Empire Club of Canada

The Empire Club of Canada Presents: Remembrance Day Reflection: Canadian Women in War On November 10th, in honour of Remembrance Day week, the Empire Club of Canada will open the door to a chapter of our history that has for far too long been either unknown or misunderstood by the vast majority of Canadians. In conversation with philanthropist, business leader and decorated navy Dr. Wendy M. Cecil and Dr. Melanie Morin-Pelletier, Historian of the Canadian War Museum, will present through film clips, photographs, and images from those heroic and troubled times the extraordinary stories of Canadian Women at War during the two great conflicts of the 20th century, the First and Second World Wars.   The two great wars changed women's lives – and in some ways, there was no looking back. Almost everywhere, particularly in WW-2, women stepped in to perform "masculine" jobs. The changes for women and society were massive, but there was an expectation for women to return to more traditional roles at the end of both wars. After WW-2 and – pushed by government policies – women massively left the workforce – their participation sank to 24% in the late 1940s. It took decades for it to return. Now, women's participation in the workforce is well over 80% and virtually equal to male participation in the workforce.  The story of Canadian Women at War, as told by Melanie Morin-Pelletier in conversation with Wendy M. Cecil, is a glimpse into the past. Still, it also explains much about the present and perhaps about the future. It is time to better understand this aspect of our history and celebrate the fundamental role that women played in assuring the success of Canada's war efforts, leading to the social construct of Canadian society as we know it today. Speakers: Dr. Melanie Morin-Pelletier Historian, War and Society, Canadian War Museum Dr. Wendy M. Cecil, CM, HCapt(N), Chancellor Emerita, Victoria University University of Toronto *The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada.* *Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.*

The Empire Club of Canada Presents: Bridging the Diversity Gap Despite being one of the most diverse regions in the world, leadership tables across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) lack racial diversity. Join us for a conversation where our panel of established leaders will share their own leadership journeys and offer perspective on how to deepen inclusion for Indigenous, Black, and racialized leaders. You'll also have the chance to learn about CivicAction's new initiative — BoardShift — that addresses this lack of representation by preparing and matching rising racialized leaders with non-profit, charitable, and public board opportunities. Moderator: Sal Rabbani, President, Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada Speakers:  The Honourable Ratna Omidvar, Senator for Ontario, The Senate of Canada  Yulena Wan, Director, Finance & Operations, Hamilton Community Foundation Leslie Woo, CEO, CivicAction Daniele Zanotti, President & CEO, United Way Toronto & York Region *The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada.* *Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.*

Keynote speech delivered by the Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Official Opposition of Canada. Speaker: The Honourable Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Official Opposition of Canada. *The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada.* *Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.*

The Empire Club of Canada Presents: A Power Lunch with Energy Minister  Ontario has had incredible success in driving electrification and attracting new jobs, including unprecedented investments from electric vehicles, EV battery manufacturing and clean steelmaking. The province is rapidly building the electricity system needed to support this incredible growth. Join Energy Minister Todd Smith on November 3rd to hear how Ontario is building on its clean energy advantage as a major opportunity to power up our industries, jobs and economy and lead the way! Moderator: Kelly Jackson, Past Board President & Board Director, Empire Club of Canada Speaker: The Honourable Todd Smith, Minister of Energy, Government of Ontario The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada. Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.

The Empire Club of Canada Presents: More Than A Plug: Canada's EV Opportunity We are in the midst of a global energy transition. A major trend of the energy transition is improving the transportation sector and the electrification of vehicles. For Canadians, this transition will mean a change in how they experience refueling their cars – something that is done by millions of Canadians daily.  In addition to the physical charging, there are many ancillary opportunities for companies to innovate and enhance the customer experience when it comes to refueling these EVs and getting around. Join us on October 27, 2022, as we discuss the key opportunities to think about when it comes to EVs, what some of the top industry participants are doing now to help support the future electrification of the transportation sector and what this new way of getting around means for society. Moderator: Adrienne Batra, Editor in Chief, Toronto Sun  Speakers: Bob Espey, President & CEO, Parkland Corporation John Matovich, EVP, Energy Solutions and Growth, Alectra Arcady Sosinov, Founder & CEO, FreeWire Technologies The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada. Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.

The Empire Club of Canada Presents: Update on the Status of Infrastructure: Building Ontario The construction sector, worldwide, is experiencing changes and challenges. Despite ongoing pressures across industries, the provincial government, alongside their public and private sector partners, have continued to work together to persevere and expedite their efforts to build Ontario. Please join us in a discussion with Ontario’s Minister of Infrastructure Kinga Surma and Infrastructure Ontario CEO Michael Lindsay on how an innovative and forward-thinking approach to building is helping to ensure that Ontarians have access to modern infrastructure, while also ensuring Ontario remains a global market of choice for industry partners.  Discussion to be moderated by Kelly Jackson, Past Board President & Board Director, Empire Club of Canada.  Moderator: Kelly Jackson, Past Board President & Board Director, Empire Club of Canada Speakers: The Honourable Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure, Province of Ontario Michael Lindsay, President & CEO, Infrastructure Ontario *The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada.* *Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.*

The Empire Club of Canada Presents: The Journey to Net Zero through Advanced Manufacturing In February 2021, the Government of Canada made a commitment to move to net-zero emissions by 2050. In November, the world gathered in Glasgow for COP26, which ended with major commitments from Canada including an enhanced target of reducing GHG emissions by 40 percent to 45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. In order to achieve these ambitious targets, Canada must accelerate the decarbonization of its industries, including manufacturing and other energy intensive sectors. There needs to be coordinated efforts from across the ecosystem to develop, de-risk, and strategically integrate commercially viable solutions that are manageable and cost-effective for industry. With the convergence of a world-class innovation ecosystem with a robust manufacturing footprint and service sector, Canada is well positioned, on both the supply and demand side, to catalyze new partnerships and help industry adopt innovative solutions to meet its GHG emission targets and become leading low-carbon competitors on the global stage. Canada is also home to a disproportionately high number of top-100 global clean technology companies. From carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies, to solutions that use biomass as feedstock or fuel, opportunities are ripe for Canadian industry to collaborate with domestic innovators. The Empire Club panel brings together leading industry voices in Canada to discuss the opportunities and challenges to accelerate industrial decarbonization in Canada through advanced manufacturing and clean technologies – from both the manufacturer and technology developer’s perspectives. Speakers: Linda Hasenfratz, Executive Chairman of the Board & CEO, Linamar Corporation Scott MacKenzie, Director, Corporate & External Affairs, Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada Kiril Mugerman, President & CEO, Geomega Resources Moderator: John Laughlin, Chief Technology Officer, Next Generation Manufacturing Canada *The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada.* *Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.*

When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic in March of 2020, one of the hardest hit industries was public transit. As an essential service, the TTC continued to operate with reduced ridership, as many people worked from home and non-essential businesses were shuttered. As Toronto emerges from the pandemic and public transit ridership increases, find out how the TTC has taken advantage of the period of low ridership to make improvements and advance state-of-good-repair work to benefit the customer experience. Hear directly from TTC CEO Richard J. Leary about how the organization remained agile and managed operations through the pandemic, and how the TTC has worked with Toronto’s business community to be prepared for the return of its customers. Speakers: Richard J. Leary, CEO, Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Anita Sharma, Network News Anchor, Host, Moderator, CTV News The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada. Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.

Claiming Canada’s place on the global stage Hopper is the fastest growing travel app in the world, ahead of Expedia and booking.com, and has even surpassed Airbnb as the market share leader for active users. OMERS Ventures is one of Canada’s most successful venture capital firms with around $2B in assets and a global portfolio of more than 60 early-stage tech startups. Join Damien Steel, Global Head of Ventures and Managing Partner at OMERS Ventures, in conversation with Fred Lalonde, Hopper’s Co-founder and CEO. The two will discuss how venture investing has changed over the last decade (when OMERS Ventures was one of Hopper’s earliest backers), to how Hopper survived the travel industry meltdown brought on by the pandemic and has reinvented itself as a financial services company. The two will also cover the outlook for VC-backed businesses given the current economic climate.

The Empire Club of Canada Presents: Brand Canada: Celebrating Our Innovators and Entrepreneurs   Entrepreneurship and ingenuity are the lifeblood of the Canadian business landscape but big questions are emerging about our economic future. Will Canadian brands of the future have any similarities with those of the past? On June 29th we will dive into how some of the best are doing it right and whether the traditional models that have forged some of our iconic brands are still the path to success.  Moderator: Kelly Jackson, President, Board of Directors, Empire Club of Canada Speakers: The Honourable Perrin Beatty, President & CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce  Tareq Hadhad, Founder & CEO, Peace By Chocolate *The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada.* *Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.*