Toronto’s Troubles: Unpacking the City’s Challenges & Solutions
Roundtable Luncheon with Karen Stintz, John Tory and Peter Wallace
C.D. Howe Institute events and webinars are open to members and their guests.
Please follow this link or contact events@cdhowe.org to register.
Karen Stintz, President & Chief Executive Officer, Variety - The Children’s Charity of Ontario; former City Councillor, City of Toronto & former Chair, Toronto Transit Commission
Karen has secured the nomination to be the Federal Conservative candidate for Eglinton-Lawrence in the next Federal election and is currently President and CEO of Variety Village and Variety the Children’s Charity – Ontario.
Before joining Variety, she was a Toronto City Councillor for 11 years and while serving on Council was Chair of the Toronto Transit Commission.
Karen is a weekly political commentator for radio and contributes a monthly column to the North Toronto Post.
She has an BA from Western University, a Master of Science in Communication from Boston University and a Master of Public Administration from Queen's University.
John Tory, Company Director, Rogers Communications Inc.; former Mayor of Toronto
John Tory has enjoyed a multi faceted career as a lawyer, chief executive, corporate director, public servant, broadcaster and from 2014 to 2023 served as Mayor of Toronto, North America's 4th largest city.
John Tory has served as a managing partner of one of Canada's biggest law firms, as Chief Executive of its biggest cable and internet company, and as CEO of one of its biggest media companies.
He is an experienced corporate director of both public and private companies. Prior to being Mayor of Toronto he served as a member of the Board of Directors of companies such as Metro Inc(a large grocery retailer), Cara Operations (a national restaurant company)and Rogers Communications Inc where he chaired the Human Resources Committee. He has also been a long-standing member of the Rogers family trust and private company structure. He was reappointed to the RCI Board in 2024.
He was also elected Leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party and served in the Legislature of Ontario as Leader of the Official Opposition.
Equally important to John has been his volunteer involvement in the community whether as a founder and Chair of Civic Action, volunteer Chair and Commissioner of the Canadian Football League, Chair of the Toronto United Way campaign, Chair of three campaigns for St. Michael's Hospital or Chair of the capital campaign for the Toronto International Film Festival. He maintains active involvement in many charitable and community organizations in 2024.
As Mayor of Toronto he oversaw the achievement of an unprecedented three government $40 billion transit agreement, significant new housing initiatives, and was widely recognized for his passionate commitment to the unity of the City, a deep respect for its diversity and a commitment to sound financial management of the City's $17 billion budget which he oversaw.
John Tory led the team which guided Toronto through the COVID pandemic as successfully as any big city in the world. These efforts won widespread praise especially for the commitment to intensive communications efforts and world leading vaccination achievements.
As Mayor, John was also a champion for the City's economy, campaigning for investment especially in the fast growing tech and financial services sectors and was a committed and reliable partner for the Arts and Film sectors, among many others.
John Tory is the recipient of many honours and awards including being made a member of the Order of Ontario, the highest citizen award given by the Province of Ontario.
Peter Wallace, Senior Advisor, Boston Consulting Group; Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy; former City Manager, City of Toronto
Peter Wallace is a Senior Advisor at the Boston Consulting Group and a Fellow at the Munk Institute of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
Peter is an experienced public policy practitioner, with 40 years of service at all levels of government. Key roles include Secretary of the Treasury Board for the Government of Canada, City Manager of the City of Toronto and Secretary of Cabinet and Head of the Public Service for Ontario. Earlier senior roles in the Government of Ontario include Deputy Minister of Finance and Treasury Board, Deputy Minister of Energy, and Associate Secretary to Cabinet and Deputy Minister, Policy. He is an independent trustee for the University Health Network. He is past Chair of the Ontario Financing Authority, Great Lakes Fishery Commission and Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation.
Peter is a graduate of the University of Toronto, with a bachelor’s degree in Political Economy and Masters of Public Administration.
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