SPEAKERS

Darrell Bricker is a world-renowned expert in demography, public opinion, politics, and social trends, making him one of the most sought-after speakers for business, government, and organizational audiences. With a remarkable ability to transform complex data into actionable insights, Darrell delivers tailored presentations that combine deep expertise, thought-provoking analysis, and a touch of humor, leaving audiences both informed and inspired.

As CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, a global leader in public opinion research, Darrell has exclusive access to cutting-edge data on societal trends, consumer behavior, and political landscapes. His insider perspective enables him to provide timely, relevant insights into the shifts redefining economies, labor markets, and consumer preferences across Canada and around the world.

In 2025, he’s become a regular commentator on The Hub, and is expected to release a new book & speaking topic: Breaking Point: How the Next Big Shift Puts Canada at Risk. The nonfiction book by the authors of The Big Shift is described as a provocative look at contemporary fracture lines in Canada.

Chris is the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Canola Council of Canada. He is responsible for leading the efforts of the Council's professional staff and reports to the Council’s Board of Directors.

Chris joined the Council in August 2021 as Vice President, Stakeholder and Industry Relations. Prior to joining the Council, Chris spent nearly 10 years with a global life sciences company serving as Head of Business Sustainability for North America and prior to that Head of Corporate Affairs for Canada.

Chris also spent several years on the consulting side of the agri-food industry working in government and industry relations, corporate communications and public affairs to advance issues and opportunities at the global, regional, national and sub-national levels for a diverse set of private sector and association clients.

Earlier in his career, Chris worked for the Canadian federal government on animal health, plant health, and food safety related issues in support of Canadian bilateral and multilateral trade relationships.

Laura Dawson is one of North America’s leading experts in U.S-Canada economic relations. She leads the Future Borders Coalition, an organization dedicated to business and government cooperation on trade and travel between the U.S. and Canada. In recognition of this work, she received the 2025 King Charles Coronation medal and was named one of Canada’s Top 50 Foreign Policy Influencers by the Hill Times. She is a frequent commentator on Canadian, U.S. and international media and is a trusted advisor to governments in both countries.

Previously, Dawson was director of the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington DC, senior economist at US Embassy Ottawa, and ran a think tank on government digital transformation for Amazon Web Services. She has taught graduate courses in international economic policy in universities around the world. At a practical level, she has advised on NAFTA/USMCA trade negotiations, regulatory cooperation, border security and facilitation, and helped launched new programs for secure and efficient movement of people and cargo between countries.

Dawson holds a PhD in political science and is married to U.S. Ambassador (ret) Charles Shapiro. They live in Atlanta, GA.

If you’re looking for unparalleled insight into the Canadian economy and its future prospects, look no further than Don Drummond, the retired senior vice president and chief economist of TD Financial Group, and current Stauffer-Dunning Fellow and Distinguished Visiting Scholar in the School of Policy Studies at Queens University. Speaking to groups about the Canadian economy and its prospects and on economic and policy issues, his unparallelled insights are not to be missed.

At TD, Don led the company in analyzing and forecasting economic performance in Canada and abroad. During the course of his career, Drummond acted at Finance Canada as Assistant Deputy Minister, Fiscal Policy and Economic Analysis; Assistant Deputy Minister, Tax Policy and Legislation; and, most recently, Associate Deputy Minister, where he handled economic analysis, fiscal policy, tax policy, social policy and federal-provincial relations, as well as co-ordinated the planning of the annual federal budgets. He was also the Chair of the Commission on the Reform of Ontario's Public Services in 2012.

Born and raised in Victoria, British Columbia, Drummond graduated from the University of Victoria. He subsequently received his master’s degree in economics from Queen's University. He has honorary doctorates from Queen’s University and the University of Victoria and is a member of the Order of Ontario.

Erin is a recognized leader in the Canadian agriculture industry. Her career spans over a decade with experience in government, the private sector and the non-profit industry. Her first introduction to the industry was as a Policy Research Assistant with the Government of Alberta, Agriculture and Rural Development. She is immensely grateful for the education and mentorship that she received while working for Alberta grain farmers as a Government Relations and Policy Manager with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions. During her tenure at the Commissions, she was regarded for her ability to unite sector stakeholders and to work collaboratively with colleagues across the country and along the grain value chain. This led to a move to the nation’s capital where she worked for Syngenta Canada as Manager, Government & Industry Relations, followed a four-year term rebuilding and leading the Grain Growers of Canada as the Executive Director.

Her move to Canada Grains Council in 2022, allows her to leverage her strengths as a known collaborator and industry spokesperson both domestically and in important international forums. She is honoured to serve the sector in a variety of capacities, internationally as the Vice-Chair of the International Grain Trade Coalition and as a member of the Advisory Board for the Global Grains Geneva annual conference. In Canada Erin serves as the Chair of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops and a member of the Canadian Advisory Committee with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture.

Erin studied Policy Studies at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta and holds a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia.

Rudyard Griffiths never shies away from discussing the big issue of the day. He is a senior fellow at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs; the co-founder, chair, and moderator of the Munk Debates, Canada’s premier international debate series; and the publisher of The Hub, Canada’s fast growing independent digital news outlet. He is a highly sought-after commentator on global economics and geopolitics, along with Canadian politics, history, and economics. Griffiths is also an expert at moderating Q&As, one-on-one interviews, and panels with business leaders and executives.

Griffiths has been a columnist with the Toronto Star and the National Post as well as a television anchor on BNN, CTV News Channel and Bloomberg TV Canada. In 2015, he moderated the first ever Canadian federal election debate dedicated to foreign policy issues, and he is the author of the 2009 Globe and Mail Book of the Year, Who We Are: A Citizen’s Manifesto. Griffiths has also edited over 20 books on international affairs, politics, and history.

Prior to joining the Munk School, Griffiths led, for over a decade, his own public policy think tank, The Dominion Institute, and worked in the Security and Policy Planning secretariat of the Department of Foreign Affairs. He currently advises some of Canada’s leading private foundations.

Griffiths studied history and political science at Trinity College, University of Toronto, and completed a master’s degree in political theory at Cambridge University.

Chantal Hébert is a political columnist whose work appears in The Toronto Star and the magazine, L'Actualité. She is also a weekly participant on CBC The National’s political panel “At Issue”. A prolific journalist who is passionate about Canadian politics ― particularly in relation to Quebec ― Hébert speaks with authority and passion on public policy and other matters of national importance.

Hébert began her career in Toronto as a reporter for the regional newsroom of Radio-Canada in 1975 before moving on to Parliament Hill for Radio-Canada. She has served as parliamentary bureau chief for Le Devoir and La Presse.

Currently a Senior Fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto, Hébert holds honorary degrees from a dozen Canadian Universities and is a graduate of Glendon College at York University. She is a recipient of two Asia-Pacific media fellowships (Malaysia and Japan), and was awarded the APEX Public Service Award in 2005, the Hyman Solomon award for excellence in journalism and public policy in 2006, and York University’s Pinnacle Achievement Bryden Alumni award. In 2012, Hébert was appointed to the Order of Canada and in 2019, her peers in the Parliamentary Press Gallery awarded her the Charles Lynch award for her longstanding coverage of national issues.

Hébert is the author of two books: French Kiss: Stephen Harper's Blind Date with Quebec, and her most recent book, The Morning After: The 1995 Quebec Referendum And The Day That Almost Was.

Prior to his nomination as Ambassador to Canada, Pete Hoekstra served as Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party (MIGOP) during the 2024 elections, where his leadership was considered instrumental in delivering a Republican victory. He was a board member of the Council for a Secure America. He served as Ambassador to the Netherlands during the first Trump Administration.

Previously, he served as a Member of Congress from 1993 to 2011 representing Michigan’s 2nd District. Hoekstra was the Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence from 2004 to 2007. Pete was a distinguished fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He began his career with furniture maker Herman Miller, rising to vice president of marketing.

Hoekstra received a B.A. from Hope College, Holland, Michigan (1975) and an M.B.A. from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor (1977). He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Grand Valley State University, Allendale, Michigan, the Hope College Distinguished Alumni Award, the Order of the House of Orange from the Netherlands, the Agency Seal Medal from the CIA and the DNI National Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Medal. He and his wife Diane have three adult children and celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary this year.

Edwini Kessie has been a staff member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) since January 1995. He has worked in different Divisions, including the Council and Trade Negotiations Committee Division, Development Division and the Institute for Training and Technical Cooperation. He is currently the Director of the Agriculture and Commodities Division. Between June 2012 and May 2017, Dr. Kessie took leave from the WTO to become the Chief Trade Adviser of the Pacific Island Countries and Chief Executive Officer of the Office of the Chief Trade Adviser located in Port Vila, Vanuatu. In this capacity, he provided technical advice on a broad range of trade and investment issues to the Pacific Island countries and supported them in the free trade negotiations (PACER Plus) with Australia and New Zealand. He was also Head of the WTO Delivery Unit which had the responsibility of delivering results at WTO Ministerial Conferences.

Dr. Kessie is a part-time lecturer at a number of universities, including the World Trade Institute, Berne, University of Pretoria and the University of Western Cape, South Africa. Dr Kessie has participated in many international conferences on international trade and written a number of articles on international trade issues. His principal areas of interest are regional integration, agriculture, trade and development and dispute settlement.

Candace Laing is an executive leader with progressive leadership experience in multiple sectors, including mining, manufacturing, agriculture, education and healthcare.

Candace's career spans over two decades, encompassing roles in both private and public sector organizations. She also has a strong entrepreneurial background with a focus on strategic business initiatives that foster long-term value and high-performance cultures. Most notably, Candace worked for more than ten years with Nutrien, leading both the Sustainability and Human Resources functions and serving as a member of the Executive Leadership Team. She played a pivotal role in launching Nutrien’s environment, social, and governance (ESG) efforts and, through her most recent role as the organization’s Chief Human Resources Officer, focused on ensuring people strategies and inclusion initiatives were aligned with business strategy.

She first joined the Canadian Chamber’s Board of Directors in 2019 and served as Vice-Chair from 2021 to 2022, assuming the role of Chair of the Board of Directors in 2022. She was on the Board when the Chamber developed its Chamber 2025 Strategic Plan—a transformational mandate to create a reimagined and renewed Canadian Chamber.

Candace is passionate about ensuring healthy organizations support a strong economy that can serve societal needs. She is proud to have grown up in Saskatchewan, where her family maintains a longstanding farming operation.

Candace is a Fellow of Chartered Professionals in Human Resources (FCPHR). She holds a Bachelor of Commerce with Distinction and a Graduate Certificate in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Saskatchewan. Additionally, she has a Graduate Certificate in Corporate Sustainability and Innovation from Harvard University and a Master of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University.

Meredith Lilly, Ph.D., is a full Professor and Simon Reisman Chair in International Economic Policy at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Her research focuses on North American trade relations, Canada’s trade diversification strategy, economic sanctions, and the use of research evidence in policy making. Prior to her appointment at Carleton, she served as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. She was previously appointed at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and has worked in policy roles in several Canadian government departments. She engages regularly with foreign governments and diplomats, and is a frequent media commentator on North American trade issues.

She is a member of CD Howe Institute’s International Economic Policy Council, a non-resident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Texas, an Advisory Board member for the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and serves as the Academic Partner for Canada’s delegation to the North American Forum.

Greg MacDonald is the Agriculture Counsellor at Canada's Mission to the European Union in Brussels and manages Canada’s engagement with the European Union on agriculture issues. He was previously Agriculture Counsellor at Canada's Permanent Mission to the WTO and served as Chair of the WTO's Sanitary and PhytoSanitary Measures (SPS) Committee in 2020 and served as a facilitator in the WTO agriculture negotiations from 2019-2022.

Previously, MacDonald spent over ten years at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) working on agriculture and international trade policy issues where he participated in Canada's multilateral, bilateral and regional negotiation agenda and provided analysis and advice across the range of trade policy issues affecting agriculture trade.

Jeff Mahon is Director of StrategyCorp’s Geopolitical & International Business Advisory Practice. He serves clients navigating a fast changing political and policy environment by translating big-picture trends into tractable solutions. Armed with technical regulatory knowledge, a background in foreign policy development, and experience negotiating and executing international trade contracts, Jeff brings a unique skillset to position clients to not only prepare for and respond to risks but also to seize opportunities amidst a changing geopolitical order.

Prior to joining StrategyCorp, Jeff served on important files and policy areas with the Canadian federal government. His most recent role was Deputy Director at Global Affairs Canada’s China Division. While at Industry Canada he served as Senior Adviser at both the Investment Review Division and the Investment Attraction Directorate. Prior to joining the federal government, he was Nunavut’s Chief Negotiator for the Canada Free Trade Agreement (CFTA), where he spearheaded the creation of the Regulatory Reconciliation and Cooperation Table (RCT), a new intergovernmental institution designed to reduce red tape and enable interprovincial business. He also founded an international trade brokerage company focusing on Canadian agricultural exports to China.

Jeff is a keen observer of international relations, trade policy and geoeconomics, with publications in the Globe & Mail, Financial Post, Asia Nikkei, the Toronto Star and others. He also serves on the board of directors for the Ottawa Jazz Festival.

Chuck Penner started LeftField Commodity Research in 2010, providing independent research and analysis for 16 Canadian crop markets in special crops, small grains and oilseeds. LeftField’s services include weekly market analysis and client-specific research projects. Chuck grew up on a family farm in Manitoba’s Red River Valley and has 30 years of experience in the Canadian grain business, including 15 years in various roles at United Grain Growers and Agricore United, followed by five years at Informa Economics as Senior Consultant. He has a B.Sc Ag and Diploma in Agriculture from the University of Manitoba.

Krista Thomas has more than twenty years of experience in regulatory policy, international trade, and association leadership. She has served as National Manager of the Plant Biosafety Office at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Senior Policy Advisor to the Canada–U.S. Regulatory Cooperation Council, and has since held senior leadership roles in national and international agricultural associations including the Canada Grains Council and International Grain Trade Coalition.