Toronto Region Board of Trade

Thank you to our Presenting Partner: Waterfront BIA, and partners Waterfront Toronto, George Brown College, Nieuport Aviation, PortsToronto, Therme Canada, and Menkes Developments — and to our speakers for sharing their insights.

Discussions highlighted how vision, investment, and opportunity can align to shape the waterfront’s next chapter.
Afternoon tours gave attendees a look at transformation in action — from Limberlost Place, to Pinnacle SkyTower, to a Harbour boat tour, to a session at Ethos Climbing.

At our Waterfront Symposium today, leaders from business, policy, infrastructure, and tourism came together to explore how the waterfront can become a world-class destination to live, work, visit, and thrive.

Thank you to our partners Aecon, AtkinsRéalis, Indigenous Community Outreach, Suslop, OPG, Bird Construction, LiUNA!, Nuclear Waste Management Organization, Arcadis and EllisDon.

Our final panel of the day asks how we can create more opportunity for Indigenous talent across Ontario. Jason Thompson of Warrior Engineering, Sean McFarling of LiUNA, Virginia Ferguson Crane of Bird Construction, and Cassandra Dorrington of CAMSC dig in to answer this important question.

Our next panel focuses on aligning infrastructure projects with the Indigenous priorities. To discuss this key issue, we've assembled a panel including Michael Jacobs of Cambium IPS, Scott Arbuckle of Arcadis, Tracee Smith of Keewaywin Capital Inc. and Hillary Thatcher of Canada Infrastructure Bank.

Next on stage, a panel of experts including Aecon's Desiree Norwegian, OPG's Skye Anderson, Sean Conway of AtkinsRéalis and Alena Thouin of Building Ontario Fund discuss how to best deliver the next generation of Ontario's infrastructure together.

Up next, Minister Rickford joins Michael Fox of Indigenous Community Engagement and Chief Cornelius Wasabbe of Webequie First Nation for a fireside chat.

Read the official announcement here: news.ontario.ca/en/release/1...

Up next, The Hon. Greg Rickford, Minister of Indigenous Affairs and First Nations Economic Reconciliation of Ontario, takes the stage, announcing $62m of work is underway to upgrade roadways at the gateway to the Ring of Fire.

We're underway at our Building Together: Indigenous Business and the Infrastructure Opportunity summit. First up, our President & CEO Giles Gherson provides opening remarks.

Up next, the Honourable Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario delivers a keynote address.

We're live from our annual Policy Priorities-Setting Session! First up, Lisa Kimmel, the Chair of our Policy and Advocacy Committee, delivers an opening address to the capacity crowd.

Tim Hodgson, Federal Minister of Energy & Natural Resources addresses the Toronto region's business community for the first time since taking office, and outlines his plans for the future.

The Hon. Stephen Lecce, Ontario's Minister of Energy & Mines takes the stage to introduce his federal counterpart, our keynote speaker at today's luncheon.

We're underway at our Natural Advantage: Unleashing Canada’s Resources for Economic Growth podium. First up, our President & CEO Giles Gherson kicks off the event by introducing the Hon. Stephen Lecce, Ontario's Minister of Energy & Mines.

John Williams of Bechtel Corporation delivers a keynote to close out our Infrastructure Symposium. As a senior leader at one of the world's leading engineering firms, John shares insights on procurement, delivery and innovation to help inform Ontario's infrastructure ambition.

In our final panel of the day, our very own Roselle Martino is joined by Jeff Parker (Infrastructure Ontario)
and Alena Thouin (Building Ontario Fund) to unpack how best to meet infrastructure capacity with demand.

In our second round of Lightning Talks, we place a spotlight on the builders – the leaders in engineering and construction who bring projects to life. Matt Woodbeck (CIMA+) and
Jane Ogilvie (AtkinsRéalis) explain how we'll get there.

Up next, a panel discussion on how to drive productivity in the Toronto region. To answer this titanic question, we've assembled an expert panel comprised of Tim Coldwell (Énska Advisors), Mathieu Laberge (CMHC), Ian Howcroft, (Skills Ontario), Yvonne Bilshausen (AECOM) and Christine Ferguson (BLG)

We're treated next to a series of three Lightning Talks, from @uoft.bsky.social's Leah Cowen, @metrolinx.bsky.social's Andrew Hope and Pat Dalzell of @brucepower.bsky.social.

Next up, we hear from the Hon. Kinga Surma, Ontario's Minister of Infrastructure. After her keynote, she joined Giles Gherson to discuss on the importance of building for the future, the plan to tunnel under the 401, and the importance of our "ring of fire".

We're underway at our Infrastructure Symposium: Delivering What's Next for Toronto. Our President & CEO Giles Gherson leads us off with an opening address, stressing the importance of building for the future, and delivering success on time and on budget.

Our final segment features a panel including Chuck Farmer, alongside Alex Bettencourt of Accenture, Heidi Bredenholler-Prasad of Enbridge Gas, Telehouse Canada's Andy Fenton and Pat Dalzell of Bruce Power, discussing the planning and strategies needed to future-proof our grid for innovation.

Our Keynote Speaker, Chuck Farmer, Chief Energy Transition Officer at IESO, spoke about Ontario's need to modernize electricity planning to meet growing demand, and the steps needed to ensure our grid can support economic growth and technological innovation.

We're live at our Energy Breakfast, with a focus on how to power up our AI economy. Our President & CEO Giles Gherson leads us off this morning with a clear message - we must fund local innovation or risk being left behind.

To close out the event, Giles Gherson and Mayor Olivia Chow discuss the results of our recent polling with Ipsos, and the urgent work needed on the housing, infrastructure and congestion.

Mayor Chow addresses the crowd, touching on the challenges we face in housing and congestion, re-investment in infrastructure and playing host for the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Next up, @scotiabank.bsky.social Senior Vice President and Head of Business Banking Pouya Zangeneh takes the stage to introduce Her Worship, Mayor Olivia Chow.

After the lunch break, Board Chair Yung Wu addresses the crowd as his term comes to a close.