous R&D and product development teams internationally, showcasing his ability to manage and communicate across suppliers, customers, and research partners in academia, industry, and startup companies. His technical expertise has driven significant advancements in new technology commercialization, continuous improvement efforts, and product launches across various divisions.

Todd’s extensive experience and dedication to innovation make him a sought-after (keynote) speaker.
His insights into the future of manufacturing and his ability to drive transformative change are sure to inspire and captivate audiences.

Elamin Abdelmahmoud is the host of CBC Radio’s daily arts, pop culture and entertainment show COMMOTION, and a former writer for BuzzFeed News. His work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, Rolling Stone and others. Elamin is the author of Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces, a number one national bestseller, a Globe 100 book and a New York Times notable book.

Gitane is the Founder and Principal of the consulting firm GDStrategic. She previously served as the CEO of the Canada Energy Regulator and as Alberta’s Deputy Minister for International and Intergovernmental Relations. Gitane is also a seasoned diplomat and a specialist in Canada-U.S. relations, having served as Alberta’s Senior Representative in Washington, D.C., and Canada’s Consul General in Chicago, among other roles. A respected public policy leader, Gitane is a Special Advisor at Blue Rock Law, a Global Fellow with the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and a Board Member with the Public Policy Forum.

Steve Verheul retired from the federal public service in October 2022 and is now a Principal with GT and Company Executive Advisors, as well as President of Steve Verheul Consulting Inc.

Prior to his retirement from the public service in 2022, he served as a Special Advisor on Trade Policy to the Deputy Minister of Finance. From 2017 to 2021, he was Assistant Deputy Minister of the Trade Policy and Negotiations Branch at Global Affairs Canada, managing a branch of more than 300 employees.

In addition to this position, Steve was Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator. In this role, he led the negotiations that resulted in the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Trade Agreement (the new NAFTA) and oversaw various other negotiations.

Prior to that, he served as Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator for negotiations between Canada and the European Union from 2009 to 2016, leading that negotiation from its beginning through to its successful conclusion.

Before that, he worked in international trade policy at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada from 1989 to 2009, where he worked on the NAFTA negotiations, the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations that led to the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Doha Round of WTO negotiations.

He was Canada’s Chief Agriculture Negotiator from 2003 to 2009, responsible for leading Canada’s involvement in international trade negotiations on agriculture.

Among various other awards from government and industry, Steve received the Career Contribution Award from the Association of Professional Executives of the Public Service of Canada, as well as the Innovative Team Award as leader of the Canada-EU Trade Negotiations Team.

Steve graduated from the University of Western Ontario in 1984, after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in Political Science.

Cynthia Leach is Assistant Chief Economist at RBC covering the team’s structural economic and policy analysis.

Previously, Cynthia was an executive at Finance Canada, most recently heading a team responsible for housing finance policy. Cynthia holds an M.A. Economics degree from the University of Toronto.

As Head of External Affairs, Devin Iversen and his team are responsible for collaborating with federal and provincial governments to develop legislative and regulatory frameworks that enhance Enbridge’s business competitiveness.

Devin has more than 25 years of experience in public policy and government affairs. Prior to joining Enbridge, he was at Cenovus Energy for over 13 years as Vice President, Government Affairs, focusing on developing public policy to help unlock economic growth in Canada’s oil and gas sector while cost effectively bending the curve of emissions. Prior to joining Cenovus, he was a founding Partner and Vice-President of a successful policy and political consulting firm.

He started his career serving for nine years in various roles in Canada’s Parliament.

Devin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Calgary. He has served as a board member at the Alberta Chamber of Resources, the Northeast Capital Industrial Association and the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary, a local non-profit organization that sponsors high school debate and public speaking.

As Senior Vice-President and Head of CDPQ Global and Global Head of Sustainable Investment, Marc-André Blanchard is responsible for coordinating CDPQ’s international operations.

As head of CDPQ’s international offices, he ensures the organization’s positioning as an investment partner of choice. He also supports the growth and development of Québecois companies around the world.

In addition, he oversees the organization’s sustainable investment orientations and activities, supports commitment and value creation within portfolio companies, and oversees CDPQ’s strategy to integrate ESG factors into all investment activities. He sits on the Executive Committee and the Investment-Risk Committee.

Before joining CDPQ in September 2020, he was ambassador and permanent representative of Canada to the United Nations in New York from 2016 to 2020. From 2017 to 2020, he served on the Canadian Board of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Previously, he was Chairman and CEO of McCarthy Tétrault, one of Canada’s leading law firms.

In addition to a bachelor’s degree in law from the Université de Montréal, he holds a master’s degree in public international law from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He holds two master’s degrees from the School of International and Public Affairs.

Matthew Mendelsohn is CEO of Social Capital Partners, a non-profit that champions pathways to wealth and ownership for working Canadians.

For over 25 years, Matthew has advised governments, organizations and elected leaders on public-policy solutions that work in practice. A former federal and provincial deputy minister, he was founding director of University of Toronto’s public-policy think tank the Mowat Centre.

Most recently he was a visiting professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and a senior advisor at Boston Consulting Group.

Matthew holds a PhD in Political Science from l’Université de Montréal and an ICD.D from the Rotman School of Management.

Krista Quinlan has served as Clerk of the Executive Council and Secretary to Cabinet, Deputy Minister to the Premier, and Head of the Public Service with the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador since June 2021.

She serves as chief policy advisor to the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. In this capacity, she oversaw the public service response to the province’s critical priorities, including the COVID-19 pandemic, health system cyberattack, wildfire and natural disaster response and the implementation of the government’s overall social and economic agenda. She places a high priority on reinforcing and revitalizing core public service values, and has led a number of recruitment, engagement, education and recognition initiatives for the provincial public service.

Over her 25-year career with the public service of Newfoundland and Labrador, she has held senior roles in the Office of the Executive Council, the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, and the Research and Development Corporation of Newfoundland and Labrador, a provincial Crown Corporation.

Michael McAdoo returned to Boston Consulting Group in 2017. He is a core member of the firm’s Global Advantage practice and a member of the Industrial Goods practice.

For more than 25 years, Michael has worked at the nexus of corporate strategy, public policy, and international geopolitics. He has been a member of the senior staff of the prime minister of a G7 country; a BCG principal; and a C-suite executive responsible for strategy, international trade, and international business development. He has successfully resolved trade disputes and/or market access barriers in the US, the EU, Russia, China, and Brazil. He has lived and worked in all three NAFTA countries, including running a Mexican manufacturing site with 225 unionized employees. Michael is a board member of the ICICI Bank Canada.

Michael began his career as a staffer in the Parliament of Canada, where he rose to become executive assistant to the prime minister. In this role, he participated in trade and diplomatic missions to 22 countries. He first joined BCG in 1995, working in the Toronto and Monterrey offices, and serving clients primarily in manufacturing. In 2001, he became a senior executive of Bombardier Inc., where he held leadership and C-suite roles in strategy, operations, international trade, and industrial services.

Dr. Peter Bak is the Chief Information Officer at Humber River Health. He is responsible for the implementation of the digital vision and ongoing operations of that vision, driving continuous innovation and transformation, and building the recently founded Humber River Health Research Institute.

With over 30 years of experience in healthcare informatics, IT operations, software development, product commercialization, consulting and executive leadership, Peter has contributed to the Canadian healthcare system in many ways:

Creating awareness of digital transformation and Command Centres around the world;
Contributing to the Ontario Health Cyber Security framework and resilience implementation;
Influencing the Ontario Health EMR interoperability strategy and implementation;
Driving 100 percent digital adoption of medical imaging in Canada as part of the Canada Health Infoway team;
Assisting numerous hospitals with imaging and IT strategies; and
Lecturing on technology in healthcare.

Peter has a PhD in applied engineering from Imperial College, London. He has published various papers on health care-related topics. His skill and contribution to the health-care industry are reflected in his recognition as the Canadian public sector CIO of the Year for 2016.

Nick Taylor-Vaisey is POLITICO’s Ottawa bureau chief. He is lead author of the Ottawa Playbook, a must-read morning newsletter on Parliament Hill that he helped launch in 2021. He has spent most of his career obsessed with the Canada-U.S. conversation.

He spends his days with the people behind all the politics: senior politicians, seasoned campaigners, ambitious lobbyists, parliamentary geeks, curious diplomats and the political aides who clock the most hours.

For more than 15 years in journalism, he has built massive spreadsheets, filed hundreds of access-to-information requests and interviewed key players in politics and policy — all in pursuit figuring out what’s about to happen next on the Hill and what makes governments tick.

He’s on a mission to tell insiders what they need to know as they roll out of bed.

Nick comes to POLITICO from Maclean’s magazine, and has bounced between Toronto and Ottawa for his entire adult life. He once interviewed a federal cabinet minister on an airplane (they were both passengers in coach, and a deadline loomed). He’s so far managed to visit 49 states (not that he’s counting). He also served a three-year stint as president of the Canadian Association of Journalists from 2015-2018.

Nicole Janssen is an established entrepreneur and recognized leader in artificial intelligence. As the co-founder and co-CEO of AltaML, she plays a crucial role in the company’s success. Her extensive experience spans the public sector, agriculture, financial services, health and energy, driving AltaML’s growth. Dedicated to promoting global education on responsible AI, Nicole has earned recognition from the RAI Institute. Her expertise is sought by governments for input on AI innovation in Canada. In 2023, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award for Woman in AI of the Year and was named one of North America’s Top 25 Women of Influence. She was recently awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal for her contribution to Canada. She also co-founded Janalta Interactive Inc. and Stratus Holdings Inc.

Peter Tertzakian is a founder of the ARC Energy Research Institute. Peter joined ARC in 2002 with a background in geophysics and economics and has over 30 years of experience in the energy business. Best-selling author of A Thousand Barrels A Second and The End of Energy Obesity, he is a sought-after international speaker recognized as an expert energy economist and has been a key contributor on a number of government and industry panels.

Peter has a Master of Science in Management of Technology from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a graduate degree in Econometrics from the University of Southhampton and a Bachelor of Science in Geophysics from the University of Alberta.

Peter is also the founder of Studio.Energy. The Studio is where people come to think creatively, receive mentorship, develop new solutions and explore complex challenges in the world of energy.

An award-winning veteran journalist, Hannah Thibedeau has covered Parliament Hill for more than 20 years. She most recently served as National News Anchor of CBC News Live on Canada’s most-watched news network. Thibedeau and her team won the 2023 Canadian Screen Award (formerly the Gemini) for “Best Live News Special: Ottawa Occupation” for their coverage of the truck convoy in Ottawa in 2022.

Hannah has covered seven federal elections, four Prime Ministers, multiple leadership conventions, yearly Remembrance Day ceremonies, the first official National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Royal Visits, and the 2014 shootings on Parliament Hill, among many others. During her tenure, she also reported on important international events such as G7, NATO and APEC Summits and Prime Minister Jean Chretien’s visit to Afghanistan.

Hailing from Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Hannah has always had an interest in politics, news coverage and storytelling. She attended Dalhousie University in Halifax where she earned a degree in Political Science. Following university, Hannah wanted to combine her love of politics and media and went to Algonquin College in Ottawa and completed her Television Broadcasting Diploma.

Her range of skills and experience throughout the industry is extensive, beginning her career behind the scenes as technical support for hockey and football at ESPN2, producing stories for CTV National News, and as a reporter for Global National then reporting locally, nationally and internationally at CBC for all mediums: TV; radio; online; and, social media. Hannah has also spent time working as a reporter in Washington, guest hosting the National as well as Power and Politics and most recently becoming the anchor of her program on CBC News Network.

David MacNaughton is the President of Palantir Canada, a subsidiary of Palantir Technologies, Inc. (data integration and analytics software) since September 2019.

David has held various positions with both the federal and provincial levels of government, including serving as Canada’s Ambassador to the United States from March 2016 to August 2019. He also served as Principal Secretary to the Premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2005. Previously, he was the Chairman of StrategyCorp (public affairs consulting) from June 2005 to March 2016.

He was also the Chairman of Aereus Technologies Inc. (manufacturing) from 2014 to 2016. He has served on the boards of the North York General Hospital, the Stratford Festival, the National Ski Academy, TV Ontario, the Toronto French School and the Toronto International Film Festival.

David holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of New Brunswick.

Michele Harradence is an Executive Vice President at Enbridge Inc., and President of Enbridge Gas, North America’s largest natural gas utility. Under Michele’s leadership, Enbridge Gas serves 7 million customers in Canada and the United States, including homes, schools, hospitals and businesses. Before assuming her current role, Michele was the Chief Operations Officer for Enbridge’s Gas Transmission & Midstream business unit, based in Houston, Texas.

Michele has more than 25 years of experience in the energy value creation chain, including the upstream, midstream, downstream, retail and oil and gas services sectors. She has degrees in mechanical engineering and law and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. She is a current and past board member of several industry associations, including Vice-Chair of the Canadian Gas Association, Board Member of the American Gas Association and past chair of the Ontario Energy Association.

Clifford Young is President of Ipsos Public Affairs in the U.S. and leads Ipsos global election and political polling risk practice. His research specialties include social and public opinion trends, crisis management, corporate and institution reputation, and election polling. He works with a wide variety of corporate, government, media and political clients.

Clifford is considered an expert on polling in emerging markets, as well as polling in adverse and hostile conditions.

He is a frequent writer, analyst, and commentator on elections, electoral polling and public opinion.

Clifford earned his B.A. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and did his graduate work at the University of Chicago (M.A. and PhD). He trained in survey sampling at the University of Michigan and in political psychology at Stanford University. He is also an adjunct professor at Johns Hopkins SAIS and an instructor at both Columbia University SIPA and University of São Paulo where he teaches courses on public opinion and election forecasting.

The Honourable Lisa Raitt served 11 years as the Conservative MP for Milton (Halton), during which time she served as Deputy Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition and Deputy Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada, as well as holding various portfolios including Transport, Labour and Natural Resources.

She joined CIBC Capital Markets as Vice-Chair and Managing Director, Global Investment Banking in January 2020.

Ken Chatoor works to develop and implement LMIC’s vision for the collection and dissemination of research to support the data needs of Canada’s evolving labour market.

Ken joins LMIC after working in education, labour market, and equity research to support evidence-based policymaking. He has published research reports and government evaluations on mental health, the impact of funding structures on government service provision, Work-Integrated Learning, and labour market transitions for new graduates.

Prior to entering the world of policy and government, he worked in biomedical engineering, researching spine regeneration at Mount Sinai Hospital. He then studied at McGill University, where he researched therapies for brain cancer at Montreal General Hospital.

In his spare time, Ken likes to travel, is an avid fan of film and pop culture, and spends time with his Shiba Inu, Kobe.

Andrew Thomson is the University of Toronto’s Chief of Government Relations. He also serves on the President’s senior leadership team. As chief advocate to federal, provincial and municipal governments, he helps drive the university’s public policy agenda. This includes a focus on community and economic development, strengthening public funding for comprehensive and globally recognized, research-intensive programs, and knowledge transfer strategies to support entrepreneurship and job creation.

Andrew’s executive experience, in both public and private sectors, has focused extensively on issues of economic and human capital development. With more than a decade in elected office, and experience serving in senior Cabinet roles, including as Saskatchewan’s Minister of Finance and Minister of Learning, he has a deep understanding of government policy. As an executive with Cisco Systems, based in Toronto and subsequently the Asia Pacific region, he led public sector initiatives focused on creating new partnership and business models within the higher education sector across OECD and emerging markets.

Inez Jabalpurwala is a distinguished leader in public policy and non-profit management.

Before joining PPF, Inez was the Global Director of VINEx, a brain health research organization. Inez built VINEx during the pandemic to explore how SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses impact brain health, including Long COVID. After co-leading the development of a pan-Canadian action plan to address Long COVID, Inez broadened VINEx’s focus to better understand how the environment impacts our health. She is also co-leader of the Brain Health Nexus, a multidisciplinary effort to unleash science and technology to optimize brain health and prevent brain disease.

Prior to these roles, Inez was Founding President and CEO of the Brain Canada Foundation from 2001 to 2020, building a globally recognized health charity that brought together fragmented research and policy communities, and accelerated Canada’s excellent research on the brain. Under her leadership, Brain Canada raised more than $130 million, initiated and executed more than 100 partnerships across sectors and disbursed more than $250 million in grants.

Inez has been named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women by the Women’s Executive Network on three occasions — in 2007, 2016 and again in 2022 for “women in STEM roles who are challenging the status quo for knowledge and female empowerment.”

She holds a BA and MA in English literature and an MBA from McGill University and has completed the Master of Management program for voluntary sector leaders.

Trevor Tombe is a Professor at the University of Calgary’s Department of Economics and the Director of Fiscal and Economic Policy at The School of Public Policy. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and a Fellow at the Public Policy Forum.

He received his master’s and PhD in economics from the University of Toronto and an undergraduate degree in finance from Simon Fraser University.

His research explores a broad set of topics, from international and interprovincial trade to public finances. He has published in top economics journals, is co-author of the textbooks Public Finance in Canada and Macroeconomics, co-editor of the recent volume Fiscal Federalism in Canada, and is co-director of Finances of the Nation.

In addition to his academic work, Trevor actively advises various governments on a wide range of issues, is currently a member of the Government of Canada Working Group on Productivity in the Public Sector and the Advisory Council on Interprovincial Trade and was previously a member of the Bank of Canada panel reviewing its pandemic response. He also and contributes to policy development and discussions through regular op-eds, articles and media engagement.

Brett House is Professor of Professional Practice in the Economics Division at Columbia Business School. His research and writing are focused on macroeconomics and international finance, with interests in fiscal issues, monetary policy, international trade, financial crises, and debt markets. His work has been published in peer-reviewed journals and international media.

Prof. House is also a Fellow with Canada’s Public Policy Forum and a Senior Fellow with the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and Massey College. Earlier in his career he held teaching and research positions with McGill University, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, Keble College Oxford, and the University of Cape Town.

Previously, Prof. House was Deputy Chief Economist at Scotiabank, Canada’s third-largest and most international universal bank. Earlier, he was Chief Economist at a Toronto-based asset-management start-up and Global Strategist at a New York-based global macro hedge fund. He cut his teeth in financial markets at Goldman Sachs and the World Bank.

In policy-making roles, Prof. House was an Economist at the International Monetary Fund for nearly a decade, where he worked on emerging-markets financing. He was also Principal Advisor on Economic Issues in the Office of United Nations Secretary-General during the global financial crisis.

André Beaulieu is a senior business executive and Board member. From 2015 to 2024, he was Senior Vice-President, Corporate Services for BCE, responsible for one of the largest procurement portfolios in Canada, and the Strategic Business Transformation team which leads all major restructuring initiatives as well as the integration of BCE acquisitions. He was also in charge of Real Estate operations, Corporate Security — including cyber-security and corporate responsibility, including ESG, for BCE.

Between 2012 and 2015, André served as Senior Vice-President for Wholesale, a business unit serving 700 telecommunications customers in 180 countries. During the same period, he was President of BCE Nexxia, the entity that owns and manages Bell’s network in the U.S. Between 2007 and 2011, André occupied a series of executive functions, including VP Corporate Strategy.

Before joining Bell, André was a strategy consultant with Kearney and Bain & Company in Paris and Boston. His main areas of client service were in private equity investment on the buy side and strategy for large technology companies. Previously, André worked with the Privy Council Office of the Government of Canada and the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. He sits on the Boards of CORIM, Equitas, the Azrieli Foundation and the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Luiza Ch. Savage is the executive editor for growth at POLITICO, where she focuses on expanding how POLITICO serves its audiences, especially delivering greater value to professional subscribers.

At POLITICO, Luiza has led the development of new editorial products and coverage areas to grow audiences in Washington, across the states and globally. This work has included newsletters, live events and multimedia formats. She spearheaded the creation of POLITICO Canada, a cross-border policy intelligence service, and led POLITICO’s expansion into Canada. She has also overseen audio, video and live event content teams and guided the growth of key franchises across multiple platforms.

Before joining POLITICO, she was the Washington bureau chief for Maclean’s, Canada’s national weekly news magazine. In that role, she covered several U.S. presidential elections, wrote and produced two television documentaries and was a regular commentator on television and radio. Earlier in her career, she worked as a reporter for three newspapers.

Born in Poland and raised in Canada, Savage earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard College and a master’s degree from Yale Law School, where she was a Knight Foundation journalism fellow. She is a fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and a former Jefferson Fellow at the East-West Center. She is married to New York Times reporter Charlie Savage and they have two children.

Stephen Lucas is an accomplished public servant who retired from the government of Canada in 2024. He was appointed CEO of Mitacs, a not-for-profit organization that connects Canadian businesses and researchers with talent to support research and innovation, later that year.

Stephen’s public service career spanned more than 35 years, including 10 years as a Deputy Minister. He has extensive public policy leadership experience in health, research and innovation, environment and climate change, energy and federal-provincial-territorial relations.

He served as Deputy Minister of Health Canada between 2019 and 2024. He was previously Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Deputy Secretary of Plans, Consultations and Intergovernmental Affairs at the Privy Council Office (PCO). Prior to that, he was Assistant Secretary for Economic and Regional Development Policy at PCO, and Assistant Deputy Minister for Science and Policy and for Minerals and Metals at Natural Resources Canada. He started his career as a research scientist at the Geological Survey of Canada.

Stephen has a bachelor’s degree in geological engineering from Queen’s University and a doctorate in structural geology and tectonics from Brown University.