COVID 1000 and Beyond:
Building Better Cities
for a Robust Recovery

Canada’s cities will soon hit 1000 days of living with COVID.

On December 7, we’re convening people across Canada to explore how COVID shaped our cities and revealed urgent priorities.

Our program features an incredible lineup of city builders and urban champions:

Welcome—11:00 am ET | 8:00 am PT

  • Alexandra Cropp—Senior Operations Manager, Mokwateh, Winnipeg

  • Steve DeRoy—Director, The Firelight Group, Vancouver

  • Mary W. Rowe—President and CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto

Making Better Choices—11:15 am ET | 8:15 am PT

  • Ahmed El-Geneidy—Professor, School of Urban Planning, McGill University, Montreal

  • Howaida Hassan—Director Urban Growth and Open Space, City of Edmonton, Edmonton

  • Benjamin de la Peña—CEO, Shared-Use Mobility Center, Chicago

  • Mary W. Rowe—President and CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto

Making Better Lives—11:45 am ET | 8:45 am PT

  • Betty Lepps—Director of Urban Relationships, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, Vancouver

  • Donnie Rosa—General Manager, Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, Vancouver

  • Mary W. Rowe—President and CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto

Making Better Cities—12:00 pm ET | 9:00 am PT

  • Marcy Burchfield—Incoming Vice President, Transit Planning, Metrolinx, Toronto

  • Kate Graham—Senior Advisor, Colliers, London 

  • Alicia John-Baptiste—President and CEO, SPUR, San Francisco 

  • Bruce Katz—Director, Nowak Metro Finance Lab, Drexel University, Washington D.C.

  • Mary W. Rowe—President and CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto

  • Peter Sloly—Canadian Urban Institute Fellow, Ottawa 

  • Graham Singh—CEO, Trinity Centres Foundation, Montreal 

  • Tim Tompkins—Principal, ShareCitySharedSpace, New York

Making Better Places—12:50 pm ET | 9:50 am PT

  • Jennifer Angel—Chief Executive Officer, Evergreen, Toronto 

  • Åsa Kachan—Chief Librarian and CEO, Halifax Public Libraries, Halifax 

  • Dorian Moore—Vice President, Archive Design Studio, Windsor 

  • Amina Yasin—Chair and Commissioner, Vancouver City Planning Commission, City of Vancouver

  • Mary W. Rowe—President and CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto

Making Better Homes—1:20 pm ET | 10:20am PT

  • Lacey Jones—Program Director, QomQem Coastal Connections, Victoria 

  • Sarah Murray—Executive Director, North Park Neighbourhood Association, Victoria

  • Rachel Phillips—Executive Director, Peers Victoria Resource Society, Victoria 

  • Mary W. Rowe—President and CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto

  • Janine Theobald—Director of Collaborative Engagement, Alliance to End Homelessness in the Capital Region, Victoria 

1-on-1 with Minister Hussen—1:35 pm ET | 10:35am PT

  • The Honourable Ahmed Hussen—Minister of Housing and Diversity and Inclusion

  • Mary W. Rowe—President and CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto

Making Better Decisions—1:40 pm ET | 10:40 am PT

  • Zahra Ebrahim—CEO, Monumental, Toronto

  • Jean-Noé Landry—Canadian Urban Institute Fellow, Montreal 

  • Jennifer Moore Rattray—Chief Operating Officer, Southern Chiefs'​ Organization, Winnipeg

  • Carolyn Whitzman—Adjunct Professor and Housing Researcher, University of Ottawa, Ottawa 

Making Better Communities—2:00 pm ET | 11:00 am PT

  • Rosanne Haggerty—President and Chief Executive Officer, Community Solutions, New York City

  • Dan Hill—Director, Melbourne School of Design, Melbourne 

  • Mary W. Rowe—President and CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto

The Next 1000 Days: Making Better Futures—2:30 pm ET | 11:30 am PT

  • Ana Bailão—Canadian Urban Institute Fellow, Toronto 

  • Zahra Ebrahim—CEO, Monumental, Toronto

  • Michael Emory—Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, Allied Properties REIT, Toronto

  • Michel Leblanc—Président et chef de la direction de la Chambre de commerce du Montréal métropolitain, Montreal

  • Dale McFee—Chief of Police, Edmonton Police Service, Edmonton 

  • Mary W. Rowe—President and CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto

1-on-1 with Minister Bennett—1:15 pm ET | 10:15 am PT

  • The Honourable Carolyn Bennett—Minister of Mental Health and Addictions and Associate Minister of Health

  • Mary W. Rowe—President and CEO, Canadian Urban Institute, Toronto


COVID 1000 and Beyond:
Building Better Cities
for a Robust Recovery