Day 1

7:30 am           Breakfast Served

8:30 am           Opening by Conference MC:                         Ralph Benmergui, Executive Director, Strategic
Initiatives & Partnerships, Sheridan College

8:40 am           Welcome by:               Ilse Treurnicht, CEO, MaRS Discovery District

8:45 am           Presentation by:         David Wolfe, Co-Director, Innovation Policy Lab, University of
Toronto

9:05 am           Presentation by:         Kevin Lynch, Vice-Chair, BMO Financial Group

9:20 am           Session 1:        Building A Global Supercluster
Ideas, goods and people do not stop at city borders.  How can cities work together across a region – and with private investors and all levels of government – to build a supercluster of innovation and economic growth that rivals the world’s best? What can be learned from other global regions?

• Kevin Lynch, Vice-Chair, BMO Financial Group
• Tim McTiernan, President & Vice-Chancellor, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
• Ilse Treurnicht, CEO, MaRS Discovery District
• Iain Klugman, CEO, Communitech

Panel Chair:   Rick Cole, City Manager, City of Santa Monica

10:05 am         Presentation by: Simon Galpin, Director-General, Invest Hong Kong

10:25 amPresentation by:Stephen Beatty, Global Head of KPMG’s Cities Business
 Cities around the world need to balance fiscal sustainability with the need to invest in infrastructure, but these aren’t a trade-off. The reality is that long-term funding and financing strategies are essential for building — and rebuilding — our cities and for ensuring their long term fiscal health. 

Proper investment must be accomplished through a rigorous cost-benefit analysis and effective leadership to ensure they will benefit generations to come. 

10:45 am         Morning Break

11:05 am         Session 2:        The Business of City Building
Across the world, cities are using new models of development to unlock the value of underutilized assets, build new infrastructure, and promote economic development. New partnerships among major landholders are shaping the business of city building. What new tools and partnerships are available to cities to invest in new infrastructure and build the economy? What cities are leading in the establishment of these new models? What best practices can be implemented in your city right away?

• Peter Wallace, City Manager, City of Toronto
• Ben Myers, SVP, Market Research & Analytics, Fortress Real Estate
• Bill Bryck, President & CEO, Build Toronto
• Stephen Beatty, Global Head of KPMG’s Cities Business

Panel Chair:    Katia Dmitrieva, Bloomberg News

11:50 am         Presentation by:          Scott Noble, Sr. Industry Strategy Manager, Urban Planning &
Land Development, Autodesk

12:10 pm         Presentation by:Larissa Brown, Principal, Stantec

12:30 pm         Lunch

1:40 pmPresentation by:         Kurtis McBride, CEO, Miovision

2:00 pm           Address by:                 John Tory, Mayor, City of Toronto

2:15 pm           Session 3:        The Digital Metropolis and the Smart City

Our economy is being re-created by the digital age, and it’s only just begun. Technology is re-shaping how we design our cities, move around them, build them and run them. This panel will look at the cutting edge of how technology can be used to improve urban life, as well as what opportunities exist for economic development and better government.   

• Caroline Vrauwdeunt, CEO, ANDRS! Projects
• Kurtis McBride, CEO, Miovision
• Ron Gordon, Senior Advisor, Smart + Connected Communities, Cisco
• Jason Easton, Director, Sales, Service and Marketing, GTA, General Motors of Canada

Panel Chair:    Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor, City of Kitchener

3:00 pm           Presentation by:         Bruce Simpson, Director, McKinsey & Company and
Joe Berridge, Partner, Urban Strategies

3:20 pmAfternoon Break

3:35 pm           Session 4:        The Transportation Imperative
Effectively moving people and goods is one of the most important competitive advantages for any city in the global economy. How are emerging global regions looking at transportation across a region, from investment in new transit operations to investing in infrastructure to a new vision of cooperation for airports across a region? This panel will look at the future of transportation strategies across metropolitan regions, from more efficient local transit operations to global connectivity.

• Chris Upfold, Deputy CEO, Toronto Transit Commission
• Chris Murray, City Manager, City of Hamilton
• Greg Moore, Chair, Metro Vancouver and Mayor, City of Port Coquitlam, BC
• Eileen Waechter, Director, Airport Planning, Greater Toronto Airport Authority

Panel Chair:   Rob Prichard, Chair, Metrolinx, Torys LLP, BMO

4:20 pm           Session 5:        The Talent Metropolis
To compete in a global economy cities need to train, attract and keep talent. But every metropolis in the world is competing on that front. What does a city need to in terms of neighbourhood development, educational policies and creating the urban experience and opportunity that will bring human capital to a region or supercluster?

• Sevaun Palvetzian, CEO, CivicAction
• Brandon Donnelly, Founder, Architect This City
• Brad King, Vice President, Lord Cultural Resources

Panel Chair:   Rahul Bhardwaj, CEO, Toronto Foundation

5:00 pm           Invitation to Reception

5:00 pm – 6:30 pm      Reception at MaRS Discovery District, Hosted by KPMG

Day 2

7:30 am           Breakfast

8:30 am           Day 2 Welcome

8:45 am           Session 6:        The Innovation City
Cities are our most important innovation. This session will take on the new ideas and partnerships – among government, business, and academia – that can tackle pressing urban challenges and encourage solutions that create jobs. What is the role of universities in contributing to urban solutions? What new sectors can and should cities focus on to differentiate their innovation economies? What cities are doing the best job of developing these solutions, and how are they attracting and training the talent necessary for today’s innovation economy?

• Joeri van den Steenhoven, Director, MaRS Solutions Lab
• Micheal Kelly, Dean, Lazaridis School of Business & Economics, Wilfrid Laurier University
• Lovely Warren, Mayor of Rochester, NY
• Colleen Shepherd, Executive Director, Calgary Regional Partnership

Panel Chair:   Alan Shepard, President, Concordia University

9:30 am           Address by:                 Kathleen Wynne, Premier, Province of Ontario

9:50 am           Morning Break

10:10 am         Presentation by:         Janet Ecker, President & CEO, Toronto Financial Services
Alliance

10:30 am         Presentation by:         Jennifer Keesmaat, Chief Planner, City of Toronto

10:50 am         Presentation by:         Prem Gururajan, CEO, RideCo

11:10  am        Session 7:        The New Energy City
Cities and their residents are our major consumers of energy and water. But how it is produced, stored and used is now undergoing a major shift. Localized energy systems are on the rise, new battery technology is changing how we store energy, greenhouse gas emissions will be closely measured and traded. It speaks to a massive re-think of the traditional utility and distribution systems. How can the utilities servicing our regional and national economies prepare for innovation in the energy and water sectors, as they lower GHG emissions, adapt to new technology, and keep the lights on?

• David McFadden, Council, Gowlings, Chair of the Infrastructure Advisory Boards, Fengate Capital
• Rosemarie Leclair, Chair and CEO, Ontario Energy Board
• Michael Angemeer, President & CEO, Veridian
• Ron Dizy, Managing Director, Advanced Energy Centre, MaRS

Panel Chair:   Jeff Lehman, Mayor, City of Barrie, ON

11:55 am         Presentation by:         Daniel Hoornweg, Professor and Research Chair, University of
Ontario Institute of Technology and Chief Risk Officer, Province of
Ontario

12:15 pm         Session 8:        The Resilient Metropolis
To reach its economic and social potential, a metropolitan region needs a stable foundation that involves the building and financing of resilient infrastructure. Events over the last few years along have shown that roads, public transit, communication, water & energy systems — and even digital infrastructure — need to be resilient. What are the weaknesses we now face, and how can they be remedied to create modern infrastructure that leads to competitive advantage? Who is leading the world in this? What is their strategy, their innovations and their sources of investment?

• Jamie Springer, Senior Principal, HR&A Advisors
• Matthew Boscariol, Chief Planner, City of Thompson, MB
• Melissa Peneycad, Senior Sustainability Consultant, Stantec­

Panel Chair:         Daniel Hoornweg, Professor and Research Chair, University of Ontario
Institute of Technology and Chief Risk Officer, Province of Ontario

1:00 pm           Conference Close