Speaking Engagements

Our professional speakers can enhance any corporate event with informed presentations on our global, national, provincial, municipal or industrial economic forecasts. Our economists will customize their presentation to your regional or industry requirements.

Call today to book our economists for your corporate event, contact Tricia Finter at 613-526-3280 or finter@conferenceboard.ca.

Available speakers

Glen Hodgson Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist

Glen Hodgson brings 29 years of experience and a specialization in international economic and financial issues to the position of Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist of The Conference Board of Canada.

Mr. Hodgson is responsible for overseeing the Board's macroeconomic outlook products, tourism, custom research, and conference programs. He is the Board’s chief spokesperson on economic issues, has written extensively on Canadian and international economic and financial issues, and is bilingual.

He plays a central role in enhancing the Board's public policy analysis. He is the editor and a contributing author of the book Crisis and Intervention: Lessons from the Financial Meltdown and Recession, published in November 2010. Glen is launching the Board’s latest research initiative, the Canadian Alliance for Sustainable Health Care. He took the lead in creating the Board’s International Trade and Investment Centre and has published over 140 articles and briefings. He is co-authoring a new series of briefings on the economics of pro sports in Canada.

Mr. Hodgson joined the Board in September 2004, after 10 years at Export Development Canada (EDC), where he held several senior positions, including Vice-President of Policy and Deputy Chief Economist. He also spent 10 years with the federal Department of Finance. From 1984 to 1988, Mr. Hodgson served as Advisor/Assistant to the Executive Director for Canada, Ireland, and the Caribbean at the International Monetary Fund.

Mr. Hodgson has an MA in Economics from McGill University and pursued PhD studies at McGill. He resides in Ottawa with his wife and the younger of his two sons, and spends his leisure time coaching youth soccer and cycling.

		Paul Darby Deputy Chief Economist

As the executive responsible for managing the technical aspects of the Conference Board’s economic modelling and forecasting work, Paul Darby is one of Canada’s foremost experts on using econometrics to determine the impact of policy decisions on the economy. Well known for his technical expertise and judgment, he is frequently sought after by government departments to spearhead economic and financial research. His clients have included but are not limited to: Finance Canada, the Bank of Canada, Industry Canada, most provincial governments, and the Council of the Federation.

Paul has been involved in projects such as the determination of Ontario’s structural deficit, the development of a model to forecast requirements for physicians and specialists for Ontario, the estimation of federal provincial fiscal imbalances, and the analysis of Canada-U.S. regulatory differences. He is regularly invited to appear before House of Commons and Senate committees.

Paul also manages the Board’s international consulting practice which has involved projects such as the development of econometric forecasting capability in the Ukraine, the development of socio-economic policy options in China and trade related capacity building in South East and South Asia.

Paul obtained his PhD in Econometrics and Monetary Theory from the University of Toronto, 1976; M.A.(Economics), University of Toronto, 1973 and B.A. Economics (Hons.), Carleton University, Ottawa, 1972. Awards: Maxwell MacOdrum Scholarship

		Pedro Antunes Director National and Provincial Forecast

As Director, National and Provincial Forecast, Pedro Antunes is responsible for managing a team of economists in producing the Conference Board’s national and provincial medium and long-term economic forecasts along with other economic indicators and reports. Pedro is a spokesperson for the Conference Board and does presentations on the forecast to clients and the public and is often cited in the media.

Pedro joined the Conference Board as an economist in 1991 after working for two years with the Canadian Forecasting Group at the Bank of Canada. He has moved progressively into more senior positions since joining the Board. Prior to his current role, he was Associate Director of the Conference Board’s Economic Services Group; and was responsible for custom research work and economic analysis. In addition, Pedro worked on several long-term projects with developing economies, including Tunisia, Morocco and Ukraine in order to provide decision-makers in these countries with appropriate forecasting and impact analysis tools.

In addition to the regular forecast publications, Pedro has been researching the impact of demographic change on the fiscal sustainability of health care, productivity, and long-term economic growth.

		Mario Lefebvre Director Centre for Municipal Studies

Mario is Director of Quebec Affairs and the Centre for Municipal Studies at the Conference Board of Canada. As Director, Centre for Municipal Studies, Mario has developed a tremendous knowledge and in-depth understanding of the economic and financial situations of Canada's cities. He regularly gives speeches across the country and conducts numerous media interviews.

Prior to his current position, Mario was a Senior Research Associate in the Economic Services Group the Conference Board. He had a major role in several international projects in such countries as Tunisia, Morocco and Ukraine, working closely with each country's Ministry of Finance. In doing so, he had the opportunity to travel multiple times to each of these countries.

From 1991 to 1997, Mario was an economist at the Bank of Canada, where he worked in the research and international departments. He published three Bank of Canada working papers on selected issues of regional economics.

Mario Lefebvre holds a M.Sc. and a B.Sc. degrees in Economics from the University of Montreal.

		Marie-Christine Bernard Associate Director Provincial Economic Trends

Marie-Christine is presently in charge of the medium and long-term provincial forecast and publication. As well, she has works on financed research projects and prepares alternative scenarios to the provincial forecast.

Prior to joining the Board in 1996, Marie-Christine was part of an energy and natural resources research group (GREEN) at l’Université Laval. She also did research for Gaz Métropolitain, a natural gas distributor in Montreal, on natural gas pricing for non-residential buildings in the province of Quebec.

Marie-Christine Bernard obtained her B.A. and M.A. in economics from l’Université Laval specializing in energy and natural ressources economics.