Past Topics

Keynote speakers presented below include their title at the time of presentation.

2025—World in Transition: Canada’s Moment

Keynote Speaker

Anne Applebaum
Pulitzer-Prize Winning Historian; Staff Writer, The Atlantic; Senior Fellow, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies & SNF Agora Institute

Canada’s Place: A Rude Awakening

Hon. Peter M. Boehm
Senator, Senate of Canada
Peter Tertzakian
Energy Thought Leader, Bestselling Author & Podcaster

Canada’s Moment

Nancy Southern
Chair & CEO, ATCO Ltd.; Executive Chair, Canadian Utilities Limited

Business Matters: Seizing the Moment

Moderated by John M. Mercury
Executive Chair & Chair of the Board, Bennett Jones LLP
Nancy Southern
Chair & CEO, ATCO Ltd.; Executive Chair, Canadian Utilities Limited
Ken Seitz
President & CEO, Nutrien Ltd.
Dean Setoguchi
President & CEO, Keyera Corp.
Heather Exner-Pirot
Senior Fellow & Director of Energy, Natural Resources & Environment, Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Fred Di Blasio
Co-Founder & CEO, Longhouse Capital Partners

Game of Thrones: The Test of Our Times

Moderated by Martha Hall Findlay
Director & Palmer Chair in Public Policy, School of Public Policy, University of Calgary; Member of the Expert Group on Canada-U.S. Relations
Hon. John R. Baird
Chairman; Director; Former Senior Cabinet Minister, Government of Canada
Hon. Jason Kenney
Former Premier of Alberta
Hon. John P. Manley
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
Hon. Christy Clark
Former Premier of British Columbia

2024—Think Again: Decisions in Leadership

Keynote Speaker

Olivier Sibony

Professor, New York Times Bestselling Author & Speaker

The Rights & Wrongs of Governing

Hon. Jason Kenney
Former Premier of Alberta

Executive Decision-Making: Facts, Data & Instinct

Hon. John Manley
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
Chana Martineau
CEO, Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation
Alexis von Hoensbroech
CEO, The WestJet Group
Ian Anderson
Executive Advisor, Stonepeak Capital

Politics & Journalism: Information, Trust & Truth

Perry Spitznagel
Vice Chair & Partner, Bennett Jones LLP
Hon. Christy Clark
Former Premier of British Columbia
Hon. John Baird
Chairman; Director; Former Senior Cabinet Minister, Government of Canada
David Skok
Founder & CEO, The Logic

2023—Canada’s National Interest in a Transforming World

Global View

Dr. Bjorn Lomborg
Researcher, Writer and President, Copenhagen Consensus Center

Canadian Perspective

Nancy Southern
Chair & CEO, ATCO Ltd. and Canadian Utilities Limited

Industry View

Hon. John Manley
Former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada
Mark Fitzgerald

Vice President, International Assets, Upstream, PETRONAS

Sean Roosen
Chair of the Board of Directors & CEO, Osisko Development
Ken Seitz
President & CEO, Nutrien Ltd.

Tech & AI Opportunity

Jim Gibson
Author & Founder, JAGYYC
Nicole Janssen
Co-Founder & CEO, AltaML

Canada in the World

Hon. Christy Clark
Former Premier of British Columbia
David MacNaughton
Former Canadian Ambassador to the United States
Josh Crumb
Founder & CEO, Abaxx Technologies Inc.
Adam Waterous
Chairman, Liricon Capital Ltd.

Remarks from Alberta’s Premier

Hon. Danielle Smith
Premier of Alberta

2022—Global Tectonics: Our New Reality

Keynote Speaker

George Friedman
Geopolitical forecaster, Author & Strategist on International Affairs

Geopolitical Insights

H.E. Sabine Sparwasser
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Canada
Hon. Anne McLellan
Former Deputy Prime Minster of Canada
Sir John Bell
Immunologist & Geneticist

Industry Perspectives

Alexis von Hoensbroech
CEO, WestJet
Hon. John Baird
Chairman, Canfor; Director, CP Rail; Former Senior Cabinet Minister, Government of Canada
Ken Seitz

President & CEO, Nutrien Ltd.

Capital Formation

Blake Hutcheson
President & CEO, OMERS
Tim Hodgson
Chair, National Self Regulatory Organization – Investment Industry; Former Special Advisor, Bank of Canada
Michelle Scarborough
Managing Partner, Thrive and Women in Technology Venture Funds, BDC Capital
Jos Schmitt
President & CEO, NEO Exchange & Head of Global Listings, Cboe Global Markets

Energy Transformation

Alex Pourbaix
President & CEO, Cenovus
Martha Hall Findlay
Chief Climate Officer, Suncor
Peter Tertzakian
Energy Economist & Bestselling Author

2021—Anticipating the Future

Niall Ferguson
Best-Selling Historian; Milbank Family Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford
David Dodge, O.C.
Former Governor of the Bank of Canada
Jon Horsman
Sr. Executive Vice President, ATB Business CEO, ATB Capital Markets
Andrew Botterill
National Oil & Gas Leader, Global Financial Advisory ER&I Leader, Deloitte
Deborah Yedlin
President & CEO, Calgary Chamber of Commerce
Peter Tertzakian
Deputy Director, ARC Energy Research Institute
Hon. Lisa Raitt, P.C.
Former Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada
Premier Jason Kenney
Government of Alberta
Rex Murphy
Social Commentator, Editorialist & Distinct Canadian Voice

2020—Nation Building: Canada 2.0

David Dodge, O.C.
Former Governor of the Bank of Canada
Curtis Stange
President & CEO, ATB Financial
Anthony Viel
CEO, Deloitte Canada
Nancy Southern
Chair & Chief Executive Officer, ATCO Group and Executive Chair, Canadian Utilities Limited
Alicia Dubois
CEO, Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation
Don Lindsay
President & CEO, Teck Resources Ltd.
Ambassador Kelly Craft
Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations
David Frum
Social & Political Commentator and Senior Editor at The Atlantic
Premier Jason Kenney
Government of Alberta
Dr. Brian Lee Crowley
Managing Director, Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Dr. Ted Morton
Executive Fellow, The School of Public Policy and Professor Emeritus, Political Science, University of Calgary
Rex Murphy
Social Commentator, Editorialist & Distinct Canadian Voice
Therese Brisson
President & CEO, Alpine Canada
John Cassels
Chairman, Winterstart Events Ltd.

2019—Leadership in Uncertain Times

David Dodge, O.C.
Former Governor of the Bank of Canada
Adam Legge
President, Business Council of Alberta
Mary Moran
President & CEO, Calgary Economic Development
Edward Sims
President & CEO, WestJet
Dr. Karen MacNeill
Founding Partner & Chief Product Officer, headversity
Sean Willy
President & CEO, Des Nedhe Development Corporation
Christy Clark
Former Premier of British Columbia
Vivian Krause
Researcher & Writer
Premier Jason Kenney
Government of Alberta

2018—World in Transition: Trade, Trump & Technology

David Dodge, O.C.
Former Governor of the Bank of Canada
Jim Gibson
CEO, JAGYYC
Oren Berkovich
CEO, SingularityU Canada
Rex Murphy
Social Commentator, Editorialist & Distinct Canadian Voice
Laura Dawson, PhD
Director, Canada Institute
Lu Xu
Consul General, People’s Republic of China, Calgary
Ambassador Kelly Craft
Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations
Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque
CMG, British High Commissioner, Canada

2017—Navigating Disruption

David Dodge, O.C.
Former Governor of the Bank of Canada
Siegfried Kiefer
Chief Strategy Officer, ATCO Ltd & Canadian Utilities Ltd. and President, Canadian Utilities Ltd.
Todd Roberts
Senior Vice-President, Enterprise Payments & Innovation, CIBC
Judy Fairburn
Senior Vice-President, Enterprise Payments & Innovation, CIBC
Gary Kovacs
Former CEO AVG Technologies, Board Member, Advisor, Technologist
Susan le Jeune d’Allegeershecque
CMG, British High Commissioner, Canada
Peter Tertzakian
Executive Director, ARC Financial Corp.
Hon. John R. Baird, P.C.
Former Federal Minister (Foreign Affairs, Environment, Transport & Infrastructure)

2016—Business of Politics: The Changing Nature of Democracy

Kevin Chan
Head of Public Policy, Facebook Canada
The Honourable John Manley, P.C., O.C.
President & Chief Executive Officer, Business Council of Canada
Ian Anderson
President, Kinder Morgan Canada
The Honourable Rona Ambrose, PC, MP
Former Interim Leader of the Conservative Party and former Leader of the Official Opposition
Rex Murphy
Social Commentator, Editorialist & Distinct Canadian Voice

2015—The Future of Energy: Innovation and Competitiveness

Peter Tertzakian
Chief Energy Economist & Managing Director, ARC Financial Corp.
Tim McMillan
President & CEO, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
Andrew Swart
Partner, Monitor Deloitte, Deloitte Canadian Mining Consulting Leader
Peter Istvanffy
President & CEO, Centre for Educational Research Applications

2014—Water: The New Oil?

Marq de Villiers
Journalist and Author
Nancy C. Southern
Chair, President & Chief Executive Officer ATCO Ltd. & Canadian Utilities Limited.
Bob Sandford
EPCOR Chair and United Nations Water for Life Decade, Canada
Kim Sturgess
Founder & CEO, Alberta WaterSMART
Dr. Dan Wicklum
Chief Executive, COSIA (Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance)

2013—North American Energy: Market Access

Kevin Chan
Government of Alberta
Premier David Alward
Government of New Brunswick
Miles Richardson
Former President of the Haida Nation and Former Chief Commissioner of the BC Treaty Commission
Ian Anderson
President, Kinder Morgan Canada
Douglas Bloom
President, Canadian LNG, Spectra Energy
Paul Browning
President & CEO, Irving Oil Limited
Russell Girling
President & CEO, TransCanada Corporation
Al Monaco
President and CEO, Enbridge Inc.
Rex Murphy
Writer & Broadcaster

2012—Global Energy: The Canadian Challenge

David Dodge, O.C.
Senior Advisor, Bennett Jones LLP and Former Governor, Bank of Canada
N. Murray Edwards
Chairman, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.
Honourable Jim Prentice P.C., Q.C.
Senior Executive Vice President and Vice Chairman, CIBC
Peter Tertzakian
Chief Energy Economist and Managing Director, ARC Financial Corporation

2011—Contemporary Capitalism: Governments and the Markets

Marq de Villiers
Journalist and Author
Felix Chee
China Investment Corporation (CIC), Representative Office in Toronto
Lorraine Mitchelmore
Vice-Chair, President & Canada Country Chair, Shell Canada Limited
David Dodge, O.C.
Former Governor of the Bank of Canada, Senior Advisor, Bennett Jones LLP

2010—Canada Rising: Our Future as a Global Economic Leader

David Dodge, O.C.
Senior Advisor, Bennett Jones LLP and Former Governor, Bank of Canada
Dr. Wenran Jiang
Mactaggart Research Chair, China Institute at the University of Alberta
Hal Kvisle
Retired President & CEO, TransCanada Corporation
The Honourable Kevin G. Lynch, P.C.
Vice-Chair, BMO Financial Group
Jiang Shan
Minister Counsellor of Commercial Affairs, Embassy of The People’s Republic of China in Canada

2009—The Great Reckoning: Shaping the New Economic Order

Douglas Porter
Managing Director & Deputy Chief Economist, BMO Capital Markets
Christopher Burnham
Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Deutsche Asset Management
Claudio X. González
Chairman of the Board & CEO, Kimberly-Clark de México, S.A.B.
David Dodge, O.C.
Senior Advisor, Bennett Jones LLP and Former Governor, Bank of Canada

2008—The Business of Climate Change

The Honourable Jim Prentice
Minister of Environment
Nancy Southern
President & CEO, ATCO Ltd. & Canadian Utilities Limited
Pete Wilson
Former Governor of California, US Senator, Mayor of San Diego
Gray Taylor
Partner & Chair of Climate Change and Emissions Trading Practice, Bennett Jones LLP

2007—The Business of Climate Change

Dr. David Keith
Director, ISEEE Energy & Environmental Systems Group, Canada Research Chair in Energy and Environment, University of Calgary, Adjunct Professor Department of EPP, Carnegie Mellon
The Honourable Maxime Bernier
Minister of Foreign Affairs
The Honourable Jim Prentice
Minister of Environment
Jeff Rubin

Chief Economist & Chief Strategist, CIBC World Markets Inc.

2006—Global Security and its Impact on the North American Economy

The Honourable Thomas J. Ridge
Former Governor of Pennsylvania, the nations first Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security
Gwynne Dyer
noted Canadian authority on global events
Dr. Richard Reiner
Chief Security & Technology Officer, Telus Information Security Solutions
David Dodge, O.C.
Senior Advisor, Bennett Jones LLP and Former Governor, Bank of Canada

2005—Energy – Canada’s Role in the 21st Century

Pierre Alvarez
President, Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
Hal Kvisle
President & CEO, TransCanada Corporation
The Honourable Richard Neufeld
Minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, BC