2024 Annual Meeting & Policy Conference Guest Speakers

Meet the Guest Speakers

At this year’s Annual Meeting, Ontario’s Liberals will be coming together to chart a path forward for our party, and take the next steps toward delivering a bold vision for our province. Meet the guest speakers who will help guide our movement to victory.

Jenny Ahn

  • Jenny Ahn is the Executive Director of the Ontario Confederation of University Faculty Associations (OCUFA), which represents over 18,000 faculty, academic librarians, and other academic professionals in 30 member associations across Ontario.

Chris Ballard

  • Chris Ballard has a history of supporting environmental and restorative building and development practices, currently as CEO of Passive House Canada. During the Kathleen Wynne government, Chris was the Member of Provincial Parliament for Newmarket-Aurora. He served as Ontario’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change implementing the government’s plan for a clean environment and a sustainable economy. He also served as the Minister of Housing, where he focused on homelessness, and as the Minister responsible for Ontario’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. In that role, he share responsibility for launching the vaunted Ontario’s Basic Income pilot. He also served as a Member of the Treasury Board. Chris has served as a municipal councillor in his hometown of Aurora, Ontario. Before politics, Chris ran a national public affairs company focused on business development. Chris is volunteer president of the Consumers Council of Canada, a consumer policy think tank. His leadership in journalism, communications and public affairs includes terms as President of the Public Affairs Association of Canada.

Karen Brown

  • Karen Brown is the President of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario (ETFO) — the largest public sector union in Canada representing approximately 83,000 members — as well as an award-winning registered early childhood educator who began her career in 1993.

Christy Clark

  • Christy Clark served as Premier of British Columbia, Canada’s third largest province, for over six years. Throughout her tenure, Ms. Clark demonstrated the strongest performance of any Canadian Premier for economic growth, fiscal management and job creation.As Premier, Ms. Clark earned a well-deserved reputation as a consensus builder both within the Cabinet, and outside it. Her management style was to carefully set out a plan that included hard goals and deadlines for each Ministry and monitor progress through regular reporting to Cabinet and Committees which she chaired. Her legacy is characterized by her determination to plan for future generations. She left British Columbia with a significantly diversified economy, a greater diversity of markets, a plan for a new, clean energy supply, billions of dollars of new infrastructure, and a dramatic reduction in the burden of public debt that will be borne by future generations of British Columbians.When she left office, British Columbia had been Canada’s economic leader for three years running—the first time that had happened since the 1960s. B.C. went from being ninth in job creation to first among provinces. And, after inheriting a deficit of $1.2 billion, Ms. Clark’s government went on to balance five consecutive budgets. Her last budget included $52 billion in revenues and boasted a $2.8 billion surplus. At the end of her government, B.C. was on track to eliminating its operating debt by 2020—the first time since 1976. B.C. was also the only Canadian province with a AAA credit rating.Ms. Clark retired from political life in 2017 as the longest serving female Premier in Canadian history and the only woman in Canada ever to be re-elected.

 

Wendy Cukier

  • Dr. Wendy Cukier is the Founder and Academic Director of the Diversity Institute, which has 130 full-time staff and more than 200 partners. Based at the Ted Rogers School of Management at Toronto Metropolitan University, she is also a Professor of Entrepreneurship and Strategy. She also leads the Women Entrepreneurship Knowledge Hub and is the Academic Research Director for the Future Skills Centre.

Vince Gasparro

  • Vince Gasparro was most recently Managing Director & Head of Sustainable Finance at Roynat Capital – Scotiabank. Prior to this role, he was Managing Director, Clean Energy Finance at Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB).Vince currently serves on the board of directors of the Canada Infrastructure Bank, Postmedia and the World Wildlife Fund-Canada. He was previously appointed by Toronto City Council to serve on the board of directors of the Toronto Community Housing Corporation.He also formerly served as Special Assistant, Ontario to former Prime Minister Paul Martin.Vince holds a B.A. (Honours) from York University, an MSc from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Villanova University.

Jennifer Keesmaat

  • Jennifer Keesmaat is a prominent urban planner recognized among the “most powerful people in Canada” by Macleans and one of the “most influential” by Toronto Life. She served as Toronto’s Chief City Planner for five years, known for her innovative and collaborative approach to city-building. Keesmaat has received the Canadian Institute of Planners’ Award of Excellence and was named one of the 100 most influential urbanists of all time by Planetizen Magazine. Currently, she is the founder, President, and CEO of Collecdev Markee, where she leads a team developing over 7,000 new homes across the Greater Toronto Area. Her focus is on creating sustainable, livable communities that prioritize access to high-quality, transit-oriented, affordable, and market housing. Keesmaat’s work continues to shape urban landscapes with a vision for complete, inclusive communities.

Gabrielle LeMieux

  • Originally from Northern Ontario and currently residing in Sudbury, Gabrielle Lemieux is a passionate educator and seasoned leader with over 15 years of experience in the field of education. As a teacher at École secondaire Hanmer for the last 8 years, she also served as a steward for her local, Unité 57 – Nord-Ouest publique before joining the Board of Directors of the AEFO, the Franco-Ontarian teacher’s union in 2010. After five years as the President for her local and three terms as Vice-President, Gabrielle will assume the provincial presidency of AEFO as of September 1st, 2024. She is dedicated to elevating the teaching profession, improving working conditions, and advocating for French-language public services.

Brian Lewis

  • Brian Lewis is an experienced Canadian public policy economist currently based at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy of the University of Toronto, where he teaches in the Master of Public Policy and Undergraduate Public Policy Major programs. His areas of specialization include public finances, labour markets and macroeconomics. He is also a Senior Fellow with the CD Howe Institute.

Karen Littlewood

  • Karen Littlewood is a special education teacher from Barrie Ontario. She has worked in education since 1991. She has been both an elementary and a secondary teacher, a local and a provincial leader. She is currently the President of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, only the 11th woman President in the over 100-year history of the organization.Karen believes that education is the great equalizer and that public education should be available equitably regardless of socioeconomic status, geography, or background.
    In her capacity as President, Karen serves on several boards including as an Ontario Teachers’ Federation Governor, a Vice-President at the Canadian Teachers Federation, a member of the Canadian Council and a member of the Ontario Federation of Labour ‘Heads of Unions’.In 2017 she was presented with the Volunteer of the Year award with the Busby Centre in Barrie.
    Karen is a proud union member.

Sunil Johal

  • Sunil Johal is a policy expert with a track record of executive-level experience addressing challenging issues. He is the David and Ann Wilson Professor in Public Policy and Society at Victoria College, University of Toronto. He is also the Vice President of Public Policy with the CSA Group, where he is building a new Public Policy Centre.

Carol Mitchell

  • Carol Mitchell is a municipal and provincial leader with an intimate, hands-on understanding of rural Ontario. She was the highly respected MPP for the riding of Huron-Bruce from 2003 to 2011.
    As a former Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Carol introduced initiatives like the landmark Risk Management Program to allow grains and oilseeds, fruits and vegetables, cattle, hog, veal and sheep farmers to manage risks beyond their control, such as fluctuating costs and volatile market prices.
    Carol’s expertise in engaging stakeholders and offering strategic advice in Agri-food and Rural Affairs has been reflected in her work for clients in the energy, agriculture, and food and beverage sectors.
    Prior to her appointment to Cabinet, she served as Parliamentary Assistant at Municipal Affairs, Public Infrastructure Renewal and OMAFRA, was a key participant in the Liberal government’s Poverty Reduction Strategy and an inaugural member of the Rural and Northern Health Panel.
    First elected to town council in her home of Clinton in 1993, Carol became its Reeve a few months later. She also served on the Huron County council, and was elected as the first Reeve of the amalgamated municipality of Central Huron and as Warden of Huron County in 1999 and 2000. She was a small business owner/operator prior to entering politics and continues to reside in Clinton.

Jane Philpott

  • Dr. Jane Philpott is the Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences, Director of the School of Medicine at Queen’s University, and CEO of the Southeastern Ontario Academic Medical Organization in Kingston, Ontario. She is a medical doctor, a Professor of Family Medicine, and former Member of Parliament. From 2015 to 2019 she served as Canada’s Minister of Health, Minister of Indigenous Services, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Digital Government. Prior to politics, Jane spent the first decade of her medical career in Niger, West Africa and then she was a family doctor with Markham Stouffville Hospital for 17 years, including six years as Chief of Family Medicine. Jane has recently published her first book called Health for All: A doctor’s prescription for a healthier Canada.

Alex Usher

  • Alex Usher is the President of Higher Education Strategy Associates. He is an internationally recognized expert on a range of fields within higher education, including student financial aid, quality measurement, rankings and public financing.

René Jansen in de Wal

  • Throughout his 30-plus-year career, René Jansen in de Wal has maintained a passion for education and advocacy, and has dedicated himself to improving publicly funded education in Ontario and protecting and expanding the rights of Catholic teachers.René began his teaching career as a secondary school teacher in 1986, working tirelessly for students inside the classroom, as well as for Catholic teachers at bargaining tables and working groups across the province. As a teacher, René has been honoured with several awards, including being named Toronto Sun’s “Teacher of the Year,” receiving a Prime Minister’s Letter of Recognition for Teaching, and being the recipient of the Best Practices Award from the Toronto Catholic District School Board.His commitment to education and social justice has allowed René to work collaboratively with a variety of partners in education, labour, and the broader community. He believes in the value of different voices and is committed to finding common goals.

Rob Wildeboer

  • Rob Wildeboer is the Executive Chairman and co-founder of Martinrea International Inc., a diversified and global automotive supplier engaged in the designing, developing, and manufacturing of highly engineered, value-added Lightweight Structures and Propulsion Systems.

Michelle Wodchis-Johnson

  • Michelle Wodchis-Johnson is the President of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), as well as the Vice President of External Affairs at Western’s University Students’ Council (USC).