About

Action Canada is an independent, non-partisan and non-profit organization and charity based in Ontario, Canada and led by Action Canada Alumni.

In 2017, Action Canada and the Public Policy Forum joined forces to expand Canada’s top accelerator of new leaders. Together we deliver the Action Canada Fellowship, a 10-month public policy leadership program that aims to enhance emerging leaders’ understanding of the country and public policy choices for the future.

Since its creation in 2003, the Fellowship program has achieved this goal by bringing together outstanding young Canadians whose talents, experiences and perspectives represent the mosaic of our country and by connecting them through shared experiences in communities and places across Canada.

History

In 2003, philanthropist Sam Belzberg and Simon Fraser University President Jack Blaney created the Action Canada Fellowship to support the next generation of Canadian leaders. As Mr. Belzberg said: “We want Canada to be the finest country in the world, and to achieve that we need outstanding leadership.” Under the direction of the previous Program Director, Cathy Beehan, the Fellowship flourished and welcomed a cohort of exceptional leaders every year for over a decade.

PPF & Action Canada

After a brief hiatus, the Fellowship returned under the brand Your Energy Future in 2017 as part of its first partnership with the Public Policy Forum. Fellows studied the impacts of a transition to a low-carbon future. The following year, PPF and Action Canada signed a three-year agreement to deliver the Action Canada Fellowship. This agreement has since been renewed.

With 244 Fellows in its network, the Action Canada community continues to shine as each year new Fellows join and contribute to making Canada a better place.

Action Canada Board

Grace
Lee

2021/22 Fellow

I am a second generation Korean-Canadian from beautiful North Vancouver, British Columbia. My values include integrity, humility, and generosity.As a Foreign Service Officer at Global Affairs Canada (GAC), I have had the privilege to represent Canada abroad as a diplomat working from Afghanistan, South Sudan, and the United Nations in New York City. Currently, I am serving as the Political Counsellor at the High Commission of Canada to Ghana responsible for the political relations for Ghana, Togo, and Sierra Leone.

From promoting the Francophonie culture to participating in the upcoming Sierra Leone elections monitoring, I am proud to promote Canadian values in West Africa. I am also committed to gender equality efforts in diplomacy by serving as the Women’s Network Co-Chair at GAC leading the largest employment equity group to empower women in leadership roles. I am passionate about Canadian foreign policy, the United Nations, and diversity issues.

I am a former Action Canada Fellow ’22 and current Board Member that organized the 20^th anniversary of the Action Canada alumni conference. In my spare time I run marathons, snowboard at Whistler, and volunteered for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. I am a graduate of Princeton and Cambridge universities and recipient of the Operational Service Medal for Afghanistan.

Katie
Davey

2019/2020 Fellow

Katie Davey is a 2019-2020 Action Canada alumna. She is the executive director of the Pond-Deshpande Centre at the University of New Brunswick where she leads the only social entrepreneurship and social innovation centre in the province.

Katie identifies as a public policy entrepreneur working at the intersection of our biggest social and economic challenges. She uses creative and innovative solutions to improve or solve existing policy, program, and system challenges, specifically those challenges that create inequalities and impact the most vulnerable people in our world. Her goal is to redesign our systems to create a more inclusive future for all.

Katie served as director of policy and PPF Media at the Public Policy Forum, a leading independent Canadian think tank. In this role, she built PPF Media and the Atlantic Initiative from the ground up. In 2021 Katie was recognized as a Young Impact Leader by Future of Good for her ‘intraprenuership’ at the Public Policy Forum.

In 2019, Katie created Femme Wonk — a policy and current affairs podcast with an Atlantic Canadian and intersectional flare that allowed her to interview politicians, community builders, and changemakers. Katie served as director of policy and stakeholder relations at the Office of the Official Opposition in New Brunswick, senior adviser for policy and stakeholder engagement in the New Brunswick premier’s office and president of the University of New Brunswick Student Union. She was a member of the Youth Working Group on Gender Equality for the Government of Canada, and a 2019-20 Action Canada Fellow. Katie holds a degree in political science from the University of New Brunswick and a Master of Applied Politics from Wilfrid Laurier University. Katie advocates for the integration of economic and social policy.

Angèle
McCaie

2019/2020 Fellow

Angèle McCaie had the immense pleasure to participate in the Action Canada program as a fellow as part of the 2019/2020 cohort.

Since 2013, she has occupied the role of Chief Administrative Officer for a small, rural, francophone and Acadian municipality in New Brunswick called Rogersville, her hometown. She is fervent in the pursuit of creative solutions to public challenges, and she considers herself a passionate feminist and a minority rights activist. She lives in Collette, New Brunswick with her partner and two children.

Jean-Sébastien
Blais

2020/2021 Fellow

Born in Montreal on April 29, 1978, to a family of Quebec entrepreneurs, he spent his early childhood in the Laurentians region and later settled with his parents in Plessisville in the Bois-Francs region.After obtaining his master’s degree in political science from Université Laval in 2007, he continued his research on democracy and federalism at the University of Minho in 2012, at the European Academy of Bolzano in 2015 and at the University of Bristol in 2017. In 2021, he completed a certificate in negotiation with the London School of Economics and a certificate in administrative justice from the Foundation of Administrative Justice.

After a brief stay in Toronto, he moved with his wife to the Yukon in 2009. After a contract with the Council of Yukon First Nations, he joined the territorial public service in 2011 where he supported various departments for ten years in the area of policy analysis. In 2021, he joined the Department of Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada where he is currently the Director of Corporate Services for the Yukon Region.

Involved in his community, he was elected vice-president of the Association franco-yukonnaise in June 2011. In 2013, he was elected school trustee of the Commission scolaire francophone du Yukon (CSFY) and assumed the presidency of the council of commissioners in 2015. During his presidency, the CSFY signed a settlement agreement with the Government of Yukon in 2020 and opened Yukon’s first French-language secondary school the same year: Centre scolaire secondaire communautaire Paul-Émile-Mercier. Active on the national scene, he has represented the CSFY on the board of directors of the Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires (FNCSF) since 2015 and was, from 2019 to 2021, second vice-president of this organization.

In addition to his involvement with the francophone community, Mr. Blais has served on numerous boards of directors including the Board of Directors of the Yukon Human Rights Commission. He currently sits on the boards of the Yukon Liquor Corporation and Action Canada. In 2020, Jean-Sébastien Blais was named a Fellow of Action Canada by the Public Policy Forum in recognition of his leadership. The same year, Francopresse recognized him as one of the ten influential personalities of the Canadian Francophonie.

Mr. Blais is married to Dorothy Williams, a teacher. Together they are the parents of three children.

Anne-Marie
Rouleau

2018/2019 Fellow

Born in Québec City, Anne-Marie (Ana) Rouleau is a Foreign Service Officer at Global Affairs Canada.Ana joined the Federal Public Service through the Advanced Policy Analyst Program (APAP) in 2017. Thanks to the APAP, she had the opportunity to work in all the central agencies, including as an Analyst for the Privy Council Office’s Foreign and Defence Policy Secretariat, where she supported the Prime Minister and various Ministers in their engagement related to the NAFTA renegotiation.

Ana also worked at Transport Canada on the International Team and as Issue Management Officer for the Minister and his team during the crisis surrounding the downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 and the COVID-19 pandemic.

More recently, she served a senior advisor at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, where she managed a $3.5M grant envelope dedicated to Canada’s response to the Venezuelan refugee and migrant (VRM) crisis, and more specifically to the VRMs’ protection and migration needs in the Americas.

Ana places particular importance in her international experiences which gave her a more inclusive vision of the world. In her spare time, Ana loves learning new languages and cooking. She is also an international observer for electoral missions and is passionate about democratic issues around the world.

She is an alumna from the Action Canada Fellowship (2018-2019)

Shoshanna
Saxe

2015/2016 Fellow

Dr. Shoshanna Saxe is an Associate Professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering. She holds a masters from MIT and a PhD from the University of Cambridge.

She investigates the relationship between the infrastructure we build and the society we create to identify opportunities – and pathways – to better align infrastructure provision with sustainability. Saxe is a former Action Canada fellow, sits on Waterfront Toronto’s Capital Peer Review Panel, Metrolinx Project Evaluation Committee and the board of Action Canada.

She was awarded the 2019 OPEA Engineering Medal – Young Engineer. Her research and commentary have been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times, The Toronto Star, The Financial Post, and Wired, including “What We Really Need Are Good ‘Dumb’ Cities” (New York Times, July 2019).

Ayesha
Malette (née Harji)

2015/2016 Fellow

Ayesha joined Global Affairs Canada in November 2021, where she is the Director of the Task Force responsible for establishing a Canadian centre for democracy. This mandate letter and platform commitment was most recently announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at the December 2021 Summit for Democracy and has as its aim to amplify Canadian expertise to support of democracy and good governance.

Prior to this, Ayesha was the Director of Strategic Issues in the Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat of the Privy Council Office. In this role, she supported the Prime Minister and the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in their engagement with provinces and territories and helped to deliver on the government’s key commitments in areas of COVID response, health, climate, and reconciliation. Previously, Ayesha also led the whole-of-government effort to prevent and counter foreign interference in Canada’s democratic institutions and the 2019 General Election.

Ayesha was recruited into the federal government through the Management Trainee Program, following the completion of an Honours undergraduate degree in International Relations and a Masters degree in Public Administration at Dalhousie University. Her experience in government has included time in the International Affairs Division of Public Safety Canada, where she led the coordination of the department’s multilateral engagement with the United Nations and the Organization of American States on policy issues related to human rights, law enforcement, counter-terrorism, border security and corrections. For two years, Ayesha managed the Virtual Risk Analysis Cell, where she contributed to the federal government’s response to national-scale emergencies like the 2016 wildfires in Fort McMurray and in British Columbia, as well as 2017 floods in Ontario and Quebec, and assessed the impacts of natural and man-made hazards to Canada’s critical infrastructure assets and systems.

Outside of work, Ayesha serves as President of the Board of Directors of the National Capital Branch of the Canadian International Council, making her the youngest branch President and first person of colour to occupy the post.

She is a 2015-16 Action Canada Fellow and Chair of the Action Canada Board of Directors, and a regular participant in the Banff Forum. Her hobbies include sewing clothes for herself, bingeing true crime podcasts, and reading a mix of both fiction and non-fiction.

Darren
Fung

2006/2007 Fellow

Darren Fung is an award winning Canadian film composer. He caught the composing bug at age fifteen when he wrote a piece for the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra’s Young Composer Project. After finishing his degree at McGill and living and loving Montreal for twelve years, Darren is now based out of Los Angeles. Amongst his credits, Darren recreated Canada’s second national anthem, the beloved Hockey Theme, for CTV and TSN. Every weekday morning his music is heard on CTV’s flagship morning news program, Canada AM. His work was the focus of Bell Canada’s Orchestra spot, run during the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, and was voted as Canada’s top commercial by readers of The Globe and Mail. His critically acclaimed work on the mini-series Lost Years garnered him a 2012 Canadian Screen Award nomination.

His much-lauded score to The Great Human Odyssey, recorded with members of the Edmonton Symphony and Pro Coro Canada, was recently released on the prestigious Varèse Sarabande label. His feature and short film scores have been heard at prestigious film festivals around the world, including Toronto, Cannes, and Sundance. Darren currently serves as the Second Vice President of the Screen Composers Guild of Canada, and acts as a Program Advisor for the Canadian Film Centre’s Slaight Music Residency. He also sits on the Creative Ecologies Advisory Board for the Banff Centre’s Peter Lougheed Leadership Institute.

Action Canada Team

Numerous distinguished Canadians have contributed to the development and evolution of the Action Canada Fellowship. The program’s excellent reputation and the outstanding calibre of the Action Canada Fellows’ network is, in large measure, thanks to them and their commitment to nurture the nation’s future leadership. Many of these individuals are noted in the Friends of Action Canada section (link). The current team includes:

Staff

Suzanne
Nault

Throughout her career, as an executive coach, leader and psychologist, Suzanne has focused on helping leaders achieve positive sustainable change for themselves, their employees and their teams. For the past forty years, she has worked with leaders from various levels of government and Fortune 500 companies in Canada and around the world.

Since 2018, Suzanne has been supporting the leadership development of Fellows enrolled in the Action Canada Fellowship program through teaching and peer coaching. In 2007, the University of Ottawa launched a program in Public Sector Management and Governance to prepare public sector leaders to assume senior positions. From the onset of this program, Suzanne has been contributing to their development through lectures, individual customized coaching program, and, peer coaching. She is a well-sought speaker on topics of resilience, and, transition, particularly retirement and military to civilian life.

Prior to founding her own firm in 1998, she worked for Health Canada and the Communications Security Establishment Canada as Head of the Counselling and Advisory Program and as Senior Consultant in Innovative and Quality Services. Suzanne is certified as a professional integral coach by New Ventures West, California, and, the International Coaching Federation, in Conversational Intelligence™ and Story Coaching™. She is a licensed psychologist with Ordre des psychologues du Québec. Her academic background includes a Master’s degree in clinical psychology (University of Ottawa), a B.A. in psychology (University of Ottawa).

Suzanne is co-author of the #1 international best seller “The Expert Success Solution: Get Solid Results in 22 Areas of Business and Life”. She is fluently bilingual (English, French).

Sara-Christine
Gemson

Sara-Christine Gemson is the Executive Director of the Action Canada Fellowship and PPF Academy. She is a 2015/16 Action Canada Fellow and a long-serving member of the Action Canada Board. She was Director of Communications at Teach For Canada, a non-profit that recruits, prepares, and supports teachers to work in First Nations communities in northern Ontario. Before joining Teach For Canada, Sara-Christine worked for 7 years as a TV, radio, and web journalist, primarily for Radio-Canada in Toronto and Regina. While in Saskatchewan, she covered provincial and federal elections, the attempted hostile takeover of Potash Corp, and two Grey Cups. She also produced special series on First Nations employment and on the challenges facing the fransaskois education system after 20 years of autonomy. In the Toronto newsroom, Sara-Christine also replaced as a radio host and produced the 6 o’clock news. Times.

Anne
Matio

Anne is a bilingual FR/EN leader with over ten years of experience in project management, program development and strategic partnerships. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry and a master’s in Biotechnology & Management. Her skills have led her to work in many fields, including Federal agencies, Corporations and nonprofit organizations.

Anne has always been a go-getter. Her passion is purposeful vision planning, relationship building, designing and implementing effective program processes to maximize impact. She is known as a creative problem solver who combines the results-driven mindset of global corporations with the community-centered focus of nonprofit organizations.

Anne knows how to get things done efficiently without sacrificing quality. After building a solid management foundation with a Fortune 500 company, Unilever, Anne made a deliberate career shift to expand her exposure and lend her skills to the nonprofit sector. One of Anne‘s proudest achievements was overhauling the communications and brand strategy for Canada International Black Women Excellence.

Anne joined PPF in March 2023

Safiya
Abdi

Safiya is the Program Coordinator at Action Canada and the PPF Academy. She is a bilingual young professional and graduated from the University of Ottawa in November 2022 where she received her bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Modern Languages.

She has developed experience in program coordination and strategic communications having worked as the VP of Communications at the student association, UO World Vision and as a Program and Research Support Officer at the international NGO, SIHA Network, where she researched and analyzed global trends for communications and educational materials.

Prior to joining the Public Policy Forum, Safiya worked at the Bank of Canada as a Guide where she provided and interpreted educational information on the Canadian economy and the role of the central bank in maintaining national financial stability. She has also worked at the AMA Community Centre in Ottawa where she actively contributed to community program development and the facilitation of educational workshops for youth, adults and new immigrants to Canada.

Safiya joined PPF in February 2023.

Mentors

Kris
Frederickson

Kris is the Director of Sustainability at Keyera, one of Canada’s largest midstream energy companies, where he leads a team to enable best-in-class environmental, social and governance performance through strategic alignment, implementing best practices in sustainability, and stakeholder engagement. He has also held sustainability roles with Suncor Energy and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency.

Kris has undergraduate and masters degrees in Biosystems Engineering from the University of Manitoba and an MBA in Indigenous Business & Leadership from Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business. He is also an Indspire Laureate and Action Canada Fellow.

In addition to work, Kris is an active volunteer, most recently as a member of the Board of Governors for the University of Calgary where held the positions of Vice-Chair of the Board and Chair of the Environment, Health, Safety and Sustainability Committee.

Rachel
Wernick

Rachel Wernick retired from the federal public service in May 2023 after a distinguished career as an executive in policy and program design that culminated in her role as Senior Assistant Deputy Minister of Skills and Employment at Employment and Social Development Canada. She led reforms to the Youth Employment Strategy, the Skills for Success program, and the co-development of the Indigenous Skills and Employment Training program. Her leadership extended to the establishment of the Future Skills Center, an independent center for skills innovation and research.

Rachel is one of Canada’s leading practitioners in social and employment policy having gained experience in a variety of executive roles at Canadian Heritage, the Privy Council Office, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, and Public Works and Government Services. Rachel’s passion for policy excellence resulted in her appointment as Co-Champion of the Clerk’s Policy Community initiative; a role she held for five years.

Rachel’s expertise includes workforce development, skills innovation, the future of work, skills and employment for marginalized populations and gender and diversity analysis. Rachel is a strong proponent of the benefit of user-driven design and has a proven ability to lead multi-partner collaboration to take something from policy idea or challenge through to actionable options for implementation.

Matt
DeCourcey

Matt DeCourcey is a public policy leader, community builder, and former Member of Parliament with extensive experience advising decision makers at the local, national, and international level. He is Head of Corporate Affairs with InterKnowlogy, where he leads the organization’s strategic initiatives and growth opportunities.

His knowledge of politics and public affairs, experience developing strategic partnerships, and ability to shape and influence policy, has helped him advise international NGO’s, post-secondary leaders, and Canada’s ministers of finance, foreign affairs and immigration.

As Member of Parliament for Fredericton from 2015 to 2019, Matt secured federal investment to expand critical transport and trade infrastructure, advance preventative healthcare, and significantly increase the population and workforce of New Brunswick.

He has worked with vulnerable children in the global south and represented Canada in such fora as the United Nations Security Council and the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe.

Fluent in English and French, Matt is an accomplished athlete, coach and official at the collegiate level, an adjunct professor, and mentor and member of Canada’s leading public policy and leadership development Fellowship—Action Canada. He is also a Senior Fellow with the Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy and incoming President of the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians.

Matt is published on issues including healthy aging, research and innovation, workforce growth and immigration, and child rights. He has established and built multiple platforms that foster substantive dialogue and learning to support the socio-economic success of Canadians, and to advance the wellbeing of marginalized persons around the world.

A proud New Brunswicker, he now lives in Peterborough, Ontario, with his wife, Maryam, and their infant son. He enjoys soccer, golf, running, and sampling the flavours at the occasional craft brewery.

Advisors

Melissa
Cotton

Melissa Cotton is a seasoned government relations professional. She brings over 20 years of progressive political involvement to the table, after having spent time working on Parliament Hill in Ottawa working for Senators and MP’s and most recently having served six years as the Managing Director of the Government Caucus Research Bureau, where she provided advice to the Prime Minister, Cabinet and government MP’s while managing a team of over 40 staff. Melissa has always had a love of public service and politics. In 2015, she became the first woman to run a parliamentary Research Bureau.Currently, she is the Director of Government Affairs for CN Rail, having joined the company in 2022.

Melissa has served as the Director of Operations to two Cabinet Ministers in the Ontario government, and she began her career in Student Services and Human Resource Management at the University of Saskatchewan.

In her spare time Melissa serves on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Club of Ottawa, is involved with the Shoebox Project, and a variety of organizations aimed at increasing engagement of women and girls in public policy and politics.

A proud prairie girl at heart, Melissa hails from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She studied Sociology and Human Resource Management at the University of Saskatchewan and Carleton University.

Guillaum
Dubreuil

Guillaum Dubreuil has developed expertise in public affairs and international trade throughout his career. He represents the CSL Group and its Canadian entity, Canada Steamship Lines, in dealings with governmental bodies and external partners both in Canada and internationally, and manages various internal projects. Prior to joining CSL, Guillaum spent four years as Senior Director of Public Affairs at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the largest business organization in the country. In this role, he contributed to the negotiations of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUMA) and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union, and acted as the Sherpa for the B7, the summit of G7 business groups.

Much of Guillaum’s international business experience was acquired while working at Languages Canada, Canada’s association of language schools, where he traveled the world promoting the teaching of Canada’s official languages. Guillaum has also worked at Universities Canada and, prior to that, as an entrepreneur and consultant.

Currently, Guillaum serves as the Chairman of the Board of Shipowners of Saint-Laurent, the outgoing President of the Board of the Association of Young Chambers of Commerce of Québec, and a member of the boards of Cargo M and SODES. A proud Baiverain by birth and Montrealer by adoption, he studied psychology at UQAC (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi) and administration at UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal), and holds a certification from the Institute of Leadership in Management.

Mathieu
Bélanger

Mathieu is an urban planner with more than 15 years of policy experience in green cities development, urban resilience, and stakeholder engagement. Mathieu is a respected leader in the municipal and federal public policy space on several of the pressing issues facing FCM’s membership.

Before joining FCM, Mathieu led the Planning Department for the City of Gatineau, managing the team responsible for strategic planning, urban development, social housing and more. Prior to his work with Gatineau, Mathieu served as a chief of staff and director to Canada’s federal Ministers on the Infrastructure and Communities file, and the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship file. He also spent time in the private sector as a senior urban planner, providing expertise to clients in Canada, Rwanda and Cameroon.

In his role as Executive Director of the Policy & Public Affairs unit, Mathieu works closely with a talented team to strengthen FCM’s advocacy work in pursuit of a municipal order of government that is more sustainable and equitable for every Canadian.

Karen
Hamberg

Ms. Hamberg joined Deloitte Canada in May 2022 as a partner in the firm’s Financial Advisory practice advising on the commercialization of climate technology at industrial scale.

Ms. Hamberg joined Deloitte Canada in May 2022 as a partner in the firm’s Financial Advisory practice advising on the commercialization of climate technology at industrial scale. In January 2023, Deloitte published a novel and unique readiness framework to assess innovation in reference to desired commercial objectives. The report Scaling Solutions: Accelerating the Commercialization of Made-in-Canada Clean Technology includes an ambitious call to action for the private sector to invest in and deploy climate technology.

She is a clean technology executive with more than 20 years of global experience in the deployment of clean transportation technologies and the policy/regulatory frameworks to enable growth, scale, and market leadership. Prior to Deloitte, she held a range of senior executive positions at Westport Fuel Systems (WPRT: TSX and NASDAQ) with experience in corporate strategy, market creation and development, technology commercialization, sustainability/ESG integration, external communications, and policy and regulatory affairs.

In June 2020, Karen was appointed to the Government of Canada’s Industry Strategy Council by the Honourable Navdeep Bains and named Chair of the Clean Technology Economic Strategy Table. She has advised Cabinet Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and senior staff on strategies to accelerate the deployment of made-in-Canada clean technology, scale Canadian companies, and ensure Canada’s global competitiveness in a decarbonized economy.

She is a trustee on the Board of Trustees of the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa, Chair Emeritus of CALSTART in Pasadena, California, Vice-Chair of the British Columbia Regional Board of Directors of the Nature Conservancy of Canada, past Chair of the United Way of British Columbia Campaign Cabinet, and a member of The Walrus Magazine 2023 Gala Organizing Committee.

She was named to Canada’s Clean 50™ (2017) for her contributions to advance sustainability in the heavy-duty transportation sector and to Canada’s Clean 16™ (2019) for her leadership on more stringent clean transportation regulations in North America.

Karen holds a Master of Arts from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario and a Bachelor of Arts from Brandon University in Brandon, Manitoba.

Andrew
Posluns

Andrew Posluns has been the Senior Director of Corporate Planning, Policy and Research at the Canada Infrastructure Bank (“CIB”) since June, 2020. In this capacity, Andrew is responsible for leading the development of the CIB’s corporate planning and reporting, its sustainability initiatives, and partnering with thought-leaders and institutions on infrastructure related research.

Before joining the CIB, Andrew was a Director of Policy and Practice at Metrolinx where he focused on supporting the transit agency’s capital program. Andrew also spent several years in executive roles at the Ontario Ministry of Transportation, including as Executive Director of the Pan Am/Parapan Am Games transportation plan and as Director of the Ministry’s Transit Policy Branch.

Andrew has a Master’s degree in International Relations from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies.

Jean-François
Rheault

Involved in the development of active mobility for almost 20 years, Jean-François Rheault has worked on projects in over twenty countries.

Since February 2021, he has held the role of President and CEO at Vélo Québec. Through his various projects, he is particularly interested in veloconomy, leadership and the development of bicycle tourism. Since 1967, Vélo Québec has been helping to build a cycling culture by promoting cycling in all its forms. Every year, tens of thousands of Quebecers take part in Vélo Québec activities.

Brian
Kingston

Brian Kingston is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association (CVMA). The CVMA represents Canada’s leading manufacturers of light and heavy duty motor vehicles. Its membership includes Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited, General Motors of Canada Company, and Stellantis (FCA Canada).

Prior to joining the CVMA, Brian was Vice President of Policy, Fiscal and International, at the Business Council of Canada where he led the Council’s economic policy priorities and global engagement. From 2009 to 2012 he served in the federal government with positions at the Department of Finance, Global Affairs Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Privy Council Office. Brian is active in the non-profit sector including as past president of the Ottawa Economics Association and as a current board member of the Banff Forum.

Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Carleton University, a master’s degree in international affairs from the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs and an MBA from Ivey Business School.

Andrea
Reimer

Andrea Reimer has been a strong public voice in the Vancouver region for over two decades with a focus on making government easy to access and giving people the tools to hold power accountable.Andrea started her public work as a community organizer on issues of social, economic and environmental justice. In 2002 she was elected to the Vancouver School Board, and went on to be elected to three terms on Vancouver City Council. During her decade on City Council, Andrea led the City’s effort to be the Greenest City on Earth and the first major cities in the Americas to commit to 100% renewable energy, championed Vancouver’s nationally significant municipal framework for reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, catalyzed the City’s digital strategy, grew the largest municipal childcare program in Canada, and transformed public engagement and open government policies.

In addition to her work at City Council, Andrea was appointed to the Metro Vancouver Regional District from 2008-2018 where she served on the Planning, Zero Waste and Climate Action Committees, helped found the BC Municipal Climate Leadership Council, and was Vice Chair of the national Green Municipal Fund.

After retiring from municipal politics in 2018, Andrea was awarded a Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design in recognition of her significant civic leadership. She subsequently was appointed as the inaugural policy practitioner fellow at UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs.

In 2020 Andrea founded Tawâw Strategies, a consulting firm that supports courageous leaders taking bold action on the biggest public policy challenges of our times. She teaches about power and public policy as an Adjunct Professor of Practice at UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, about engagement as an Instructor in SFU’s Dialogue and Engagement Certificate program, and is currently the lead designed on a new nine-course Climate Action Certificate at SFU.

In addition to her public and professional roles, Andrea has also been a prolific community volunteer serving on boards of diverse organizations ranging from a credit union to the Canadian Women Voters Congress. She is currently a director of TransLink, elected to the World Future Council, on the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Steering Committee and was recently appointed to the BC government’s Climate Solutions Council. She has been recognized with several awards including the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Award and the World Green Building Council Chairman’s Award, and is a sought after public commentator and guest speaker.

Serge
Bijimine

Since becoming the Assistant Deputy Minister of Policy at Transport Canada in May 2021, Serge has taken on a critical leadership role in the development of policy, economic and environmental advice. In this capacity, Serge is responsible for developing and managing the transportation sector policy framework as well as oversight of the department’s portfolio of crown corporations and international and intergovernmental relations. Mr. Bijimine is also responsible for managing relationships with stakeholders in the air, marine and surface transportation sector. Serge has a strong track record of delivering results, driving innovation and problem-solving.

Before this, Serge was Associate Secretary General for a brief period and then Secretary General at the National Research Council (NRC). Previously, Serge held various senior executive positions, including at Environment and Climate Change Canada, where he oversaw a number of grants and contributions programs, mainly directed at incentivizing private sector companies to help address climate change. After joining the federal public service in 2005, Serge became an executive at the Treasury Board Secretariat and worked in the Economic as well as International Affairs, Security and Justice sectors.

He holds a Bachelor in Economics and Social Sciences from the University of Ottawa and a Master’s in Project Management from the Université du Québec en Outaouais.

Diane
Gray

Diane Gray was appointed President of PrairiesCan on October 31, 2022. Ms. Gray is a recognized leader with extensive experience in business development and trade. Prior to her appointment, Diane was the founding President and CEO of CentrePort Canada Inc., the largest inland port in North America.

From 1995 to 2009, Ms. Gray held three portfolios for the Province of Manitoba, serving as Deputy Minister of Finance; Federal-Provincial and International Relations; and Trade.

Ms. Gray chairs the James W. Burns Leadership Institute and serves on the boards of the Public Policy Forum of Canada and the Associates of the Asper School of Business.

Ms. Gray holds a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Manitoba.

Catherine
Maurice

Catherine Maurice is a communications specialist based in the Greater Montréal area. She currently works as Director of Media Relations and Operational Communications for exo, a public transit authority that oversees the north and south shores’ bus and paratransit services, as well as commuter rail services throughout the Greater Montréal area. Exo serves over 82 municipalities and the Kahnawake community.

Before working for exo, Catherine held various positions at the local, provincial and federal levels for nearly 13 years. From 2014 to 2017, she acted as press secretary and communications director for the offices of the mayor and executive committee at the Ville de Montréal.

In 2010, Catherine had the opportunity to work as an election observer for the Organization of American States (OAS) during the first round of the presidential elections in Haiti.

Catherine has a law degree and spent a few years working as a lawyer in the Estrie region. During that time, Catherine was active in her community and even served as president of the Young Bar of Bedford in 2005.

While alpine skiing is Catherine’s true passion, she is also a Pilates enthusiast. In summer, you will almost certainly find her working in her garden or riding her bike.

Shoshanna
Saxe

Dr. Shoshanna Saxe is an Associate Professor in the University of Toronto’s Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering.

She holds a masters from MIT and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. She investigates the relationship between the infrastructure we build and the society we create to identify opportunities – and pathways – to better align infrastructure provision with sustainability.

Saxe is a former Action Canada fellow, sits on Waterfront Toronto’s Capital Peer Review Panel, Metrolinx Project Evaluation Committee and the board of Action Canada.

Policy Papers

Read our most recent policy papers

Featured Fellow

Ginger Gosnell-Myers

Ginger Gosnell-Myers – of Nisga’a and Kwakwak'awakw heritage is passionate about advancing Aboriginal rights and knowledge, while breaking down barriers between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.