2022 Speakers

SPEAKERS OF THE 2022 CONFERENCE

The Conference was honored to count on exceptional leaders to address our participants and speak during the Opening Plenary of the 2022 Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference. Below you will find the names of the exceptional Canadians who shared their views and perspectives with the next generation of leaders (in the order they presented).

Meredith Preston McGhie

Meredith Preston McGhie became the Global Centre for Pluralism’s Secretary General on October 1, 2019. She has devoted more than 20 years to addressing conflict and instability in Africa and Asia in some of the most troubled situations.

Goldy Hyder

Goldy Hyder is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Business Council of Canada. Founded in 1976, the Council is a non-profit, non-partisan organization composed of the chief executives and entrepreneurs of Canada’s leading companies.

Anil Arora

Anil Arora was appointed Chief Statistician of Canada in September 2016. He has led projects on high-profile policy issues, legislative and regulatory reform, and overseen large national programs.

Dr. Alika Lafontaine

Dr. Alika Lafontaine is President of the Canadian Medical Association. He is an award-winning physician and the first Indigenous doctor listed in Medical Post’s 50 Most Powerful Doctors.

Emilie Nicolas

Emilie Nicolas is an anthropologist, consultant and columnist for Le Devoir and The Montreal Gazette. A long-time social justice advocate, Emilie is a co-founder of Québec inclusif (2013), a movement that actively unites citizens against racism and social exclusion.

Martha Hall Findlay

Martha Hall Findlay, Chief Climate Officer, leads Suncor’s efforts to address the nexus of climate and energy, including strategic planning and stewarding many of Suncor’s external relationships to build an environment that supports a future for Canadian energy.

John Stackhouse

John Stackhouse is a bestselling author and one of Canada’s leading voices on innovation and economic disruption. He is senior vice-president in the Office of the CEO at Royal Bank of Canada, leading the organization’s research and thought leadership on economic, technological and social change.

Meg Gingrich

Meg Gingrich is the Assistant to the National Director at the United Steelworkers Canadian National Office and serves as the president of Blue Green Canada. She is the senior administrative and policy advisor to the USW in Canada with lead responsibility on issues relating to trade, industrial policy, and the green economy.

Armughan Ahmad

Armughan Ahmad is a President & Managing Partner, Digital at KPMG. A technology executive with 20+ years of international experience, he leads the firm’s digital, technology and innovation groups transforming large enterprise, commercial and public sector organizations across industry segments.

Navjeet Sidhu

Navjeet Sidhu works as a National, Research Department Representative at Unifor. He has been involved with a number of grassroots activists groups and has served as a board member for several non-profit organizations.

Siobhán Vipond

Siobhán Vipond is the Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) since being elected at the 29th Constitutional Convention in 2021. She is a committed trade unionist and an intersectional feminist committed to a fair and equitable world.

Blake Hutcheson

Blake Hutcheson is President and CEO of OMERS. For 60 years, OMERS has humbly served as the steward and guardian of the retirement income of more than half a million active, deferred and retired municipal employees from communities across Ontario

Naheed Nenshi

Naheed Nenshi is is a Canadian politician who was the 36th mayor of Calgary. He is a passionate Calgarian, an accomplished business professional, a community leader and a trusted advisor to corporate leaders in Canada and the United States of America.

Glen Pearson

Glen Pearson is a former Member of Parliament and has been co-director of the London Food Bank for the past 35 years. For the past 22 years he has also been the Executive Director of an African development NGO in South Sudan.

Dr. Jane Philpott

Dr. Jane Philpott is a Professor of Family Medicine, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Director of the School of Medicine at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. In 2015, she was elected as the Member of Parliament for Markham-Stouffville.

Dr. Niigaan Sinclair

Dr. Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair is an Anishinaabe writer, editor, and activist based in Winnipeg. He is Head of the Department of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba where he holds the Faculty of Arts Professorship in Indigenous Knowledge and Aesthetics.

Mark Tewksbury

Mark Tewksbury C.C.

Mark Tewksbury is Vice President of the Board at the Canadian Olympic Committee. He is a Canadian Icon, Olympic Gold Medalist & successful motivational speakers known for inspiring corporate audiences in Canada.

Wes Hall

Wes Hall is Founder and Chairman of The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism and the BlackNorth Initiative, committed to the removal of anti-Black systemic barriers negatively affecting the lives of Black Canadians.

VIRTUAL DISCUSSION SERIES

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Conference was postponed to June 2022. In order to fill the gap between now and the 2022 Conference, the GGCLC launched a virtual presentation program where prominent Canadian leaders are invited to address the next generation of decision makers and share their thoughts/perspectives on topics that have, are, and will continue to impact Canadians as we look forward to the future.

Below you will find the names of all speakers who graciously accepted our invitation to participate in the GGCLC Virtual Discussion Series (Listed in alphabetical order).

Rebecca Alty

Mayor
City of Yellowknife

Dr. Jean Augustine

Former Federal Minister and Social Advocate

Judith Barry

Co-Founder and Director, Impact/Sustainable Solutions
Breakfast Club of Canada

Dr. Malek Batal

Professor, Department of Nutrition
Université de Montréal

Michael Braithwaite

Chief Executive Officer
Blue Door Shelters

Barbara Byers, CM

Board Member
Canadian Roots Exchange
The Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference

Denise A. Campbell

Executive Director, Social Development
City of Toronto

Dr. Ann Collins

Past President
Canadian Medical Association

Luciano D'Iorio

Regional President, Québec
CDNGLOBAL

Cathy Duke

Chief Executive Officer
Destination St. John’s

Margaret Eaton

National Chief Executive Officer
Canadian Mental Health Association

John Elvidge

City Clerk
City of Toronto

Andrew Gibbons

Vice President, Government Relations
West Jet Airlines

Susie Grynol

President and CEO
Hotel Association of Canada

Stephen Harrington

Partner and National Lead, Workforce Strategy
Deloitte

Ayana James

Regional Director
STRAAD

Jordan LeBel

Professor, Marketing
Concordia University

Kelly Lendsay

President and CEO
Indigenous Works

Karen Littlewood

President and CEO
Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation

Konwatsitsawi Meloche

Director/Facilitator
V.I.S.T.A. Seminars

Sarah Onyango

Board Member, Host and Producer
Black History Ottawa / CHUO 89.1 FM & Rogers Television

Beth Potter

President and CEO
Tourism Industry Association of Canada

Dr. Larry Savage

Professor, Department of Labour Relations
Brock University

Sussanne Skidmore

Secretary-Treasurer
BC Federation of Labour

Christine Sorensen

President
BC Nurses Union

Don Tapscott, CM

Co-Founder and Executive Chairman
Blockchain Research Institute

Scott Tod

Chief of Police
North Bay Police Service

Siobhan Vipond

Executive Vice President
Canadian Labour Congress

Sean Wiltshire

Chief Executive Officer
Avalon Employment Inc.