Adam Vaughan was first elected to the House of Commons as Member of Parliament for Trinity-Spadina on June 30, 2014. On October 19, 2015, Adam was re-elected in the new riding of Spadina-Fort York, and was re-elected for a second full term on October 21, 2019.

Adam Vaughan was elected twice to Toronto City Council before voters sent him to Ottawa to represent urban issues in Parliament. As an activist and as a journalist, Adam has played a significant role in the social and economic growth of Toronto. Adam Vaughan brings a lifetime of experience to federal politics. On City Council he played a major role in reforming the planning process in the city. He led successful campaigns to rebuild and revitalize existing public housing stock while initiating new policies to create family housing, supportive housing and new co-op housing programs in Toronto.

Together with residents, he spearheaded the revitalization of the Alexandra Park community: a significant neighbourhood in Toronto that will see new affordable housing, new commercial space, a re-built community and more parkland added to the downtown. Adam Vaughan’s record in office demonstrates strong support for the arts and housing in Toronto.

While on council, he championed the expansion of OCAD University’s campus and led the campaign to save Theatre Passe Muraille. He also served on the Boards of the Toronto Arts Council, the Art Gallery of Ontario, Harbourfront Centre and Heritage Toronto. Before entering politics, Adam was a broadcast journalist for more than 20 years, specializing in municipal affairs for both the CBC and Citytv. He covered all three levels of government and has written about urban issues too.

In the 41st Parliament, Adam was appointed the Liberal Critic for Housing and Urban Affairs and worked with Justin Trudeau, Liberals, and local governments across the country to re-establish a national housing policy as part of a new urban agenda for Canada.

On December 2, 2015, Adam was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs. He served in this role until January 26, 2017, when he was appointed to the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children and Social Development (Housing and Urban Affairs).

On February 1, 2017, Adam was appointed to chair an Advisory Committee on Homelessness composed of experts and stakeholders in the field of homelessness to support the renewal of the Homelessness Partnering Strategy.

He is currently Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Families, Children, and Social Development (Housing) and a member of the Standing Committee on Human Resources, Skills and Social Development, and Status of Persons with Disabilities.

Aziza Akhmouch is the Head of the Cities, Urban Policies and Sustainable Development division within the Centre for entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities of the OECD. She oversees a team of 30+ experts providing governments with new data, evidence, analysis and guidance in a wide range of urban policies to foster smart, inclusive, competitive and sustainable cities. Amongst others, she oversees the OECD metropolitan and National Urban Policy Reviews, and a broad range of thematic work related to housing, transport, cities and inclusive growth, cities and environment, metropolitan productivity and governance, and localizing the Sustainable Development Goals. Aziza Akhmouch spearheaded the OECD Principles on Urban Policy and the OECD Water Governance Initiative. She also manages the OECD Champion Mayors Initiative for Inclusive Growth, the OECD Roundtable of Mayors and Ministers, and the OECD-UN Habitat-Cities Alliance National Urban Policy Platform. She holds a PhD and Ms. Degree in Geography, specialized in Geopolitics from the University of Paris 8-Vincennes, and a Master’s degree in international relations from the University of Paris-Dauphine.

Mr. Elkin Velasquez Monsalve is the Regional Director of UN-Habitat in Latin America and the Caribbean. He co-leads the Regional Action Plan for the implementation of the New Urban Agenda in LAC. Elkin also has served as Leader of Regional and Metropolitan Planning Unit at Nairobi-HQ and started the flagship initiative on National Urban Policies. He was Chief of the Urban Governance Section; coordinator of the Safer Cities Programme and temporally responsible for the Gender Unit.

Elkin has wide experience in the field, particularly in Latin America, assisting national and local governments in areas like urban governance, territorial planning, urban safety and area-based public policies. He also developed research in these areas and taught at several universities.

Elkin is a national of Colombia. He studied Public Administration at the ENA (French National School of Public Administration); obtained a Ph.D. in Geography, specializing in Territorial Policy and Planning, at the University of Grenoble (France); and did graduate in Engineering at School of Mines, National University of Colombia in Medellin. 

Matthew Green has served as MP for Hamilton Centre since 2019. Previously, he served for the 2014-2018 term as the Ward 3 Councillor on Hamilton City Council.

In all of his work as an elected official, and earlier as a small business owner and as the former executive director of the Hamilton Centre for Civic Inclusion, Matthew has consistently advocated for initiatives and policies that promote environmental protection, racial and social equity, and economic justice.

The first person of colour to be elected to Hamilton City Council, Matthew Green is the son of a former ironworker and retired school teacher who plays in a gospel and blues band and mother who retired from years of public service with Industry Canada while continuing to support climate and Indigenous justice campaigns into her own retirement. Matthew believes deeply in governments that support anti-poverty initiatives and that recognize and support working class people. He knows that the same Hamilton steel industry that employed thousands of workers and stimulated significant industrial development in Canada also withered and left many families economically vulnerable.

Matthew’s background is firmly rooted in community organization. Among his many accomplishments, he has advocated for barrier-free access to healthy living on First Nations territory and in the inner city of Hamilton, successfully opposed the opening of a casino in his city, and fought to make Hamilton the first city in Ontario to adopt an environmental bill of rights and to license Payday loan regulations on predatory lenders. Additionally, his opposition to police carding and racial profiling helped bring about more stringent provincial policies on how local police interact with communities.

As the NDP critic for Public Ownership, National Revenue, Public Services and Procurement and Treasury Board, and as deputy critic for Ethics, he strives to ensure that the working-class values of Hamilton are represented in Ottawa. He stands with Jagmeet Singh and the NDP to fight for universal pharmacare, affordable housing, urgent action on the environment, racial justice, and the rights of Indigenous peoples.

Matthew has a B.A. in political science and legal studies from Acadia University, as well as certificates in government leadership and social enterprise initiatives from Harvard University.

Having played free safety for the Acadia and McMaster University football teams, Matthew maintains an avid interest in local amateur sports, culture and the arts.

Dr. Richard Florizone is President and CEO of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and President Emeritus of Dalhousie University. Originally from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Richard has held senior roles with the Boston Consulting Group, Cambridge University, Bombardier Aerospace, the International Finance Corporation, and the University of Saskatchewan. He currently serves as a Council Member for the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) and is a member of the Board of MDA. Part scientist and part strategist, Richard has a strong track record of forging collaborative partnerships to build institutions and communities that are intelligent, inclusive, and inspiring. Dr. Florizone holds a Ph.D. in Physics from MIT and is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Engineering.

Appointed Université de Sherbrooke rector in June 2017, Pierre Cossette has built a solid management team, composed equally of women and men, with a broad and complementary range of backgrounds and experiences. He has launched a strategic planning process that is rallying the university’s driving forces to guide its development until 2022, based on its unique contribution to Québec and Canada’s society. Throught this plan, UdeS has been given a Platinum Rating from the global STARS certification in sustainable development program in 2020, at its first attempt. This accreditation recognized UdeS academic community’s outstanding commitment to sustainability.

For a sixth consecutive year, UdeS student body is showing a growth that illustrates its programs appeal and its research dynamism. The research revenues of the University and its affiliated centers are experiencing exceptional growth, rising up to $ 205.2 million, a 60% raise since 2017.

He is president of Quebec’s Bureau de cooperation interuniversitaire (BCI) since July 2019. BCI regroups all Quebec universities.

He holds degrees in Medicine from the Université de Montréal, in Internal Medicine from the Université de Sherbrooke, and in Epidemiology and Biostatistics (MSc) from McGill University. He is a Université de Sherbrooke professor since 1997 and was chief of the CHUS and head of the Faculty of Medicine and Health sciences (FMSS) Departments of Medicine from 2004 to 2010. He was dean of FMSS from 2010 to 2017. 

Chris Carder is a Serial Entrepreneur with more than 20 years experience in the Digital/Technology Sector and a sought-after Startup Advisor, Investor and Advisory Board Member.

Serving as the first-ever Executive Director of the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Schulich School of Business. The Office leads the development of accelerator/incubator services for the School and its various programs, builds new partnerships throughout the wider innovation ecosystem and designs innovation-centric Work Integrated Learning programs.

The Office also leads the continued expansion of the ‘Schulich Startups’ Community- now supporting more than 150 student/alumni companies.

Chris also serves as Co-Director of Entrepreneurial Studies at Schulich and as the Special Advisor on Entrepreneurship and Innovation to the Office of the President- York University.

Chris placed second in the Seymour Schulich Teaching Excellence Awards (Graduate Programs) in 2019/2020 with ENTR 6960 (Mentorship Match) and also teaches in the Schulich Executive MBA Program (New Venture Design).

He is the past President & Co-Founder of ThinData (Canada’s largest email marketing services provider) – acquired by TC Media (Transcontinental) in 2008.

His volunteer work in the non-profit sector includes serving as Chairman of the International White Ribbon Campaign and he has been recognized as the Canadian New Media Awards Volunteer (and Employer) of the Year.

Biography is not available.