Moderator:
Dan WicklumCEO
Speakers:
Bentley AllanTransition Pathway Principal
Heather Exner-PirotSenior Fellow and Director of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment, MacDonald-Laurier Institute
As countries race to position their industries for success in a rapidly decarbonizing world, how can Canada maximize economic growth opportunities with limited public funds? Without a strategic framework for prioritizing clean growth projects, Canada risks ad-hoc decision making, which can drive wasteful spending and missed economic opportunities.
Which investments will drive Canadian competitiveness over the long run? Will the drive for growth come from government policies, business innovation, or a balance of both? In this conversation, we’ll explore why Canadian governments can and must get better at choosing projects that contribute to a broader economic strategy, catalyzing future growth and multiplying the impact of public investments.
By establishing a strategic framework for assessing the potential of proposed projects, governments can make better decisions and promote economic growth. Join experts Heather Exner-Pirot, Senior Fellow and Director of Natural Resources, Energy and Environment at the MacDonald-Laurier Institute, and Bentley Allan, Transition Pathway Principal for an exploration and application of a new tool to help governments identify key projects to secure Canadian competitiveness and produce transformative outcomes, co-hosted by the MacDonald-Laurier Institute and The Transition Accelerator.
Presented with
Dr. Dan Wicklum has spent more than 25 years performing and managing research, driving innovation, and fostering collaboration between industry, government, academia, and civil society. He is the CEO of the Transition Accelerator, a pan-Canadian charity that works with groups across the country to solve business and social challenges while building in net zero emission solutions. Dan was also the inaugural co-chair of Canada’s Net-Zero Advisory Body (NZAB), the statutory independent body that advises the federal government on setting interim emission reduction targets on the way to a net-zero emission Canada by 2050 and on the most likely pathways to net zero.
Prior to joining the Transition Accelerator, Dan was the CEO of Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance, Executive Director of the Canadian Forest Innovation Council, and a senior manager at Environment and Climate Change Canada and at Natural Resources Canada. He was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Montana, and holds a PhD in Aquatic Ecology from the University of Montana. His initial career was in professional football, as a linebacker for the Calgary Stampeders and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Bentley Allan, PhD, is a Transition Pathway Principal at the Transition Accelerator, as well as an Associate Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Allan is an award-winning scholar who has written on the dynamics of international order, science and politics, climate policy, and the political economy of decarbonization. He provides regular advice to government and industry on geopolitics, industrial strategy, and policy.
He has co-lead the development of three sector strategies and roadmaps in collaboration with industry partners. He is the co-coordinator of the Centre for Net-Zero Industrial Policy which advances research and action to strengthen and mobilize Canada’s expertise in modern industrial policy, enabling strategic collaboration between government, industry, indigenous communities, labor, and financial institutions in pursuit of good jobs and a competitive economy.
Heather Exner-Pirot has over fifteen years of experience in Indigenous and northern economic development, governance, health, and post-secondary education. She has published on Indigenous economic and resource development, energy security, Indigenous workforce development, First Nations taxation and own source revenues, distributed & distance education, Arctic human security, regional Arctic governance, the Arctic Council, and Arctic innovation.
Exner-Pirot obtained a PhD in Political Science from the University of Calgary in 2011. In addition to her role at MLI, she is currently a Global Fellow at the Wilson Center in Washington DC, a Special Adviser to the Business Council of Canada, and a Research Advisor for the Indigenous Resource Network. She has published over 45 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and edited volumes, and presented at over 75 conferences and events nationally and internationally. She has chaired or moderated dozens of provincial, national and international panels, workshops and conferences.