Breaking Through the Status Quo: Scaling Canada’s Innovation Game

With more than 20 years of experience in management, marketing and funding of innovative companies in the media and technology industry, Mr. Allard is currently founder and President of impak Finance.

Since 2015, he has been a senior advisor at Redwood Capital in NY.

He was founder and CEO of Engagement Labs, a public company specialized in social media data, analytics and insights for organizations engaging on social networks. Elabs has offices in London, New York, Toronto and Montreal.

Mr. Allard was also lecturer at Université du Québec à Montréal for a series of seminars on entrepreneurship. Prior to that, he co-founded and operated for 3 years AlternativeChannel.tv, the first Multilanguage WebTV channel devoted to sustainable development. In 1997, he founded ZAQ Inc., a web services and interactive TV technology company, which he brought public 3 years later.

Mr. Allard also was co-founder and Chairman of Alliance Numérique, and Interactive Multimedia Producers of Canada. These two organizations were responsible for negotiating government policies affecting this new industry.

Mr. Allard holds a Bachelor of Arts in music and an MBA in International Marketing & Finance from HEC Montreal.

Andrew Applejohn is the Senior Science Advisor to the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT). He is responsible for developing overarching science policy and implementing the government’s Knowledge Agenda. Mr. Applejohn works with municipal groups, regional Indigenous Governments, Territorial and federal governments, GNWT departments, national and international agencies to plan and deliver research programs which support needs of the NWT. With over 25 years of experience in natural resource management science, Mr. Applejohn has worked in a variety of roles: delivering research programs in remote Arctic environments; Northern post-secondary education; research planning regulatory processes and administration; and science outreach and communications across all regions of the Northwest Territories and Northern Ontario.

Mr. Applejohn has a wide range of experience in designing, implementing and evaluating both field and community based research programs, as well as in the management of  northern research infrastructure. As director of the Aurora Research Institute from 2002 -2019, Mr. Applejohn was the Science Administrator of the NWT, issuing permits for over 1000 research projects, many of which provided key information for the Mackenzie Gas Project as well as climate change research programs across the NWT.

From 2002 – 2009 Mr. Applejohn was a member of the team which delivered the Mallik International Gas Hydrates Research Program acting as the operator of the drilling operations in 2007 and 2008. Mr. Applejohn has served on over 50 advisory committees related to northern research and development and currently chairs the Northwest Territories Environmental Studies Research Fund and the GNWT Interdepartmental Working Group on Research Activities.

Christopher Baird is Acting Director General of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises and Strategic Engagement.

Working with National Defence, Industry Canada, International Trade and others, Christopher led the Defence Procurement Strategy Secretariat, which was charged with the development of the Defence Procurement Strategy (DPS) with an aim to better support policy and economic outcomes. Previous to this role, Christopher held the position of Acquisitions Account Executive, and he spent almost 10 years with the Information Technology Services Branch of Public Service and Procurement in the telecommunications program management area.

Mr. Baird holds an MBA in high technology management from the University of Ottawa, and an Arts Baccalaureate in Biology from Harvard University.

Dr. Max Blouw is immediate Past-President and Vice-Chancellor of Wilfrid Laurier University. Previously, he was Vice-President Research and professor of biology at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC).

Dr. Blouw holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in zoology from the University of Manitoba, and a PhD in biology from the University of New Brunswick. He began his career as a biologist in the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Winnipeg, and went on to teach biology at St. Francis Xavier University before joining UNBC in 1995 as a professor of biology.

Dr. Blouw recently completed successive terms as vice-chair, chair, and past-chair of the Council of Ontario Universities (COU). He has served as a member of the COU’s Executive Committee, Holding Association Inc. and various other committees. He has a long-standing involvement with the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and has served as an executive council member and chair of its award selection committees and committee on grants and scholarships. Dr. Blouw served two terms as the chair of the university advisory group to Industry Canada and was a member of the adjudication panel for the Ontario Premier’s Discovery Awards, which recognize the province’s finest senior researchers. He recently chaired the International Review Committee of the NSERC Discovery Grants Program.

In 2005, Dr. Blouw received the Science and Technology Champion Award from the BC Innovation Council in recognition of his leadership. In 2009, UNBC renamed the Quesnel River Research Centre, The Dr. Max Blouw Quesnel River Research Centre at Likely, in his honour.

Dr. Susan Blum is the Associate Vice President, Applied Research and Innovation at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. She previously was the Director of Research Services and Ethics at the University of Saskatchewan (UofS) and Director of Finance and Administration at the Saskatchewan Health Research Foundation. She has spent 18 years working in research administration, 16 of those at the UofS. Susan has a research background in ecotoxicology and was polar bear biologist for the Government of Nunavut.

Susan currently serves as the Vice-President for the National Research Advisory Committee (NRAC) for Colleges and Institutes of Canada (CICan) and sits on both the NSERC Prairie Advisory Committee and the research group for Polytechnics Canada.  Previously, she was on the Board of Directors for both the Canadian Association of Research Administrators and the Canadian Association of Research Ethics Boards and was active with the U15 Research Group.

Neil Bouwer is currently the Assistant Deputy Minister leading the review of business innovation and clean technology programs at the Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada.  He has also served as an Assistant Deputy Minister at Natural Resources Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and the Privy Council Office of Canada; and in senior positions at the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, Human Resources and Social Development Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada.  He has also worked at the Department of Finance and Western Economic Diversification Canada, and has Economics degrees from McGill University and St. Thomas University.  Neil actively supports the Government of Canada policy community, the Advanced Policy Analyst Program and the Free Agent HR Program.  Neil and his family live in Ottawa, but he was born and raised in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Gail Bowkett is the Director, Innovation Policy at Mitacs. With over 20 years’ experience in the fields of higher education and international development, Gail provides leadership on policy research and analysis in support of Mitacs priorities and programming. Gail’s experience covers a range of policy issues from international higher education to research and innovation policy.  Gail holds a Master of International Business Administration degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University, and an Honours Bachelor degree in Russian language and literature from Carleton University.

Leah holds an MSc in Environmental Physiology and worked for several federal government Departments including Agriculture Canada, Canadian Space Agency, NSERC, DFO and most recently Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Ice Service. She has been a member of the ArcticNet Research Management Committee, co-Chair of the Polar Data Catalogue Steering Committee and a collaborator in several ArcticNet Projects over the years.

Eugénie Brouillet is Vice President Research and Innovation at Université Laval. She is also a lawyer and full professor at the Faculty of Law, which she led as dean from 2012 to 2017 after serving as associate dean of undergraduate studies (2010–2012).

Her areas of research are constitutional law, particularly Canadian and comparative federalism in a multinational context and the protection of human rights and freedoms. She is the author of numerous monographs and scientific articles, as well as a work entitled La négation de la nation. L’identité culturelle québécoise et le fédéralisme canadien (Septentrion, 2005), for which she was awarded the Prix Richard-Arès (2006) and the second Prix de la Présidence de la Assemblée nationale (2006). She is also coauthor of a textbook on constitutional law, Droit constitutionnel, along with professors Henri Brun and Guy Tremblay (6th ed., Yvon Blais, 2014). She has been a guest speaker over 40 times, in Canada and abroad in France, Belgium, Spain, Venezuela, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Ms. Brouillet is a research member of GRSP (Groupe de recherche sur les sociétés plurinationales) and CRIDAQ (Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la diversité et la démocratie). She is vice-president of AQCD (Association québécoise de droit constitutionnel) and sits on the board of directors of Centraide Québec Chaudière-Appalaches and Fondation Jean-Charles-Bonenfant.

Carl Byers applies thirty years of experience in modeling and simulation, virtual environments, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality to software applications that improve knowledge-based productivity and decision-making in complex distributed organizations.

As co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer at Contextere, Carl drives integrated R&D, product development, and collaborative partnerships that leverage machine learning, the industrial internet, and augmented reality to build the 21^st century workforce. Carl is the past-President and currently serves as Treasurer of The AREA, a member organization focused on accelerating the adoption of augmented reality in the enterprise. He is also co-founder and director of United World Voices, a registered charity dedicated to improving the lives of vulnerable persons and communities in Canada, India, and Africa.

Carl holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, a Master’s in Human Security & Peacebuilding from Royal Roads University in Victoria, and a Bachelor’s in Applied Science in Engineering Physics from Queen’s University at Kingston.

Dr. Ailish Campbell joined Global Affairs Canada as the Chief Trade Commissioner in March 2017.  ‎The Trade Commissioner Service provides Canadian business with practical advice on foreign markets to help companies sell, export and grow through more than 160 offices in Canada and around the world.  (www.tradecommissioner.gc.ca)

Previously she was General Director at Finance Canada and Vice President, Policy – International and Fiscal Issues, at the Business Council of Canada.

She serves on the board of the Banff Forum, a national non-partisan not-for-profit organization promoting leadership and public policy engagement, and the International Advisory Council of the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary.

Ailish holds a BA (Honours) from Queen’s University, a Master of Science, Economics (International Relations and International Political Economy) from the London School of Economics and a D. Phil in International Relations from the University of Oxford. In 2014 she was designated a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Anshula Chowdhury is the CEO of SAMETRICA. SAMETRICA is a SaaS product for demonstrating the impact of social spend. SAMETRICA works with governments in Canada at the federal, provincial, and municipal level. She is a founding board member of Social Value Canada, the body for regulating and accrediting impact reports and practitioners in the country. At 16, she was hired to build and run the quality assurance team at the software startup in Silicon Valley in the summers of 2004 to 2006. At 18, she worked with UNICEF, and schools in Jamaica, planning and implementing development projects for education and agriculture. Anshula is a recognized expert in impact measurement and reporting, sitting on the Province of Ontario’s Impact Measurement Task Force, assisting in setting standardization practices for the province.

Chrystia Chudczak has over 25 years of experience working in the public & private sectors. Until recently, she ran the experimental Innovation, Science & Economic Development Canada (ISED) Innovation Lab, a multidisciplinary team of public servants who encouraged the use of innovative methodologies and user-centric design to solve complex policy, program or regulatory challenges in the public service. The Lab developed a safe space to co-create solutions with citizens, civil servants and stakeholders alike. Chrystia is currently in transition. So stay tuned. If you want more info, check out her LINKEDin profile.

Jeffrey Crelinsten is CEO of Research Money Inc. and publisher of RE$EARCH MONEY. He is also President and CEO of The Impact Group, a consultancy he co-founded in 1987, specializing in science, technology and innovation policy, communications and education. Jeffrey has been studying challenges facing tech entrepreneurs and the innovation ecosystems that try to support them for over 25 years. He developed the R$ conferences to bring together leaders from the private and public sector to address critical issues around innovation policy and knowledge-based commerce.

Before founding The Impact Group, Jeffrey taught science and human affairs at Concordia University and had an active career as a science documentary writer for radio and television.

Jeffrey is Senior Research Fellow at the Innovation Policy Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. He is a founding director of the International Commercialization Alliance and is a past-President of the Canadian Science Writers Association. Jeffrey has a B.Sc. in physics from McGill University, a M.Sc. in astronomy from University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in history of science and science policy from University of Montreal.

Neil Desai is Director, Corporate Affairs with Magnet Forensics, one of Canada’s fastest growing technology companies. The company develops tools that police and security agencies around the world use to recover, analyze and report on digital evidence in investigations of such crimes as human trafficking, child exploitation, fraud and terrorism.

He previously served with the Government of Canada in a number of senior roles in the Department of Global Affairs and the Prime Minister’s Office. He was named one of the top Canadians influencing Canadian foreign policy by Embassy Magazine and one of the top 99 young foreign policy professionals by the US-based Diplomatic Courier magazine.

Neil is a Fellow with the the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto. He serves on the Board of Directors of the YMCA Canada. He is also an occasional contributor to the Globe and Mail’s editorial page.

Neil holds a master’s degree from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s degree with honours from Carleton University.

Dominique Bérubé was appointed vice-president, Research Programs, at SSHRC in October 2015. Prior to joining SSHRC, Dominique worked at the Université de Montréal, beginning in 2007. There, she held a variety of positions, including acting vice-rector, Research; associate vice-rector, Research; and executive director, Research Services and Commercialization.

Dominique participated directly in the development and implementation of large research initiatives, including infrastructure and strategic projects. She was also responsible for the restructuring of the Office of Research Services to improve administrative processes and the quality of support for researchers, and she implemented a new digital expertise service to facilitate the use of digital technologies in research. Before her time at the Université de Montréal, she was director of research services at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Dominique played a key role in the development of Érudit, chairing its board of directors from 2012 to 2015. Érudit offers centralized access to the majority of North American francophone publications in the social sciences and humanities, and supports researcher-driven initiatives in the creation of new development tools for the digital humanities.

Dominique holds a doctorate in environmental sciences from the Université du Québec à Montréal and a master’s and bachelor’s degree from the École polytechnique de Montréal.

Since his retirement from the public service of Canada in 2008, Mr. Dudoit has built upon his extensive international experience in innovation public-private partnerships as well as his impressive networks at home and abroad. He was first appointed Associate Vice-Principal, Strategic Innovation Partnerships and International Relations, McGill University. Alain Dudoit then moved into the private sector as an entrepreneur and senior international advisor for a select number of significant business interests and organizations in Canada, the United States, China and Europe.

In 2017, Alain Dudoit completed his mandate as Principal Advisor of the exclusive QG100 CEOs Network, a private non-profit organization of chief executive officers of Quebec-based global growth companies, which he developed in 2010. He has been invited as visiting lecturer at McGill Faculty of Management as well as ENAP. Alain Dudoit is visiting fellow at Cirano and a member of the executive committee of its Ambassadors Alliance. He is also Senior Advisor, Milken Institute Santa Monica; Member of the Committee on Foreign Relations: Los Angeles, and member of the governance committee, Accelerated Growth Center, Quebec Government Office New York. Alain Dudoit is QG100 Strategic advisor and Interim Senior Vice-President Partnerships, Scale.AI, an industry-led Innovation Supercluster on Supply Chains and Artificial Intelligence.

During his extensive and successful public service career in Ottawa, Mr. Dudoit held a number of senior management positions in Ottawa: Canada’s Privy Council Office; the Canadian International Development Agency; the Departments of Finance and of Foreign Affairs and International Trade. He served Canada abroad as: Minister-Counselor (Commercial-Economic Affairs) in Paris; Ambassador in Prague; Ambassador in Madrid and Consul General in Los Angeles.

Paul Dufour is a Senior Fellow and Adjunct professor with the Institute for Science, Society and Policy at the University of Ottawa. He is Principal with the consulting organization PaulicyWorks where he has conducted assessments for numerous organizations. He has been senior adviser in science policy with several Canadian agencies and organizations over the course of the past 30 years, including the Science Council of Canada and the International Development Research Centre. He was interim Executive Director at the former Office of the National Science Advisor to the Prime Minister and Canadian Government.

He is a Board member of the Montreal-based graduate student Science and Policy Exchange and is also on the Investment Committee of Grand Challenges Canada for global health.

Born in Montreal, Mr. Dufour was educated at McGill, the Université de Montreal and Concordia University.​

Moad Fahmi is Director, Fintech and Innovation, at the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), Québec’s financial regulator, where he is responsible for co-ordinating the AMF’s fintech strategy that involves more than 60 employees working in cross-functional teams. Prior to joining the AMF, Mr. Fahmi held the position of Senior Manager, National Accounts, at Laurentian Bank, and Senior Manager, Business Development, at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). He holds a BA in Finance from HEC Montréal, and has completed the Investment Management Workshop at Harvard Business School and the Quantitative Investment Strategies Program at the Amsterdam Institute of Finance. Mr. Fahmi has held the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation since 2011. He sits on the board of directors of CFA Montreal and chairs the Canadian Advocacy Council for Canadian CFA Institute Societies (CAC).

Assistant Deputy Minister (Science & Technology) and Chief

Executive Officer, Defence R&D Canada

Dr Fortin leads the Department of National Defence’s S&T investment and provides advise in national issues in defence and security science and technology. He also leads Defence Research and Development Canada that consists of a national network of defence and security research centres with over 1300 knowledge workers.

Defence R&D Canada provides national leadership in defence and security science, and provides scientific advice to the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence. The defence S&T network extends to partnerships with Canadian industry, universities, and international S&T organizations.

Prior to joining DND and DRDC in 2011, Dr. Fortin has led several research organizations at the national or regional levels, both in academia and government. He has led the development of

innovative programs to generate better integrated complex innovation chains that capitalize on the engagement of actors and intervenors in and outside government.

He is particularly passionate about catalyzing the development of organizations capable of operating in complex environments and in uncertain futures. The ability to leverage knowledge, science and policy to influence important outcomes will require agile knowledge-rich organizations capable of developing new interfaces for decision makers that will leverage knowledge, science and policy.

Prior to joining DND, he was ADM (Research) at Agriculture and AgriFood Canada. He also had a 17 years career as Associate Professor, Chair and Associate Dean (Research) at McGill University prior to joining the Federal government. Dr. Fortin is a graduate of McGill University and of Université Laval, and also conducted research at The University of Chicago and at The University of California at Davis.

Rodney Ghali is the Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet of the Impact and Innovation Unit at the Privy Council Office, Government of Canada. He is responsible for leading the exploration and execution of new and innovative policy and programmatic approaches, focused on improving impact, accountability and value for Canadians. Prior to his current role, Rodney was Director General of the Centre for Chronic Disease Prevention, Public Health Agency of Canada, where he was responsible for overseeing the Federal Government’s policy and programs in the areas of healthy living and chronic disease prevention. Previously, Rodney spent a number of years at Health Canada in various positions such as Senior Advisor to the Deputy Minister and Director of Strategic Policy. He has worked on numerous legislative/regulatory initiatives and health-related issues including: food and consumer product safety, reproductive technologies, aboriginal health, blood safety and mental health. Rodney holds a Master of Science (neurobiology) from McGill University and a Honours Bachelor of Science (genetics) from the University of Western Ontario.

As Vice-President of SCC’s Strategy and Stakeholder Engagement Branch, Mr. Girard oversees SCC’s strategic initiatives, analysis of standardization issues and development of key policies.

Mr. Girard has a wealth of experience in standardization and environmental management. He was Director of Climate Change Services at the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) where he managed CSA’s Ottawa office and played a leading role in developing CSA’s climate change policy. Prior to joining CSA, Mr. Girard was Director of International Affairs, Climate Change Bureau at Environment Canada, where he helped negotiate the rules governing the Kyoto Protocol. Mr. Girard has also held the positions of Corporate Secretary and Chief of Federal-Provincial Strategies for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Additionally, he has held policy research and advice positions at the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency and at Canada Post Corporation.

Mr. Girard holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Ottawa.

Ted Graham is the head of Open Innovation at General Motors where he helps identify partnerships that will help build new forms of mobility including autonomous and connected vehicles. He is also the former Innovation leader at PWC and a McKinsey strategy consultant with a focus on understanding and leveraging people networks to influence the spread of ideas.

Ted often speaks to audiences about The 5 things I learned about disruptive innovation as an UberX driver and how to apply some of these lessons across a multitude of industries on the cusp of disruption. His firsthand account was initially released as a widely read LinkedIn influencer post, then a CBC Metro Morning interview and is now part of his book called “The Uber of Everything”.

Over the years Ted has enjoyed diverse pursuits in his spare time: scrabble champion, world ranked Rock Paper Scissors competitor and volleyball magazine publisher.

Neal Hill is Vice President, Market Development, in the BDC Capital division of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). His primary responsibilities are to manage BDC Capital’s position as lead investor in the Government of Canada’s $1.4 billion Venture Capital Action Plan, and to collaborate with other stakeholders in improving the supply and efficient flow of capital into Canada’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Neal has more than 30 years of experience in technology management and marketing, venture capital, and mergers and acquisitions in Canada and the U.S. Prior to joining BDC, he was Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, for Cognos Incorporated, the Ottawa-based $1 billion worldwide leader in business intelligence and performance management software, now a unit of IBM. In earlier chapters of his career, Neal was Managing Director of a Boston-based venture capital firm, as well as a co-founder of 3 start-ups. He has also served on the boards of over 20 early-stage companies in Canada and the U.S.

Neal attended Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, where he pursued a Bachelor of Arts with majors in Physics and Political Science.

Pari Johnston is vice-president, policy and public affairs at Universities Canada, leading all federal policy and advocacy initiatives of the association. She is responsible for strategic oversight of Universities Canada’s government relations, communications, policy and research, and international relations to promote the role of higher education, research and innovation in Canada’s future, at home and abroad.

Ms. Johnston joined Universities Canada in 1997, and has played increasingly senior roles, including director of international relations, before building a new member relations program and leading the public affairs team.

She is a member of the Board of Directors of The Conversation Canada, a global platform for academic journalism recently launched in Canada.

She holds a bachelor of arts degree (French literature) from the University of Regina and a master’s in international affairs from Carleton University. Ms. Johnston is married to David Heath and has two young sons.

Working with the Technology Council since 2013, Lauren Kelly is currently the Manager of Skills Development and leads the planning, implementation and management of all aspects of the Technology Council’s skills development and capacity building programs.  On behalf of the Council, Lauren will lead the launch of the cornerstone training program “Foundations and Futures in Innovation and Technology” and connect with community, academia, government and industry partners to further develop and strengthen the Indigenous technology ecosystem by ensuring the successful delivery of training to over 1000 participants by 2021. Lauren completed her undergraduate work at the University of Alberta and received her Masters Degree in Indigenous Governance from the University of Victoria where her studies focused on the role of a settler aspiring-ally in the Indigenous rights movement. In addition to her work at the Technology Council, Lauren’s focus includes critical discourse on ongoing settler colonialism and Canadian’s responsibility in reconciliation.

Dr Donna Kirkwood is currently the Chief Scientist for Natural Resources Canada. She plays a leadership role in developing and promoting the department’s overarching S&T priorities, as aligned with the Government’s Science and Innovation agenda and with a personal goal of ensuring that science supports and informs public policy development and contributes to societal benefits. Before her appointment with the federal government in 2006, Donna was a Faculty member with the Département de géologie et de génie géologique, Université Laval, Québec.

As a professor and senior executive in the federal public service, her focus has been on the design and management of knowledge and innovation programs and policies. She has been active on the national and international scene, developing a novel research program in collaboration with various stakeholders from academia, industry and government, and relying on strong interdisciplinary collaboration with research institutes, academic and governmental organizations.

Dr. Roscoe Klinck is a Portfolio Manager with the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security (IDEaS) Program. He joined Defence Research and Development Canada in 2015 to enhance DRDC’s engagements with the Canadian academic sector, and was instrumental in creating defence and security funding initiatives with two of Canada’s research councils, NSERC and SSHRC. Dr. Klinck has over 25 years of experience in fundamental research in both academic and biotechnology industry settings. After completing doctoral and post-doctoral studies in structural biology at the Universities of Paris IX, McGill and Montréal, he worked on anti-viral drug development in a biotech start-up in the UK for 5 years before joining the University of Sherbrooke in 2003, where he directed a genomics core lab focussed on cancer research.

Claudia Krywiak is Vice President, Corporate Development, Planning and Strategic Initiatives at the Ontario Centres of Excellence (OCE), a not-for-profit organization that drives the growth of a knowledge-based economy in Ontario. In partnership with industry, OCE co-invests in industrially relevant R&D and the commercialization of leading edge technologies, supporting the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs.

At OCE, Claudia is responsible for the strategic development and implementation of initiatives that bring together multiple levels of government, large corporations, and SMEs to fuel growth in emerging technology areas, such as advanced computing and artificial intelligence, connected and autonomous vehicles, 5G and next generation networks, cybersecurity, and clean technologies. Her team has a mandate to work with government, academic, and industry leaders to accelerate business innovation in high potential sectors that provide a competitive advantage for Canada in the global economy.

Prior to joining OCE, Claudia held the position of Vice President, Business Development (Ontario) at Mitacs, a national research organization that funds research and training programs for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in partnership with universities, industry, and government in Canada.

Claudia received her Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Toronto in 2003 and subsequently worked for Bruker BioSpin, a world leader in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technology, enabling scientists to make breakthrough discoveries and develop new applications.

Marc LePage is President and CEO of Genome Canada.  Before assuming this role in January 2016, he served as President and CEO of Génome Québec since December 2011, where he led a major increase in research activity and enhanced focus on the development of genomic applications within priority sectors within the province.

He brings a wealth of experience in the innovation sector and venture capital, in addition to a broad network of international contacts.

He is an expert in international partnerships and previously served as Special Advisor, Climate Change and Energy for the Embassy of Canada in Washington, D.C. and worked as Consul General at the Canadian Consulate in San Francisco/Silicon Valley.

Marc LePage was also one of the pioneers behind the founding of Genome Canada in 2000. During his tenure as Executive Vice-President of Corporate Development, he made a significant contribution to the development of genomics in Canada.

From 1994 to 2000, he worked as Director of Business Development for the Medical Research Council, where he was in charge of building international partnerships with the pharmaceutical industry, venture capital and foundations.

Paul is the CEO and founder of Spartan Bioscience, creator of the world’s smallest DNA analyzer. Prior to Spartan, Paul served as Vice President, Product Management at DNA Genotek (acquired by OraSure Technologies). Paul holds a medical degree from the University of Ottawa and graduated from the inaugural class of Singularity University. He is also a past winner of the $200K Ontario Premier’s Catalyst Award for Best Young Innovator.

Mary Jane shaped her career with CIBC, EY, Investors Group, Red River College, University of Manitoba, Women’s Enterprise Centre and most recently as the Indigenous relations executive for IBM Canada. A commerce graduate, with a CPA CA designation, MJ completed an MA in Native Studies to build her strength in leadership for Indigenous Inclusion and Reconciliation. She serves as a speaker and facilitator in topical areas including women in technology, innovation, socio-economic inclusion, and Indigenous relations.

Mary Jane accelerates the success and inclusion of women in leadership, as co-founder of SHEACCELERATOR and the annual one-day event SHEday, which focuses on women’s experience in economy and society.

Mary Jane is a founding Member of the Winnipeg Police Board, a Director of Ka Ni Kanichihk Council, a Member of the Committee on Research Partnerships with NSERC, and a Director of a number of private corporations. She is a valued mentor to the Asper School Indigenous Business Education Partner Program. Past appointments include Chair of Economic Development Winnipeg, Travel Manitoba, Aboriginal Human Resource Council Canada, and Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business.

Marcela has explored the world of business through a globally-focused business undergraduate degree, designation as a Certified International Trade Professional and more than fifteen years of global experience developing and implementing business strategies.

Marcela’s business experience in Canada and abroad led her to Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) in 2008. As Chief Operating Officer, she developed programs to support access to local and international business opportunities for women entrepreneurs. After leaving AWE in August 2013 Marcela resumed her role as CEO of her own business consulting firm, Bright Idea International and completed her MBA studies at the University of Alberta. In July 2015, Marcela returned to AWE to work with an amazing team after time spent leading her own business, volunteering and traveling in Central and South America, and exploring beautiful beaches and the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Southern California with her dog Cally.

Marcela believes strongly in continuous learning and contributing to the community.  She serves on the YESS and Alberta Innovates Boards of Directors, is a member of the AIESEC Edmonton Advisory Board, and is the former Board Chair for Literacy without Borders.

James was editor of Private Equity News, part of Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal in London, for nearly four years until May, 2010 when he launched Global Corporate Venturing as an independent title from his own publishing company. This was followed by the launch of the second publication, Global University Venturing, in January 2012 to help students and faculty and academia more broadly launch or develop their entrepreneurial businesses and work with external peers. The company, Mawsonia’s, third title, Global Government Venturing, was launched in May 2014.

As well as editing Private Equity News, James coordinated leveraged buyout and venture capital coverage for use by other titles in the Dow Jones and News Corporation group, acted as a spokesman on BBC radio and television and chaired awards and conferences for a host of media groups, including the BVCA awards and event for more than 1,000 people in October, 2009.

Previously, James had freelanced for a host of national and trade media titles, including the BBC, Financial Times, Economist, Independent on Sunday, Sunday Express and Dow Jones Newswires; provided research for Nick Davies’s book, Flat Earth News; was a foreign correspondent in central and eastern Europe; and was international editor for FT Business.

After graduating from King’s College, London, James’s first job was working at technology publishing house ComputerWire.

He is also a director of the London Press Club and has acted as a pro bono editor for the European Venture Philanthropy Association’s monthly newsletter.

Matthew Mendelsohn is the Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for Results and Delivery in the Privy Council Office, leading the federal government’s Results and Delivery Unit and Impact and Innovation Unit.

Prior to returning to the federal public service, Matthew was the founding Director of the Mowat Centre, a public policy think tank in the School of Public Policy & Governance at the University of Toronto. During that time he published and lectured widely on government transformation, democratic institutions and intergovernmental politics.

Matthew is a former Deputy Minister and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet with the Ontario government and a former Senior Advisor in the federal government’s Privy Council Office.

Matthew received his B.A. from McGill University and Ph.D. from the l’Université de Montréal, and held a post-doctoral fellowship at the University of British Columbia. He was a tenured faculty member in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University for 10 years and has been an active volunteer board member for many not-for-profit organizations that support community engagement and improved social and economic outcomes.

Eric M. Meslin is President and CEO of the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA). He joined the CCA in February, 2016, bringing with him more than 25 years of experience in science policy in both university and government settings.

Dr. Meslin came to the CCA from Indiana University (IU), where he was Founding Director of the Indiana University Center for Bioethics for 15 years, Associate Dean for Bioethics in the IU School of Medicine and Professor of Medicine, of Medical & Molecular Genetics, of Bioethics and Law, of Public Health, and of Philosophy. In 2012 Dr. Meslin was appointed IU’s first endowed Professor of Bioethics. He has also held academic positions at the University of Toronto, University of Oxford, as Professor-at-Large at the University of Western Australia, and as the Pierre de Fermat Chaire d’Excellence at the Université de Toulouse. He is currently a Visiting Scholar in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, and at the Centre of Genomics and Policy at McGill University.

Prior to Indiana, he was Bioethics Research Director of the Ethical, Legal and Social Implications (ELSI) program at the U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute, and then Executive Director of the National Bioethics Advisory Commission appointed by then President Bill Clinton.

Born in Canada, Dr. Meslin received his BA from York University, and his MA and PhD from Georgetown University in Washington D.C. both in philosophy/bioethics. Dr. Meslin has more than 150 published articles and book chapters on various topics in bioethics and science policy. He has been an advisor to domestic and international organizations including the World Health Organization and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, and sat on committees of the Institute of Medicine (now National Academy of Medicine), the National Institutes of Health, and the Board of Directors of Genome Canada. In 2015 he was appointed Vice-Chair of the UK Biobank Ethics and Governance Council.

Among his honours, Dr. Meslin is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences, and a Chevalier de L’Order Nationale du Mérite (Knight of the National Order of Merit) for contributions to French bioethics policy.

Amber Mousseau is the Manager of External Relations at Innovative Solutions Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Prior to this she was the Manager of Enterprise Planning and Risk Management at Employment and Social Development Canada. She has held several senior advisor positions within the federal government. Amber completed her Bachelor of Business Administration at St. Francis Xavier University and her Master of Business Administration at Queen’s University.

Jayson is an award-winning business economist specializing in industrial and technological change and is widely recognized as an influential policy advocate in Canada. He is an advisor to both private and public sector leaders, and has counselled Canadian prime ministers and premiers as well as senior corporate executives and policymakers around the world.

Jayson has more than 25 years’ experience building alliances among businesses, academic institutions, as well as community, labour, and advocacy organizations. Between 2007 and 2016, he served as President & CEO of Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters, Canada’s largest industry and trade association. He was also the founding Chair of the Canadian Manufacturing Coalition, Vice Chair of Canada’s National Roundtable on Skills, and Vice Chair of the Ontario and Great Lakes Manufacturing Councils.

Jayson studied at Queen’s University and the University of British Columbia in Canada, as well as at the London School of Economics and Oxford University in the United Kingdom. He has held appointments as a Research Fellow at Nuffield College, Oxford, and as a lecturer in politics, economics, and international studies at both Oxford and the University of Warwick.

Dr. Mona Nemer is Canada’s Chief Science Advisor. Her main role is to advise the Prime Minister and the Minister of Science on science issues.

Before becoming the Chief Science Advisor, Dr. Nemer was Professor and Vice-President, Research, at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Molecular Genetics and Cardiac Regeneration Laboratory.

Her research focused on the heart, particularly on the mechanisms of heart failure and congenital heart diseases. She is the author of over 200 highly cited publications that have appeared in prestigious scientific journals. Her work has contributed to the development of diagnostic tests for heart failure and the genetics of cardiac birth defects. She has trained over 100 students from various countries.

Dr. Nemer has served on several national and international advisory committees and executive boards, and is the recipient of many national and international honours. She is a Member of the Order of Canada, a fellow of the Academy of Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec and a Knight of the French Republic’s Ordre national du Mérite. She has also been awarded honorary doctorates from France and Finland.

Dr. Nemer holds a PhD in Chemistry from McGill University. Prior to joining the University of Ottawa, she was a Professor of Pharmacology at the Université de Montréal and directed the Cardiac Genetics Unit at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute.

Kelly is the founder of TalentStrategy.org and is a seasoned expert in strategic affairs and gender equity.  Kelly consults with executives and boards on diversity and equity strategies. Her clients include research and government institutions, corporations and global initiatives. Kelly develops targeted programs to improve gender equity and engage and retain diverse talent pools for a variety of industrial sectors. She specializes in organizational diversity frameworks, training, assessment, and business development for external and internal relations for complex evidence-based, multi-stakeholder STEM organizations.  A regular conference presenter, Kelly has chaired diversity and workforce development streams for several technical and scientific conferences. Previously, she worked with the Networks of Centres of Excellence and Compute Canada where she led the strategy to secure commitments for more than $100 million in government funding. Before that, she led international public education campaigns for sexual reproductive health for the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.

Steve’s quest is to find the optimum connection between advances in new design technologies and breakthrough architectural solutions. He joined Turner Fleischer Architects in 2002 and was instrumental in TF’s pioneering efforts to apply 3D design processes to contextualize client visions. His goal is to effectively integrate building information modeling (BIM) into the TF practice. Steve oversees the Residential + Mixed-Use team and especially enjoys his role in telling the firm’s story to prospective recruits – ever searching for the next generation of staff. His greatest satisfaction comes from seeing the results of his team’s creative efforts as he travels through the city’s changing landscape, always mindful of the creative efforts of the tradespeople with whom he worked closely in constructing those buildings. What he’s learned from this hands-on approach wasn’t taught in the classroom – it’s a consequence of respectful collaboration, and trust in the process and in bright young minds.

Dana is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI) managing the Health Tech file with the aim to support the gap companies face when trying to access international markets in their business operations. CCI is a business council exclusively dedicated to helping high-growth Canadian technology firms work with public policy leaders to foster local innovation to scale globally. Its membership is composed of CEOs from Canada’s most successful technology companies.

Before joining CCI, Dana worked for a number of cabinet Ministers at Queen’s Park on files related to economic development, energy and transportation. After obtaining a bachelor of Laws at the University of Edinburgh and a Masters of Law and Business at Bucerius Law School in Hamburg Germany Dana moved to Toronto. In her spare time, she coaches and plays basketball and is an avid cyclist.

Alison works at the Yukon Research Centre, Yukon College where she conducts and coordinates research focusing on adaptation to climate change in the mining, transportation and infrastructure sectors, and the impacts of climate change on traditional land use and northern communities. She works with northern governments to help them integrate climate change considerations into projects, planning, and other processes.

Alison is currently a doctoral student in the Department of Geography at Carleton University where her research focuses on research policy for Canada’s North, examining barriers and enablers to northern participation in research processes.

Born and raised in Iqaluit, Pitseolak is currently building on over 25 years of Inuit advocacy in his M.A. in Northern Studies at Carleton University. His research interests lie at the intersection of sustainable Northern community development, Indigenous epistemologies, and socio-cultural and political transformations in Inuit homelands. He combines his interdisciplinary studies with consulting work and with participation in applied and community-based research projects related to Indigenous issues. Often a guest lecturer on Arctic matters, he also remains an active member of the Inuit community both in Iqaluit and in Ottawa, offering his skills and experience to help address community needs.

Peggy is a senior advisor to Portag3 Ventures, Power Financial Corp’s VC fund.

In her capacity, Peggy sources investments and supports the portfolio companies in establishing strategic partnerships with major corporations. She also supports the innovation and gender diversity agenda across Power Financial Corp.

Prior to joining Portag3, Peggy was VP, Innovation at CIBC enabling the digital transformation of the organization.

Peggy also started a couple of Fintech ventures, invested in the space, managed a family office, consulted for large and small entities, and worked at CGI and BMO on their strategic technology investments.

For many years, Peggy has been very involved in the fintech space as lecturer, mentor, speaker, angel and everything in between!

A finance professional by trade, Peggy started working on technology 15 years ago.

A board member of FrontFundr, the Digital Finance Institute and of the National CrowdFunding & Fintech Association of Canada, Peggy is also very involved in gender diversity and environmental initiatives.

Michael Quinn is the Associate Vice President – Research, Scholarship and Community Engagement at Mount Royal University (MRU) in Calgary, AB. He initially came to MRU as the inaugural Director of the Institute for Environmental Sustainability where he also held the position of Talisman Research Chair. Previous to joining MRU, Michael spent 16 years at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Environmental Design culminating in a role as the Associate Dean. He has a strong background in research including the supervision of over 75 graduate students. Michael is widely published in areas of environmental sustainability, ecological resilience, resource management and ecological planning. He has held several prestigious fellowships and provides a leadership role in community-based research development.

Nobina Robinson was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Polytechnics Canada in May 2009. She held progressive appointments in the federal government and non-profit sectors since 1990.

Mrs. Robinson began her public service career in 1990 when she joined the Treasury Board Secretariat as a management trainee. Two years later, she became a Foreign Service Officer and was posted as a political officer to the Canadian Embassy in Havana from 1994 to 1997. From 1998 to 2002, Mrs. Robinson led FOCAL, a policy institute on Canada’s relations with the Americas.

Before joining Polytechnics Canada, Mrs. Robinson was the Ottawa-based Senior Government Relations Advisor for Seneca College, responsible for federal advocacy for one of Canada’s largest colleges.

Mrs. Robinson has a B.A. from Amherst College, an M.A. from Oxford University (Commonwealth Scholar 1985-1988) and has pursued post-graduate studies at Yale University.

Mrs. Robinson served as a member of the Expert Panel on the Review of Federal Support to Research and Development that completed its work in October 2011.

In her capacity as CEO of Polytechnics Canada, Mrs. Robinson supports a number of other like-minded groups, including the Business Higher Education Roundtable, the Human Resources Committee of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the C.D. Howe Institute and is a Champion member of the Canadian Apprenticeship Forum.

Mrs. Robinson has previously served as a Board Member of the Rideau Club of Ottawa.

Joy has worked in steel, iron ore, coal and oil and gas.   She has served as a School Trustee, Chair of the Governing Council of Athabasca University, and advisor to several NSERC chairs. Joy is currently chair of the Clean Resource Innovation Network, a board member of Canada’s Oilsands Innovation Alliance, the Petroleum Technology Alliance of Canada and Wavefront as well as a member of the Kinetica Ventures Advisory Council and the Faculty of Science Dean’s Circle for the University of Calgary. Joy is Chair of the Business Leaders Advisory Council for Athabasca University and a past member of the Science, Technology & Innovation Council for Canada.

Rob is the Director of MCV (Manulife Capital Ventures), a returns-driven, North American software venture investor. Rob joined MCV in 2016 and has 15 years of technology business and VC experience. Prior to MCV, Rob spent 5 years with a Toronto-based early stage venture fund (IAF), where he was involved with origination, execution and portfolio management of 20 early-stage startup investments, with a primary focus on business software startups. Previously, Rob worked in enterprise applications with Oracle and with two mobile software startups, Polar and Mobile Semantic. Rob began his career with positions in competitive intelligence (Ericsson) and venture capital (EDC).

Rob holds an Honours Bachelor degree (Economics and International Trade) from the University of Waterloo.

Dr. Lesley Shannon P.Eng is an Associate Professor and Chair for the Computer Engineering Option in the School of Engineering Science at Simon Fraser University. She also holds the NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering (BC/Yukon) which does outreach and research as Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology (WWEST).

Dr. Shannon studies computer systems design. She works in a rapidly growing field that combines custom computing hardware and software to design and implement application-specific computer systems for applications in a wide range of areas including robotics, machine learning, aerospace and biomedical systems, multimedia applications, and cloud computing.
She teaches both undergraduate and graduate students in the area of Computer Engineering; she received the 2014 APEGBC Teaching Award of Excellence in recognition of her classroom and out-of-class mentoring activities and her contributions in leading a redesign of the School’s undergraduate curriculum at SFU. Dr. Shannon has long been an advocate of increasing the diversity of students and workers in science- and engineering-related fields and was instrumental in developing programs to support a successful transition from high school into university.

Elliot Siemiatycki is a Special Advisor for Automotive Technology and Innovation Strategy within the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Growth.  As portfolio lead for Automotive Technology in the Ontario Investment Office, Elliot supports and promotes the vibrant automotive innovation ecosystem in Ontario which includes local and global automotive companies, world-class universities and R&D facilities, exciting start-ups and amazing talent in key technology areas such as AI and machine learning, cyber-security and blockchain.  He has also been involved in the development of policy and regulatory frameworks for driverless vehicles as well as the establishment of government programs such as the recently launched Autonomous Vehicle Innovation Network (AVIN) delivered by the Ontario Centres of Excellence.

Elliot is a passionate economic development professional with 10 years of experience as a policy-maker, professor and author. He received his B.A. from McGill University and his Ph.D. in Economic Geography and Innovation Studies from the University of British Columbia in 2013.  Elliot is an active volunteer board member as well as a basketball coach and youth mentor in Toronto.

Karlee Silver is VP Programs for Grand Challenges Canada. She sets strategy for programmatic investments and enables the programs, investments, and knowledge management staff to source, support, and transition to scale promising innovations for social impact. She is the Senior Technical Advisor for the Every Woman Every Child Innovation Marketplace, represents Grand Challenges Canada in the International Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA), and is a steering committee member for mhNOW.

Previously, Dr. Silver trained in the laboratory of Dr. Kevin Kain at the Sandra Rotman Centre in Toronto, first as a Canadian Institutes of Health Research postdoctoral fellow, then as a MITACS Elevate postdoctoral fellow, where she helped to identify host responses of malaria infection in pregnant women to harness for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes

Heather Smart is a Professional Engineer with over 10 years of experience working as a Production Engineer at StandardAero, where she gained expertise in repair and overhaul of gas turbine engines, and developed an interest in Superalloys and metallurgy. This interest led to earning a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2017. Following her graduation, Heather began working as an Applied Research Professional within the Technology Access Center for Aerospace and Manufacturing at Red River College, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is an active member of Engineers & Geoscientists of Manitoba, the province’s professional association, serving as Vice-Chair of the Committee for Increasing Participation of Women in Engineering. Heather also regularly volunteers in her children’s schools and sits on the Executive board of the Manitoba Speed Skating Association.

Iain Stewart was appointed President of the National Research Council (NRC) effective August 24, 2016.

Prior to that, Mr. Stewart served as Associate Secretary of the Treasury Board of Canada from July 2015 to August 2016, and Assistant Secretary of the International Affairs, Security and Justice Sector at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) from June 2014 to July 2015.

In addition, he has held a number of different leadership functions at Industry Canada, including Assistant Deputy Minister of the Strategic Policy Sector, Secretary to the “Jenkins Panel” on Federal Support to Research and Development, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister and Director General of the Science and Innovation Sector, and Director of Consumer Industries in the Industry Sector. Since joining the public service, Mr. Stewart has also worked at the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Transport Canada and TBS, where he became Director of Infrastructure Policy after working as an analyst for Fisheries and Oceans.

Outside of the public service, Mr. Stewart served as Assistant Vice-President, Research, at Dalhousie University and was a member of the NRC Council.

Born, raised and educated in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Mr. Stewart holds a Master of Public Administration, a graduate diploma in Marine Policy, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Dalhousie University.

Paul co-founded Pythian in 1997 and became CEO of the Company in 2005. His passion and foresight for using data and technology to drive business success has helped Pythian become a high-growth global company with over 400 employees and offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. Paul is a strong proponent of technical excellence as well as diversity in the workplace. Prior to founding Pythian, Paul worked as a data scientist and he holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Management Information Systems from the University of Ottawa. He was acknowledged as “Top 40 under 40” in 2011 by the Ottawa Business Journal in recognition of Pythian’s growth to that time.

Valerie Walker is Vice President of Talent and Skills at the Business Council of Canada, a not-for-profit organization composed of the CEOs of 150 leading Canadian companies. Founded in 1976, the Business Council engages in an active program of research, consultation, and advocacy on economic and social issues of national importance.

In her role at the Council, Val provides leadership and direction to the Business Higher Education Roundtable (BHER). Made up of the heads of Canadian companies, universities and colleges, BHER works to support young Canadians as they transition from education to the workplace, strengthen research collaboration between industry and institutions, and help Canadian employers as they adapt to the economy of the future

Beyond this work, Val consults and advises government officials, academics and private sector leaders on changing trends in training and skill development.

Prior to joining the Council, Val was the Director of Policy at Mitacs. She holds a PhD from McGill University and is an alumna of the Government of Canada’s Recruitment of Policy Leaders Program.

David Watters contributed for 30 years to the Canadian Public Service in a variety of Economic Ministries, including a dozen years as an Assistant Deputy Minister in Industry Canada, Treasury Board Canada and Finance Canada, where he was responsible for overseeing federal Economic Development and Corporate Finance policies and investments, and developing federal Budgets.

In 2002 David established the Global Advantage Consulting Group Inc. (Ottawa) and is the President and CEO of this strategic management consulting firm that provides advice to corporate, association, academic and government clients across Canada and abroad.

The firm has completed over 400 contracts for clients specializing in: analyzing and “mapping” complex public policy economic systems; creating collaborative business models for service delivery; aligning operational processes among networked organizations for enhanced decision-making; and designing growth strategies for organizations, particularly in the areas of research and technology development, innovation, commercialization, energy/climate change and trade.

David holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Queen’s University, as well as a Law degree in corporate, commercial, and tax law from Queen’s University Law School. He was also an adjunct Professor for seven years at the Telfer School of Management at the University of Ottawa, teaching International Negotiation to MBA students.

Dr. David A. Wolfe is Professor of Political Science at the University of Toronto Mississauga and Co-Director of the Innovation Policy Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs. From 2009 to 2014 he was the Royal Bank Chair in Public and Economic Policy at the University of Toronto. He has been the Principal Investigator on two Major Collaborative Research Initiatives funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He is currently leading a five year SSHRC funded Partnership Grant on Creating Digital Opportunity for Canada. Prof. Wolfe has published extensively on cluster dynamics, innovation policy and related knowledge-based economic development. He is the editor or co-editor of ten books and numerous scholarly articles. His most recent book, co-edited with Meric Gertler, is Growing Urban Economies: Innovation, Creativity and Governance in Canadian City-Regions.