PAST DEBATERS
Mitzie Hunter is a former Ontario cabinet minister and MPP for Scarborough-Guildwood, where she won four consecutive elections over 10 years. Her 30 years of leadership experience span the private sector, non-profits and government.
Jason Kenney is a Senior Advisor at Bennett Jones LLP, CEO of advisory firm Teneo and a Senior Fellow at the C.D. Howe Institute. He most recently served as Alberta’s 18th Premier and leader of the United Conservative Party, after 20 years in the House of Commons where he held several cabinet positions.
Naheed Nenshi led Calgary through one of its most prosperous and tumultuous decades during his 11-year tenure as Mayor. During that time, Calgary was named one of the best cities to live in the western hemisphere and he received the World Mayor Prize from the City Mayors Foundation.
John Tory has had a multi-faceted career as a lawyer, chief executive, corporate director, broadcaster and Mayor of Toronto, North America's fourth largest city.
Christy Clark led Canada’s third largest province as Premier for more than six years. Under her watch, BC became Canada’s economic leader for three years running – for the first time since the 1960s. She left the province with a budget surplus and triple-A credit rating. She retired from political life in 2017 as the longest-serving female Premier in Canadian history and the only one to be re-elected. Today, Clark is a Senior Advisor at Bennett Jones LLP.
Shaun Francis is the Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Medcan. Previously, Francis was the Executive Chair of New York City’s EHE Health, a national healthcare provider network, and a founder and executive at Dallas-based Broadlane Inc. His first book, Eat, Move, Think: The Path to a Healthier, Stronger Happier You, debuted as a national bestseller for Simon & Schuster in 2018. He is also a dedicated philanthropist, particularly in his efforts to support Canadian veterans and military families.
Thomas Mulcair was the Leader of the federal NDP from 2012 to 2017, and Leader of the Official Opposition from 2012 to 2015. Before that, he was a three term Quebec MNA, and served as Quebec Environment Minister under Premier Jean Charest. A lawyer, he worked in the Quebec Justice department, the Conseil de la langue française and had a private practice for 10 years. Most recently, he was a Visiting Professor in the Political Science Department at l’Université de Montréal from 2018 to 2022.
Dr. Danielle Martin is Professor and Chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto. A practicing family physician and respected leader in Canadian medicine, she helped launch Canadian Doctors for Medicare. In March 2014, her presentation on Canada’s healthcare to a US Senate Subcommittee brought her international acclaim. As an EVP at Women’s College Hospital, she was medical lead of the hospital’s COVID-19 pandemic response and led the establishment of Canada’s first virtual hospital. She is also a bestselling author and recipient of the F.N.G. Starr Award, the highest honour available to Canadian Medical Association members.
James Comey led the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 2013 to 2017, appointed to the post by President Barack Obama. His tenure was tested by new forces within and outside America’s borders. Inside the FBI, while navigating government shutdowns, he tried to change how the FBI approached leadership, diversity, and cyber threats. Prior to his service at the FBI, Comey worked as a federal prosecutor in New York and Virginia and served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. deputy attorney general in the administration of President George W. Bush. Throughout his career, Comey has taught at the graduate and undergraduate level at a variety of universities and is currently teaching a course on leadership at William and Mary, his alma mater.
Melanie Aitken was the Commissioner of Competition from 2009 to 2012, and is credited with revitalizing the Competition Bureau as an active enforcement agency. Most notably, she led the introduction of major amendments to Canada’s competition laws, introducing a stricter US-style merger review process, and a new tougher standard for cartel offences. Aitken is now the managing principal of Bennett Jones (US) LLP, which carries on the practice of Canadian law in Washington, DC, in association with Bennett Jones LLP. She is also co-head of the competition and foreign investment practice of Bennett Jones.
Robert Atkinson is a Canadian-American economist and president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) in Washington, D.C. Atkinson is a widely published author and has conducted groundbreaking research projects on technology and innovation-related topics ranging from tax policy to advanced manufacturing, productivity, and global competitiveness.
David Plouffe uniquely leveraged technology and big data as Barack Obama’s campaign manager. And as a White House senior advisor, he was at the centre of the debate on many of the key issues facing America today. Plouffe has served as Uber’s policy chief and now leads the policy and advocacy team for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
The AfFirmative
Dwight Duncan, Former Liberal Minister of Finance, Ontario
Dwight Duncan serves as a Senior Strategic Advisor at McMillan LLP, one of Canada’s largest and most respected full service law firms. At McMillan, Mr. Duncan is, or has been engaged, by some of Canada’s largest and most influential pension funds, private equity firms, insurers and gaming companies.
Mr. Duncan currently serves on the Board of Travelers Insurance Canada, The Dominion General Insurance Company, Crown Crest Trust, The Global Risk Institute, the MS Society of Canada Scientific Research Foundation, and is Chair of the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority.
Prior to joining McMillan, Mr. Duncan had a distinguished career in public service that spanned close to 25 years.
During his time as a Member of the Ontario Legislature he served as Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Chair of the Management Board of Cabinet, Chair of Cabinet, Government House Leader, Minister of Energy, Minister of Revenue, Minister of Government Services and Opposition House Leader.
The Hon. Joe Oliver, Former Federal Conservative Minister of Finance
Joe is Chairman of Echelon Wealth Partners. He has served in various senior roles in government and the corporate sector. Joe served as the Member of Parliament for Eglinton-Lawrence,
Minister of Natural Resources, Minister Responsible for the Greater Toronto Area, and Minister of Finance where he delivered a socially and fiscally balanced budget. He also represented
Canada at G7, G20, IMF and World Bank meetings of Finance Ministers and Governors of Central Banks. During his private sector career, he held senior positions at Merrill Lynch Royal Securities,
Nesbitt Thomson, BMO Nesbitt and First Marathon Securities.
A graduate of McGill and Harvard Universities, Joe has been instrumental in spearheading organizations and policies in Ontario within the securities industry. Positions included founding
president and CEO of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association, past president and CEO of the Investment Dealers Association and initiated its division into a self-regulatory organization and
trade association (IIROC and IIAC). He also served as executive director of the Ontario Securities Commission.
The Negative
Brad Duguid, Former Liberal Minister of Economic Development and Growth, Ontario
Brad Duguid has spent 23 years in public office, at the municipal and provincial levels. A gifted communicator, Brad has been applauded for his ability to bring people together, to build consensus and strengthen relationships. This skill has brought him success in all of his roles, as a City Councillor, a Member of Provincial Parliament, Cabinet Minister, and now in the private sector.
After 9 years as a Scarborough and Toronto City Councillor, Brad served as an MPP for 14 years. Brad served in 7 different Cabinet posts including Economic Development; Energy; Infrastructure; Research and Innovation; Training, Colleges and Universities; Aboriginal Affairs, and Labour. As Minister of Economic Development and Growth, Brad led efforts to ensure Ontario is competitive in the new economy. Taking over this portfolio during the province's recovery from the recession, Brad's efforts have helped transform Ontario's economic development strategy to not only lead the country in growth today, but position Ontario to excel in the new economy. Brad has been a champion of reducing regulatory burden on businesses and he led the national negotiations for the Canada Free Trade Agreement, the most ambitious free trade agreement in our history.
Janet Ecker, Former Progressive Conservative Minister of Finance, Ontario
Janet L. Ecker is the former President and CEO of the Toronto Financial Services Alliance (TFSA), a concept she turned into a growing and influential public-private partnership dedicated to building Toronto as an international financial services centre. With government and industry support, she also established the Global Risk Institute in Financial Services to leverage the sector’s global reputation for stability, as well as the Centre of Excellence in Financial Services Education to capitalize on the region’s talent advantages. The Centre was recognized by the World Economic Forum as a best practice in collaborative public-private partnerships.
In 2016 she received the Order of Canada for public service, in recognition of her contributions in the financial sector and in her political life. A frequent public speaker and media commentator, she also received the “Excellence in Leadership” award from the Transformation Institute for Leadership and Innovation in 2014, a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for public service in 2012 and was recognized as one of the “Most Influential People in the World’s Financial Centres” by Financial Centres International in 2010. She also received one of “Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award” from the Women’s Executive Network and the Richard Ivey School of Business in 2003. Ms. Ecker is one of the founders of Equal Voice, a national, multi-partisan organization working to elect more women.
She currently sits on a wide range of public and private boards, agencies and government advisory committees and is a Senior Fellow of the C.D. Howe Institute and a member of its National Council.
