Virtual Event: Back to the Ballot Box

Please join us for a virtual discussion focusing on the next Canadian federal election. The event will feature a distinguished panel of professionals including political insiders, the private sector and media.

 How do the political leaders, Prime Minister Trudeau, Erin O'Toole and Jagmeet Singh, stack up on critical issues related to pandemic response, economic growth, and climate change? How will recent developments, from the COVID 19 pandemic and subsequent economic slowdown, impact the outcome of this election? What are the paths to victory for each major party and when will the election be called? The upcoming federal election is shaping up to be a highly contested race with major implications for Canada.

The Empire Club of Canada federal election forecast will cover all the scenarios and issues in the race for Prime Minister.

David Coletto from Abacus will kick off the event with a presentation of the findings from his most recent poll, which will be followed by a moderated panel discussion.

Polling Presentation By:

David Coletto, CEO and Founding Partner, Abacus Data

David Coletto is CEO and a founding partner of Abacus Data a full service market research and strategy firm based in Ottawa. With over a decade of experience in the industry, David and his partners founded Abacus over 8 years ago, and since then it has grown into one of Canada's most respected market research firms.

David has worked with a range of organizations including the Shaw Communication, the Canadian Bankers Association, the Bank of Canada, Food and Consumer Products Canada, the CBC, the Canadian Pharmacists Association, Equal Voice, and the Dairy Farmers of Canada. He’s also one of Canada’s leading experts on generational change and millennials regularly invited to speak to groups across Canada.

He’s a foodie, a Gentle Explorer, and a political junkie who loves exploring why people think and act they way they do.

He earned a PhD in Political Science from the University of Calgary in 2010 and has a BPAPM and MA from Carleton University. He is also an adjunct professor at Carleton University.

Moderator:

Marieke Walsh, Political Reporter, The Globe and Mail

Marieke Walsh is a political reporter with The Globe and Mail in Ottawa. Before joining The Globe, she covered the Ontario legislature for iPolitics and the Nova Scotia legislature for Global News. She started her journalism career on Parliament Hill producing political TV shows for CBC and Global News.

Panelists:

Jason Lietaer, President, Enterprise Canada

Jason’s strong chops in branding, crisis response, issues management, and strategic communications help him execute winning strategies that help our clients succeed. He’s helped by extensive experience in senior government roles and inside campaign war rooms during federal and provincial elections.

He also gets how technology is changing the public affairs and communications landscape. So he stays up to speed on cutting edge tools that didn’t exist even a decade ago, such as influencer outreach, digital activations, and geo targeting.

Inside Experience

Former executive director of the Conservative Resource Group, reporting to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and providing cutting edge research, marketing and communications tools to the Conservative caucus.

Experience on Parliament Hill in the Prime Minister’s Office; and at Queen’s Park, including senior roles in Premier Mike Harris’s office.

Leading strategy roles in federal and provincial election campaigns.

Regular commentator in several media outlets including CBC, CTV, Macleans, and The National Post.

Amanda Alvaro, President, Pomp and Circumstance

Amanda Alvaro is the President of award-winning creative agency, Pomp and Circumstance. A veteran communicator, Amanda has led global campaigns across virtually all categories from finance to fashion, tech to telco, auto to the arts. Under her leadership in 2020, P and C was named one of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies, Strategy’s Agency of Year and the only Canadian PR agency on Adweek's Fastest Growing Agencies in the World list. She was also named PR Person of the Year 2020.

Amanda has led Pand C through sustained year over year growth since its inception in 2015 and outperforms the competition by using a powerful combination of creative media, digital/social, integrated and experiential.

Amanda is frequently sought after by CEOs, politicians, thought leaders for executive profile building, crisis communication, media and performance training. When she's not at P and C, you can find her bantering politics as a weekly political commentator on CBC TV's hit political show, Power and Politics.

She has operated as a senior political advisor on successive election campaigns at the provincial and federal level and was a key member of Trudeau’s leadership bid. Amanda is the founder of Artbound Charity, Chair of Rethink Breast Cancer and co chair of Canadian Art. Amanda can also be found on the speakers circuit, with topics ranging from PR, politics, entrepreneurship, women in business.

Karl Bélanger, President, Traxxion Stratégies

Founding President of Traxxion Strategies, Karl Bélanger brings decades of senior level experience at the national level, on Parliament Hill and in Ottawa circles.

Prior to his role with Traxxion, Karl served as a senior advisor to successive NDP Leaders Alexa McDonough, Jack Layton, Nycole Turmel and Thomas Mulcair over the course of 20 years. During his political career, Karl has earned an excellent reputation as an efficient communicator with a strategic mind, developing an extensive network in the political, governmental, business and union world. After completing his mandate as National Director of the New Democratic Party of Canada in June of 2016, Karl retired from active politics. He is a sought-after political commentator and pundit and can notably be heard on the Cogeco radio network, Sirius XM and CityNews. He also publishes a regular column with Loonie Politics and is a contributor to L’Actualité.

Karl is also serving as the President of the Douglas Coldwell Foundation, a charity organization promoting education and research into social democracy in Canada.