Co-chair of the Coalition for a Better Future

Honourable A. Anne McLellan, P.C., O.C., A.O.E. served four terms as the Liberal MP for Edmonton Centre, during which she was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Minister of Health, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and Minister of Natural Resources. 

In May 2015, Ms. McLellan became Dalhousie University’s seventh chancellor, a position she held until May 2020.

Ms. McLellan serves on the board of Invest Alberta Corporation as vice-chair.  Among her many community commitments, she is chair of the board of the TELUS Edmonton Community Board. She also serves on the boards of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research and the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Ms. McLellan is Co-Chair of the Coalition for a Better Future, a diverse group of over 140 organizations working together to focus on sustainable, inclusive economic growth.

In 2022, Ms. McLellan was appointed Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel for the 41 Combat Engineer Regiment (41 CER), a Reserve unit of the 41 Canadian Brigade-Group (41 CBG).

Following her political tenure, Ms. McLellan served as a senior advisor at Bennett Jones in its Edmonton office from 2006 to 2024.

From 1980 – 1992 she was a professor in the University of Alberta's Faculty of Law and served as both Associate Dean (1985 – 1987) and Acting Dean (1991 – 1992) of the Faculty.  Ms. McLellan holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Law degree from Dalhousie University and a Master of Laws degree from King's College, University of London.

Co-chair, Coalition for a Better Future; Vice-Chair, Global Investment Banking, CIBC

The Honourable Lisa Raitt serves as the co-chair of the Coalition for a Better Future, a diverse group of Canadian leaders and organizations spanning business, labour and civil society – working together to achieve a long-term plan for economic growth that is inclusive and sustainable. 

Ms. Raitt brings a wealth of experience from the public and private sectors. She was elected into the House of Commons in 2008, holding three senior portfolios, serving as Minister of Natural Resources, Minister of Labour, and Minister of Transport. Most recently, Ms. Raitt was the Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada. 

Ms. Raitt joined CIBC Capital Markets in January 2020, having previously worked in both the public and private sectors. Ms. Raitt’s current focus is on senior client coverage and business development with clients in the energy, infrastructure and industrial sectors, which align closely with her deep expertise. Prior to her current role, Ms. Raitt was the President and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority.

Ms. Raitt holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Francis Xavier University, a Master's degree in Chemistry from the University of Guelph, and a Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School. She was called to the Ontario bar in 1998. In 2020, Ms. Raitt was named a Woodrow Wilson Center Global Fellow of the Canada Institute.

In June 2024, Ms. Raitt was presented with an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Ottawa.

Anchor, PrimeTime Politics, CPAC

Michael is a renowned television anchor and reporter, whose broadcasting career has spanned more than two decades of covering some of the most challenging news stories in real time. In addition to being the face of CPAC's live programming, he hosts the channel's nightly political round-up, PrimeTime Politics, and is the first Filipino-Canadian male to anchor a national newscast in Canada. In 2023, Michael was recognized with a Canadian Screen Award for his work anchoring a breaking news special on the Ottawa occupation in February 2022.

Prior to joining CPAC in 2022, Michael spent 12 years as a host and anchor with CBC News Network. Before that, he was a reporter with CTV British Columbia and CityNews Toronto.

External Member of Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee, Senior Research Scholar at Princeton, Coalition for a Better Future Advisory Council Member

Carolyn A. Wilkins joined Princeton University’s Griswold Center for Economic Policy as a senior research scholar in January 2022. She also sits on the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee as an external member and on Intact Financial Corporation’s Board of Directors. She is a mentor for the blockchain stream at the Rotman School of Management’s Creative Destruction Lab.

Prior to these appointments, Ms. Wilkins had a distinguished twenty-year career at the Bank of Canada, serving as Senior Deputy Governor from 2014 to 2020, setting monetary and financial system policies with Governing Council, and overseeing strategic planning and economic research. Ms. Wilkins led the development of the Bank’s market liquidity facilities and large scale asset purchase program as part of its COVID-19 response. She has made important contributions to international financial policies over her career, including as the Bank of Canada’s G20 and G7 Deputy and member of the Financial Stability Board.

Ms. Wilkins holds an Honours BA in Economics from Wilfrid Laurier University and an MA in Economics from Western University. She was named one of Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top 100 Award by the Women’s Executive Network in 2016 and 2018.

Chair of the Board, First Nations Major Projects Coalition

Sharleen Gale has served as the chair of the board of directors for the First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) since 2017, overseeing growth of the organization and promoting economic inclusion of First Nations to the regional, national, and international stage. Sharleen was formerly elected to the council of Fort Nelson First Nation, serving 15 years with 8 of those years as Chief.

Sharleen’s experience as a community leader is furthered by her corporate experience in the oil and gas, renewable energy, and forestry sectors. During the 2020 global pandemic, Sharleen served the Province of BC as a member of the Premier’s Economic Recovery Task Force. She was also previously appointed to serve on the Canada Electricity Advisory Council and on the International Energy Agency’s Global Commission.

Sharleen is a recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal awarded in recognition for her dedication to public service and leadership in economic development.

Vice President, Public Affairs, Canadian Fuels Association

Born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, Lisa Stilborn joined the Canadian Fuels Association (CFA) in February 2015 as Vice President of the Ontario Division and was later named Vice President of Public Affairs. With over 30 years of government relations experience, she leads the CFA's government and stakeholder outreach activities.

Prior to joining the CFA, Lisa was Chief Operating Officer at Temple Scott Associates Inc., a leading government relations firm. She has held several directorships and is a current member of the Board of the Ottawa Airport Authority and the former Chair of Bruyère Continuing Care – a network of Ottawa hospitals.   

Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto (Trinity College). 

Chief Data Scientist and Founder of the Nanos Research Group of Companies

Nik Nanos is Chief Data Scientist and Founder of the Nanos Research Group of Companies. He leads Nanos Research, one of Canada’s most distinguished research companies, which he founded in 1987. The Nanos Research Group of Companies includes Signal Leadership Communications, a social public relations firm specializing in issues and image management in a digitally disrupted era. It also includes Nanos-dimap Analytika, an analytics and targeting research practice that is a joint venture with dimap, one of Germany’s top research organizations. Nik also leads the team behind the Nanos Bloomberg Canadian Confidence Index which monitors consumer confidence in the Canadian economy and streams data to Bloomberg terminals each week.
He is a community-at-large board member and, as a volunteer, serves as Chair of the Board of Governors of Carleton University. Prior to becoming the Chair, Nik was the Vice-Chair and served on the Community Relations and Advancement Committee, Finance Committee, Audit Committee, HR Compensation Committee, Building Committee, Governance Committee and Nominating Committee for the Board.

Nik has undergraduate degrees in history and political studies and a Master of Business Administration from Queen’s University in Canada. His training includes PhD level studies in quantitative methods at the University of Nottingham in the United Kingdom. He is a Research Associate Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. Nik has also been elected a Fellow of the MRIA (FMRIA), the highest professional designation in the marketing research industry in Canada and holds a Certified Management Consulting (CMC) designation.

Nik is a leading corporate business strategist, conducting market and public opinion research and providing counsel to diverse organizations, including Fortune 500 companies and non-profit groups. A data scientist, speaker, commentator and author on economic, social, consumer and business trends, he is a sought-after resource for insight on the latest forces reshaping the world.

National Leader and Partner, Economic Advisory, Deloitte Canada

Dr. Trevin Stratton is the National Economic Advisory leader and partner at Deloitte Canada and the Americas Economic Advisory leader at Deloitte Global, where he helps business leaders tackle today’s most complex and challenging economic issues. Prior to joining Deloitte, he was the chief economist and senior vice president of policy at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. He has advised senior federal and provincial policymakers and government officials, including at the Prime Minister’s Office and the Bank of Canada, and C-suite business leaders on economic policy, development, and strategy.

Trevin earned his PhD at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Switzerland. He has held appointments as an international scholar at Yale University's Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, an E.C. Harwood Fellow at the American Institute for Economic Research, and a lecturer in economics, politics, and international studies at the American University in Dubai. He also holds a certificate in economic development from the University of Waterloo.

Currently a vice chair of the Business at OECD Economic Policy Committee, he’s also a frequent media contributor on economic issues for programs such as Power & Politics and BNN Bloomberg and publications such as The Globe and Mail and The Washington Post.

Chief Economist and SVP, Research, Data and Analytics, Canadian Chamber of Commerce

Stephen is a key member of the Chamber’s executive leadership team, responsible for the operations of the Business Data Lab as well as economic analysis and research.

Stephen is also the President of the Canadian Association for Business Economics and a member of the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council.

He has over 20 years of experience at many of Canada’s top economic organizations including at: Export Development Canada as the Deputy Chief Economist, the Bank of Canada, Parliamentary Budget Office, Finance Canada, think tanks as well as academia.

Stephen’s research was awarded the Purvis prize for Canadian economic policy. He has a Ph.D. in Economics from Queen’s University.

Head Economist, Canadian Bankers Association

Alex Ciappara, CFA is the Vice President, Head Economist at the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) where he has worked for more than 18 years. He researches and advocates on issues such as housing finance, business financing including small business and agricultural lending, international trade, deposit insurance, registered plans and the structure of the Canadian banking system, among others. Prior to this, he worked on Parliament Hill in various capacities advising Parliamentarians. 

Alex has earned his MSc in International Political Economy from the London School of Economics (LSE) and was a UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Chevening Scholar. He also earned a BA (Honours) in Political Studies and Economics from Queen’s University, and is a CFA Charterholder. He is also currently the President & Chair of the Board of Directors for the Toronto Association for Business and Economics (TABE) and the former Chair of the Board of Directors for Toronto Outdoor Art Fair (TOAF). He is also a mentor with the Toronto Region Immigrant Employment Council (TRIEC) and TABE.