The Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Future of Business Summit is set to tackle the progression of interprovincial trade, examining current alignment and how to enhance it.
The summit will be attended by Ontario premier Doug Ford, New Brunswick premier Susan Holt, Prince Edward Island premier Rob Lantz, and the Northwest Territories premier RJ Simpson. The premiers will discuss the roles of governments, businesses, and institutions in advancing Canada’s economic future.
The chamber noted that while interprovincial trade led the country’s economic agenda last year, its advancement relied on coordination and sustained effort.
“Across the country, businesses, governments and communities are all working to find ways to collaborate — across sectors, regions and differences — because that’s what this moment calls for. Canadians are feeling real economic pressure, and there is a shared responsibility to focus on what we can agree on and how we move that work forward,” said Candace Laing, Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s president and CEO, in a statement.
Parliament Hill bureau senior reporter Catherine Cullen, who also hosts “The House” on CBC, will moderate the panel discussion. Other common-ground issues to be addressed include opportunities to cut internal trade barriers and bolster economic alignment.
The summit will also feature ITK president Natan Obed, TC Energy president and CEO François Poirier, and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation president and CEO Coleen Volk. Moreover, the event will be attended by business, media, policy, and arts sector leaders like Kush Amaria (GreenShield Health clinical services director), Nahlah Ayed (host of CBC Radio’s IDEAS), Tjorven Bellmann (German ambassador to Canada), Michelle Chawla (Canada Council for the Arts director and CEO), and Steve Berna (National Bank’s managing director and Indigenous relations head).
The Future of Business summit will be held from April 20-21 at Ottawa’s Rogers Centre. Laing will deliver the welcoming remarks. The event will also include workshops and a networking reception.