Built for Growth

Start your day with a delicious breakfast and connect with fellow attendees before the day’s programming begins.

What is your moonshot? What is that one audacious goal you hold inside that the world desperately needs you to achieve? 

Going from a kid staring up at the stars to the far side of the Moon on the historic Artemis II mission doesn’t happen by accident. Colonel Jeremy Hansen knows firsthand what it takes to turn an impossible dream into a reality. In this visually stunning and deeply personal keynote — featuring breathtaking video and imagery — he brings audiences behind the scenes of his journey, sharing the intense planning, rigorous training, and awe-inspiring reality of a lunar flyby. 

However, this isn’t just a story about space exploration — it is a blueprint for organizational excellence and your own life’s mission. Hansen challenges audiences to realize that dreaming alone won’t get you to the finish line. Achieving a moonshot requires relentless daily action. By weaving his unique experiences with practical insights, he provides a framework to help leaders, teams, and individuals identify their goals and leverage their inspiration to execute them. 

Take a break, grab a light snack or refreshment, and connect with fellow GrowCanada attendees.

With a 30-year career as a trade lawyer, policy expert and negotiator, Ambassador Kirsten Hillman has advised three Canadian Prime Ministers and held some of the country’s most senior diplomatic and policy roles, including serving as Canada’s Ambassador to the United States. The first women appointed to the role — and one of the longest serving — her tenure spanned three US administrations, two Canadian governments, and a pandemic, during which she was one of Canada’s foremost strategic voices in Washington. 

In a fireside chat with Candace Laing, CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Ambassador Hillman will provide her perspective on the Canada’s relationship with our largest trading partner, as well as a global overview of Canada’s status in the world as a trusted partner.  

Dominic Barton, recently announced as the Chair of the Board of Directors, Invest in Canada, returns to GrowCanada with an update on Canada’s investment landscape and a look at how the country is positioning itself for growth in a rapidly changing global economy. Revisiting the recommendations of his 2016 report on agriculture, Barton will also assess what has—and hasn’t—been implemented, where Canada has made progress, and what still needs to change to attract capital and drive productivity. And he will share his perspective on Canada’s trade diversification strategy, the opportunities emerging in global markets, and what Canada must do to compete for investment and build a stronger economic future.

Water is going to be the most important and most contentious resource for almost every country in the world. Within the next 50 years, water will become a source of conflict between countries, a competitive issue among companies, and will require a whole new way of thinking for everyone on the planet.

Charles Fishman, author of the most influential water book in a generation, The Big Thirst, has circled the globe to find the people tackling and solving water problems—from the sheep farms of Australia, to the slums of Delhi, to the high-tech factories of the United States. Fishman will show how water challenges will touch each of us, and also how tackling those problems can create both a competitive advantage and a critical sense of security.

In a fireside chat with Shaun Haney, RealAgriculture, the conversation will explore how the industries, organizations, and communities that see the tumultuous future of water, and prepare for it, will be the ones that thrive.

Canada faces a rare moment of opportunity. Global demand for food is rising. Countries around the world are competing to attract investment, strengthen food security, and expand value-added production. Canada has the potential to lead, but leadership will require a clear vision, compelling economic evidence, and a united industry voice. 

This session will share the latest research on how agriculture and food are perceived by federal decisionmakers. Panelists will then discuss how to position agriculture and food as a strategic national priority and as a key driver of Canada’s future prosperity.

Get moving with a yoga class or a guided 5km run/walk.

Connect with fellow GrowCanada attendees and enjoy an opportunity to network before the evening’s banquet.

The revolution has begun, so what should we expect? Artificial intelligence (AI) is already changing the way we do art, business, finance, science, engineering, news, and social media. Soon it will disrupt the way we interact with one another. It may feel like a tidal wave, but that doesn’t mean it’s unpredictable. After all, this isn’t the first time intelligence has evolved. 
 
From dolphins to humans, cockroaches to cockatoos, every new group of intelligent creatures has appeared thanks to the emergent properties of neural networks — the very same process that spawned AI. And with each new intelligent form of life, predictable, repeatable trends have emerged — selfishness, extinctions, behavioural adaptation, establishment of a stable social structure, and, ultimately, a new kind of harmony with the environment. Although we can’t know exactly what the future holds for AI, these broad themes offer a roadmap of what to expect. 
 
AI won’t steal our jobs… but people using AI effectively might. By understanding the predictable milestones that emerge from evolution, and using them to guide your organization’s AI strategy, you can seize the power of evolutionary change to come out ahead. 

Continue the conversation and connect with fellow GrowCanada attendees at the post-banquet reception.

Start your day with a delicious breakfast and connect with fellow attendees before the day’s programming begins.

Political commentators Jen Gerson and Chantal Hebert will offer a timely look at the state of the Canadian federation and what recent political developments in the East and West mean for the country’s future. Moderated by Paul Wells, the discussion will unpack the results of the Alberta referendum vote and the Quebec election, exploring what they reveal about regional priorities, national unity and the evolving political landscape. 

This session will explore food trends and demographics, particularly the rise of protein and GLP-1s. How are these shifts reshaping what people eat, what farmers grow, and how Canada competes in the future food economy?

Inspired by his two powerful and prescient documentaries, FOOD EVOLUTION and SHOT IN THE ARM, Scott will share clips, candid insights, and concrete tactics to counter misinformation and science denial.