Virtual Event: Honourable Seamus O’Regan in Conversation with Bob Espey

The live webinar discussion is sponsored by the Canadian Fuels Association and will see Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources, The Honourable Seamus O’Regan joins Parkland President and CEO, Bob Espey, for a fireside conversation on the future of the Canadian fuels sector, low carbon leadership, and renewable fuels, and the important role that Canada’s fuel sector has in helping Canada reach Net Zero Emissions by 2050. The event will be the first in a series of Fuel for Thought webinar events the Canadian Fuels Association will be hosting over the coming months.

Bob Espey, President and CEO, Parkland

Mr. Espey was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer in 2011 and has successfully led the evolution of Parkland from a regional independent into an international marketer of fuel, petroleum and convenience products. In his role, Mr. Espey delivers on Parkland’s strategic plan while maintaining a strong focus on teamwork, business integration and shareholder value.

Mr. Espey has overseen a number of transformative acquisitions, including of Chevron Canada’s downstream fuel business, the Ultramar business from CST brands, the expansion of Parkland into the U.S., and in 2019 the addition of Sol which expanded Parkland’s operations into the Caribbean region. Under his leadership, Parkland’s annual fuel volumes have grown from less than 5 billion to more than 22 billion litres.

Previously, Mr. Espey served as Chief Operating Officer from 2010 to 2011, and Vice President, Retail Markets from 2008 to 2010. Prior to joining Parkland, Mr. Espey held a variety of senior management roles across a diverse group of industry sectors, both internationally and domestically, including as President and Chief Executive Officer of FisherCast Global Corporation. Mr. Espey also worked as a consultant based in the United Kingdom, where he worked with many large multinationals across a variety of industries including downstream marketing, media, consumer goods, and manufacturing. Mr. Espey also has experience in the Canadian Navy where he spent four years as a commissioned officer.

Mr. Espey serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Canadian Fuels Association and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Society of Independent Gasoline Marketers of America, SIGMA. Mr. Espey holds a Bachelor of Engineering, Mechanical, from Royal Military College and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario.

The Honourable Seamus O’Regan, Canada’s Minister of Natural Resources

Minister O’Regan was appointed Minister of Natural Resources in 2019, with a mandate to put Canada’s natural resources sector at the forefront of the fight against climate change. This mandate includes planting two billion trees over ten years, developing low and zero emissions fuels for widespread adoption, and retrofitting homes and infrastructure to ensure peak energy efficiency.

Prior to this role, Minister O’Regan served as the Minister of Indigenous Services, where he oversaw the passage and implementation of laws affirming Indigenous jurisdiction over child and family services.

Minister O’Regan’s first Cabinet position was Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence, where he reinstated lifelong pensions and introduced an Education and Training Benefit for Veterans.

Minister O’Regan is from St. John’s, Newfoundland, and was raised in Goose Bay, Labrador. He studied politics at St. Francis Xavier University and University College Dublin, and marketing strategies at the INSEAD Business School, near Paris. He received his Master of Philosophy degree from the University of Cambridge, where he wrote his dissertation on Indigenous participation in large-scale natural resource development.

Minister O’Regan began his career in politics as Executive Assistant to the Minister of Justice and, later, Senior Policy Advisor to the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

He’s known to many Canadians for his ten years as co host of the country’s top morning news programme, Canada AM.

Over the years, he has championed causes dear to him, namely mental health, the arts, and the environment, sitting on the Board of WWF Canada.