TOCW's Official Kick-Off: True North Rising | The Canadian Competitive Advantage

Details

Toronto Climate Week and the Lawson Climate Institute at the University of Toronto present True North Rising, the anchor flagship event that is designed to set the tone for the days to follow. Under the theme Canada’s Competitive Advantage, this full-day gathering convenes senior leaders across government, finance, industry, and civil society to align around shared priorities for Canada’s climate-driven economic leadership.

The program will feature keynote addresses and cross-sector panels examining how climate policy, trade, capital deployment, innovation, and infrastructure strategy are shaping Canada’s next era of growth. With an intentionally curated audience of approximately 200 senior decision-makers and influential media representatives, the kickoff event serves as a strategic platform for pivotal discussions to take place, that will influence the investable vision for Canada’s future.

TOCW's Official Kick-Off: True North Rising | The Canadian Competitive Advantage Agenda

8:30 - 9:00 Breakfast & Networking

9:00 - 10:30 Opening

Introductions & Housekeeping with MCs Darren Clifford, Founder & Managing Director, Adapt [us] Capital & Michelle Li, Founder, clever carbon & Women and Climate

Traditional Opening (TBA)

Welcome & Acknowledgements by Becky Park-Romanovsky, Founder, Toronto Climate Week

Keynote Presentation by Diana Fox Carney, Economist and Climate Policy Expert

Fireside Chat with Diana Fox Carney

Moderator: Michelle Li

Opening Remarks (TBA)

Opening Remarks by Minister Todd J. McCarthy

Opening Remarks by Toronto's Mayor Olivia Chow

Opening Remarks by Joannah Lawson, Co-founder, The Lawson Foundation

10:30 - 10:50 Networking Break

10:50 - 12:20

Keynote Presentation by Rick Smith, President, Canadian Climate Institute

Panel discussion on International Collaboration:

Moderator: Jessica F. Green, Professor, Department of Political Science, and School of the Environment at the University of Toronto

Panelists:

Kate Johnson, Regional Director for North America, C40 Cities

Laura Tozer, Assistant Professor, Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences at the University of Toronto Scarborough

Meryem Baskoun, Director, Sustainability Reporting, Engagement and Quality Assurance, Air Canada

Greetings from Leah Cowen, Vice-President, Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Toronto

Panel discussion: Community Resilience is Climate Action

Join RBC for a compelling discussion on creating climate-resilient communities, featuring local leaders who are advancing resiliency across three sectors: The Bentway on the built environment, Evergreen on climate-ready schools, and Toronto & Region Conservation Authority on climate-ready homes. Moderated by Theresa Do, RBC’s Director of Climate Strategy for Personal Banking, this panel showcases the power of collaborative action in creating a revitalized, climate-ready Toronto.

Moderator: Theresa Do, Director of Climate Strategy for Personal Banking, RBC

Panelists:

Jennifer Taves, Senior Manager, Sustainable Communities, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA)

Jennifer Angel, CEO, Evergreen

Ilana Altman, CEO, The Bentway

12:20 - 1:10 Lunch Break

1:10 - 2:30

Audience Activation hosted by Tonya Surman, CEO, Centre for Social Innovation

Keynote Presentation by Brian Burke, veteran National Hockey League executive, Lawyer, Broadcaster, and Philanthropist, Ambassador to Ducks Unlimited Canada

Fireside Chat on Nature

Moderator: Elizabeth (Shirt) Gamble, CEO, Profoundry

Speakers:

Irena Creed, Professor, Department of Physical & Environmental Sciences and Geography & Planning, University of Toronto Scarborough

Valérie Courtois, Executive Director, Indigenous Leadership Initiative

Panel discussion on Sustainable Finance & Investment

Moderator: Nelson Switzer, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, Climate Innovation Capital

Panelists:

Jan Mahrt-Smith, Associate Professor of Finance, Rotman School of Management, School of the Environment, University of Toronto

TBA

2:30 - 2:50 Networking Break

2:50 - 4:35

Panel discussion on Decarbonization

Kai Alderson, Partner & Energy, Indigenous and Climate Change Lawyer, Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP

Panelists:

Sanders Lazier, Founder, Carbonhound

Lindsay Hampson, Founder, ThisRock

Eric Muller, Director of Policy for Ontario, Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA)

Special Announcement from the City of Toronto led by James Nowlan, Executive Director, Environment, Climate & Forestry

Panel discussion on Climate Change and the Future of the City led by Corporate Knights:

This session explores how climate mitigation is most effective when it emerges as a co-benefit of broader city-building goals — including neighbourhood improvement, walkable communities, business growth, affordable housing, and local employment generation. Rather than treating climate action as a standalone objective, the discussion will examine how it can be embedded within practical urban priorities.

Panel discussion: Does Climate Need a Rebrand?

"Climate change." "Net zero." "Sustainability." The language of the environmental movement has been with us for decades, but is it working? Public urgency has stalled, polling shows growing fatigue with climate messaging and critics on all sides argue the vocabulary has become either too technical, too elitist, too apocalyptic, or too easily co-opted by the very industries it was meant to challenge. Is it time to reframe the narrative?

Moderator: Jocelyn Butler, CEO, Orchestra Marketing

Panelists:

Jason Agar, Founder, Pomelo Studio Inc.

Sarah Roberton, Senior Vice President, Corporate and Public Affairs, Environics Research

Matt DiPaola, Senior Vice-President, Marketing & Innovation, BIMM

4:35 - 5:00 Closing with MCs Darren Clifford & Michelle Li

Thank you & Acknowledgements by Sarah Clayton, Head of Operations, Toronto Climate Week

More details to come.

Registrations will be accepted on a rolling basis.

This event is co-hosted by: The Lawson Foundation is a Canadian family foundation that invests in and engages with ideas, people and organizations that contribute to the healthy development and wellbeing of children and youth in Canada.

The Lawson Climate Institute will combine and catalyze U of T’s multidisciplinary strengths in engineering, science, finance, law, economics, business, and agriculture, as well as foster collaboration with governments, the private sector and public-sector institutions, in translating solutions-oriented research into real-world sustainable technologies and equitable, practical climate policies.

The City of Toronto is committed to fostering a positive and progressive workplace culture, and strives to build a workforce that reflects the citizens it serves. We are committed to building a high performing public service, with strong and effective leaders to enable service excellence, through high engagement and healthy and safe workplaces.

The RBC Foundation is a Canadian registered charity funded by Royal Bank of Canada, dedicated to fostering vibrant communities and prosperity. It focuses on empowering youth, protecting the environment, promoting diversity, and supporting mental well-being.

Air Canada is Canada's largest airline, the country’s flag carrier and a founding member of Star Alliance, and provides direct service to six continents. Our fleet of more than 400 aircraft is one of the youngest, most fuel efficient and environmentally friendly in the world.

Carbonhound automates high credibility climate reporting by integrating with thousands of primary data sources to unlock revenue opportunities and operational savings for our clients in a landscape of changing regulatory and customer expectations. Our platform simplifies carbon management to make it easy and affordable for businesses to take climate action and compete in greening supply chains.

Clever Carbon's goal is to raise carbon footprint literacy and create a carbon literate society in order to accelerate reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, reach net-zero targets faster, and create scalable technologies and solutions.

ThisRock helps businesses meet sustainability requirements like EcoVadis, CDP, CSRD and SBTi while measuring emissions and building real programs.

KRGinsure is the trusted tradename of the RRJ Insurance Group Limited, with a legacy of over a century in providing personal and commercial insurance solutions

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