2024 EFC Industry Conference

Conference Keynote Speakers

Chantal Hébert, Political Raconteur & Columnist

Opening Keynote Speaker: “Elevate Our World”

Chantal Hébert

Chantal Hébert is a political columnist whose work appears in The Toronto Star and the magazine, L’Actualité. She is also a weekly participant on CBC The National’s political panel “At Issue”. A prolific journalist who is passionate about Canadian politics ― particularly in relation to Quebec ― Hébert speaks with authority and passion on public policy and other matters of national importance.
Hébert began her career in Toronto as a reporter for the regional newsroom of Radio-Canada in 1975 before moving on to Parliament Hill for Radio-Canada. She has served as parliamentary bureau chief for Le Devoir and La Presse.
Currently a Senior Fellow of Massey College at the University of Toronto, Hébert holds honorary degrees from a dozen Canadian Universities and is a graduate of Glendon College at York University. She is a recipient of two Asia-Pacific media fellowships (Malaysia and Japan), and was awarded the APEX Public Service Award in 2005, the Hyman Solomon award for excellence in journalism and public policy in 2006, and York University’s Pinnacle Achievement Bryden Alumni award. In 2012, Hébert was appointed to the Order of Canada and in 2019, her peers in the Parliamentary Press Gallery awarded her the Charles Lynch award for her longstanding coverage of national issues.
Hébert is the author of two books: French Kiss: Stephen Harper’s Blind Date with Quebec, and her most recent book, The Morning After: The 1995 Quebec Referendum And The Day That Almost Was.

Opening Keynote: Elevate Our World

Todd Hirsch, Navigator of Economic Disruption, Speaker, & Author

“Elevate Our Data”

Todd Hirsch

Todd Hirsch is an internationally renowned economist, keynote speaker, and author whose research and work focuses on enhancing adaptability in an ever-changing world. Having had a front row seat to key issues transforming the global economy for the past 25 years, he delivers dynamic, clear-eyed talks on adaptability, creativity, and resilience to help industry and business leaders prepare for a future that is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous.
An economist by training, Hirsch is currently the Director of Energy Transition Centre, an incubator of tech startups focused on navigating our path toward net-zero carbon. Prior to this, he served as VP and chief economist for ATB Financial for 15 years, taught economics at the University of Calgary and the University of Alberta, and worked in the research department of the Bank of Canada.
In recognition of his work, Hirsch has received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum and Diamond Jubilee Medals, the University of Alberta’s Alumni Honour Award, and an honorary degree from Mount Royal University. He has also spoken to hundreds of business audiences across the United States and Canada, and international audiences from Venezuela to Dublin.
The author of four books, Hirsch’s latest, Spiders in COVID Space: Adapting During and After the Pandemic, shares the inspiring and compelling stories of businesses and not-for-profits that reinvented themselves during the pandemic.

Elevate Our Data

Andrew Pride, Principal Consultant, Andrew Pride Consulting

Closing Keynote: “Elevate our Net-Zero Strategies”

Andrew Pride

With over 30 years of experience serving as an internationally recognized green leader, Principal, Andrew Pride consults with national and international brands as a facilitator, trainer, subject matter expert, and strategic advisor. Andrew’s career spans the private and public sector, where he focused on applying transformative skills to influence positive change in energy efficiency, green building design, and sustainable growth. In an effort to share his “purpose driven progress” ethos, Andrew founded Andrew Pride Consulting in 2015 to unify organizations to connect, collaborate, and contribute to making the world a better place.
In addition to Andrew’s consulting business, he is the Chair of the Standing Committee on Energy Efficiency– the group responsible for all national energy codes in Canada – the National Energy Code for Buildings, and the energy section (9.36.) of the National Building Code. Andrew will help foster a Net-Zero-Energy-Ready building code with emphasis on climate change mitigation. Previously, he was the Vice President of Conservation for the Ontario Power Authority, creating the award-winning Save on Energy brand and overseeing a $3 billion energy efficiency budget. Andrew is also known for his innovation and drive to transform a large privately held real estate company, the Minto Group, into an internationally recognized green leader.

Elevate our Net-Zero Strategies

Carol McGlogan, President & CEO, Electro-Federation Canada

Elevating Resiliency Round Table

Elevating Resiliency Round Table

Nikolas Badminton, Futurist, Author, Advisor, and Foresight Thought Leader

Closing Keynote: “Elevate with Technology”

Nikolas Badminton

Shift your mindset from “what is” to “what if” with world-renowned futurist speaker Nikolas Badminton. He has spent the past 30 years working with some of the world’s most impactful companies, helping them to enhance their strategic foresight capabilities, identify trends reshaping their industry, and anticipate unforeseen risks and opportunities. His energetic and inspiring presentations empower audiences to embrace futures thinking and create bold visions that deliver increased revenues and explosive growth.
As the Chief Futurist at Futurist Think Tank, Badminton has mentored top executives and officials at the highest levels of government. His past clients include leading organizations at the frontline of futures, strategy, and disruption such as NASA, Disney, Google, Microsoft, Intel, IBM, WM, JP Morgan, Verizon, VISA, TD Bank, American Express, BISCI, ISACA, Rolls Royce, Procter & Gamble, US Department of State, UK Home Office, United Nations, and many more.
Badminton’s essential research has been featured by the BBC, VICE, The Atlantic, Fast Company, Business Insider, Forbes, Sunday Telegraph, and many other major media outlets. He’s often a featured guest on SiriusXM and CTV and was a key advisor to the YouTube Originals series “The Age of AI”, with Robert Downey Jr. Badminton also appears in the Franklin Institute’s six-part docuseries The Road to 2050.
A bestselling author, Badminton’s book Facing Our Futures: How Foresight, Futures Design, and Strategy Creates Prosperity and Growth was one of JP Morgan’s “Next Gen Pick” for their 2023 Summer Reading List and named a “Top 50 Business Book of 2023” by The Next Big Idea Club.

Closing Keynote: Elevate With Technology

Conference Industry Panel

Member Panelists

Catherine McKeown, Chief People Officer – Hammond Power Solutions
Cory Morris, Regional VP, Atlantic Canada – Graybar
Tim King, President – Southwire Canada
Vanessa Ricard, Business Development – Agence Ricard
Moderated by Swati Vora-Patel, VP, Marketing & Channel Development – Electro-Federation Canada

"DEI Measures of Success"

Day 2 – THURSDAY, JUNE 2nd | 9:30 am
Following the keynote address by Michael Back from the Canadian Centre for Diversity & Inclusion, industry members will convene onstage to examine how we can establish industry baselines and cadences to track progress for DEI efforts. Learn about EFC’s new DEI stats initiative and the role each member plays in supporting diversity, equity and inclusion in our channel.

Conference Concurrent Track Speakers

Steven Taylor : President and CEO of Ignite Technology | Doug Thubron : President of Ignite Solutions

Speaker Biographies

Steven Taylor is the President and CEO of Ignite Technology, and in this role, Steven is responsible for the overall vision and leadership of the company and its disciplines – Ignite Collaboration, Ignite Security and Ignite Solutions. A big believer in the team, Steven credits the alignment of personal, wellness, and corporate goals to Ignite’s culture. Achieving great work life balance for his team ultimately defines his success. Steven deeply cares about the people he works with and lives the ‘People First’ mentality to the fullest.
Based in Calgary, Steven is married with two kids, loves to golf and while he’s no longer playing the role of football Coach, he continues to transfer that energy into encouraging people who might doubt their abilities, understand their strengths and find success. Whether in business or in his day-to-day life, Steven demonstrates what can be achieved by working together toward shared goals and vision.
Prior to starting Ignite, Steven spent 15+ years working in Unified Communications building and managing teams focused on Sales and Sales operations.
Doug Thubron is the President of Ignite Solutions, and has served as a trusted partner for businesses – first as NBi Solutions, and now under the Ignite Technology umbrella ¬– as a managed IT services provider for the past 20 years. He is passionate about providing solutions that allow smaller organizations to harness big-business capabilities through simplified IT practices, support and expertise.
Doug got his start building computers for his family-owned and operated IT company in Calgary. He was quickly swept up in the wave of rapidly advancing systems and ideas, setting the stage for his own innovations as a managed service provider.

Helping people remove complexity from their day to focus on what matters is essential to Doug, and so is building trusted relationships. As a leader, he is quick to surround himself with like-minded people who share a passion for service, and uncovering customer needs.

Doug is an avid golfer, is married, and has three boys who keep him super busy with competitive hockey. Coach, volunteer, and now a board of directors member, he’s been committed to supporting the Symons Valley Hockey Association for over 14 years.

The Rules of Engagement for Outsourced IT Services
Day 1 – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1st | 1:00 pm
How to pre-qualify service providers to protect the secure your systems and data.
Choosing an IT service provider can often be onerous for businesses, especially given the high data security concerns that organizations face. A study by the Ponemon Institute suggested that 58% of small businesses do not know if their IT vendor’s security policies are sufficient to prevent a data breach. While outsourcing any part of your business comes with risks, entrusting your IT services to outside vendors can be unnerving. Unlike accounting or legal services that have an established set of certifications and regulations, IT services don’t have the same level of standards for compliance, making it difficult to pre-qualify IT vendors.
Outsourcing IT services can be risky business if security policies and agreements aren’t discussed and put into place. This session will explore the following:
- The rules of engagement when searching for an IT provider to protect your data and systems
- What questions every business should ask to pre-qualify vendors
- How to build and/or transfer service agreements while maintaining control of your domains, databases and other systems to ensure continued access and protection of confidential data

Daniel Breton : President and CEO with Electric Mobility Canada

Speaker Biography

Daniel Breton is President and CEO of Electric Mobility Canada, one of the oldest associations dedicated to the electrification of transportation in the world. This organization has members from every sector related to electric mobility in Canada, including electricity suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, cities, universities, unions, technology companies, mining companies, research centers, government departments, environmental NGOs, electric vehicle owners’ associations, dealers’ associations, fleet managers, etc.
A former Quebec Minister of the Environment, Sustainable Development, Wildlife and Parks, he was the first elected official in charge of a government strategy for the electrification of transportation in Canada in 2012. He graduated in sustainable carbon management and has written several books on the subject of transportation electrification, climate change, air pollution and energy transition since 2009.

Electric Mobility: Challenges & Opportunities in Canada
Day 1 – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1st | 1:00 pm
A few weeks ago, the federal government announced that it would mandate the sale of EVs with targets of 20% sales by 2026, 60% by 2030 and 100% by 2035. What this announcement brings for your industry is market predictability… and many opportunities. This session will explain the following:
- The level of investment that this announcement represents
- The different types of EV infrastructure that will be needed
- The challenges and opportunities for your industry.

Daniel Bretton : President and CEO with Electric Mobility Canada

Warren Collier, Director of Talent Strategy, Self-Management Group

Warren Collier, CHRL, is the Director of Talent Strategy for Self-Management Group, which delivers talent management and recruitment solutions to Fortune 500 clients across Canada and the United States. Warren has 25 years of leadership experience in human resources, talent management and business operations with emphasis in strategy and organization design in the Banking, Telecom, and Outsourcing sectors.

“Critical Skillsets for a Remote Workforce & Re-imagining the Office…Post-Covid”

Day 1 – WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 | 2:00 pm
A recent study confirmed that 56% of the workforce holds a job that is compatible (at least partially) with remote work. Leaders are now evaluating how best to manage a workforce in a post-covid world that is unique to their organization and adapt their culture strategy to reimagine their work and workplaces.
Warren will share the results of a recent study of over 10,000 people where we assessed a variety of critical skills necessary for success in a remote work environment tied to performance and retention. These findings can help organizations assess their existing talent pool and support managers leading a remote team into the future. He will also discuss why the future office will need to cater to all types of workers and discuss some practical ideas for leaders to implement an operating model that leverages the best of both in-person and remote work.

Conference CEMRA & CMG Meeting Speakers

CEMRA Meeting

Session for CEMRA Members

CMG Feature Presentation

"Manufacturers and Reps… Moving Forward: Defining Roles and Expectations"

Day 1 – WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1st | 2:00 pm PT
New this year, the CMG (CEMRA manufactures group) will be featuring a presentation on Manufacturers and Reps… Moving Forward: Defining Roles and Expectations.
This session is open to all members.
Questions? Contact Nathalie Lajoie at nlajoie@electrofed.com.
Learn more about CMG.

CEMRA Ice Cream Station

Open to all members

Thank you to our Lead Conference Sponsor:

Golf Tournament

Optional CEMRA Night - Sign up!

YPN National Après Gala Reception

Chairman’s Gala Reception & Awards Dinner

Chair’s Reception | ‘Luxury Railroad’ Awards Dinner

Step back in time, as we re-imagine the roaring 20’s and the railroads that served Canadians as a mode of luxury transportation. This evening will feature special comedic entertainment by Steve Patterson, host of the debaters, as well as a dinner and award presentations in honour of those who have made remarkable contributions to our industry. All conference delegates and companions are welcome to attend this awards banquet. Gala table reservations will begin in April. *Semi-formal Attire

Call for Award Nominations, click here

Electro Lounge Meetings

EFC is pleased to offer increased and extended B2B meeting space. These meetings are available for smaller manufacturers, distributors and reps to meet in a casual informal setting. These meeting areas are complimentary and are suited for approx. 2-4 people only. These meeting areas are in an open ballroom with several seating areas for you to conduct informal meetings.

Open-concept spaces are available for smaller meetings up to 4 people in the designated Electro-Lounge room. Register for your complimentary meeting space, click here

Head Office Meetings

EFC’s Head Office Program provides members with an opportunity to host private meetings with suppliers and customers during the conference. EFC manufacturer, distributor and rep members are all eligible to reserve a meeting room, based on availability.

To register your company for a meeting space, please click on this link to book

Audio visual requirements, food and beverages can be ordered for your meeting room, based on your request and billing. Note: It is the responsibility of the manufacturer and distributor to arrange for convenient meeting times. EFC staff will not schedule or confirm appointments.

Tours & Activities – Available soon!

Exciting tours and activities are being confirmed for you to explore and experience the majestic wonders of Banff. Please stay tuned for full details.

Please note: EFC is closely monitoring developments with COVID-19 and is strengthening its protective measures accordingly. To minimize any risks to employees, members and other event attendees, please follow precautionary measures by using hand sanitizer and avoiding handshakes. If you have visited any of the following COVID-19 affected areas within the past 14 days, we kindly ask that you refrain from attending EFC events: China, Iran, Northern Italy, Japan, South Korea. Thank you for your cooperation.