Energy Forum 2026

Charged: Ottawa's Energy Moment

Ottawa's energy future won't build itself. As electrification accelerates and demand from AI infrastructure, defence, and a booming economy strains existing systems, the decisions made now will define whether Ottawa leads or lags.

The Energy Forum 2026 convenes the people who will shape that outcome including utility leaders, financiers, city planners, First Nations partners, developers, and national policy voices, to tackle three interconnected challenges: understanding where Ottawa's energy system stands today and what it's missing; securing the financing and partnerships needed to fund the transition equitably and at pace; and seizing the policy, infrastructure, and development opportunities that will position Ottawa for the next decade of growth.

This is not a status update. It's a working session for the people building what comes next.

This forum is designed for every business leader who depends on reliable, affordable power to operate, grow, and compete. Whether you're in real estate, technology, defence, health care, retail, or professional services, the decisions being made about Ottawa's energy grid, infrastructure investment, and electrification timelines will impact your costs, your capacity, and your opportunities for years to come.

Energy is the foundation everything else is built on and the conversation happening in this room will influence how Ottawa grows, what gets built, where investment flows, and how competitive our region becomes.

If you're building a business, employing people, or planning for the future in this city, join the conversation.

Agenda:
8:00 - 8:30 a.m. | Registration
8:30 - 8:45 a.m. | Opening Remarks 
8:45 - 9:05 a.m. | Opening Keynote: Francis Bradley, President & CEO, Electricity Canada
Global Energy Shifts and Canada's Strategic Role

9:05 - 9:50 a.m. | Panel 1: Ottawa's Energy Future 
Ottawa's economy is accelerating, but is its energy system keeping pace? This opening panel sets the strategic stage with voices from across the energy spectrum, from the local grid to nuclear power to global technology infrastructure.

Together they'll examine the gaps that could hold Ottawa back, the innovators and non-traditional providers rewriting the rules of energy delivery, and what it all means for business competitiveness, investment attraction, and long-term prosperity. If you want to understand where Ottawa's energy story stands right now and where it needs to go, this is where the conversation starts.

Panelists:

• Mike Gladstone, VP Utility Public Affairs and Communications, Enbridge
• Laurie Heuff, Vice President, Distribution, Systems Planning & Asset Management, Hydro Ottawa
• Jamie Pinkney, Lab Infrastructure & Project Manager, Ciena
• Candice Johnston, Director, Corporate Affairs, Bruce Power
• Moderator: Ken Little, Vice President, Development, Scout Clean Energy

9:50 - 10:20 a.m. | Networking Break sponsored by Scout Clean Energy  

10:20 - 11:05 a.m. | Panel 2: Financing and Delivering the Energy Transition 
Knowing what needs to be built is one thing. Paying for it, permitting it, and actually getting it done is another. This panel gets into the business realities of the energy transition, exploring how projects get financed, what public-private partnerships look like in practice, and what it takes to move from ambition to shovels in the ground.

With perspectives spanning Indigenous project leadership, legal and regulatory expertise, defence and national security, community development, and utility policy, the conversation will also tackle one of the most important dimensions of any major energy project: who has a seat at the table and why that shapes whether projects succeed or stall.

Panelists:

• Korey Kauffeldt, Lead Energy Project Coordinator, Algonquins of Pikwakanagan First Nation
• Jessica Sheridan, Partner and Co-Leader, Defence & National Security Group, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP
• Karen Sparks, Executive Director, Wesley Clover Parks 
• Matthew Wilson, Manager, Policy and Government Relations, Hydro Ottawa
• Moderator: Dave Walsh, Managing Partner, National Capitol Region, KPMG  

11:05 - 11:50 a.m. | Panel 3: Ottawa's Energy Opportunity 
The final panel brings it home. With the strategic landscape set and the financing realities on the table, this conversation turns to execution at scale: what Ottawa needs to do right now to position itself for the growth that is coming. Developers, city planners, and infrastructure investors will dig into where policy, planning, and capital need to align, what is actually blocking progress, and how the right partnerships can accelerate solutions that no single sector can deliver alone.

With voices from residential development, commercial real estate, municipal government, and global infrastructure finance, this panel reflects the full scope of what energy-ready growth looks like in a city moving as fast as Ottawa. The opportunity is real.

Only one question remains; are we are ready to seize it?

Panelists:

• Daniel Byrne, President, Main + Main
• Nichole Hoover-Bienasz, Director, Climate Change & Resiliency, City of Ottawa
• Michelle Taggart, President, Taggart Homes, Tartan Homes
• Craig Walter, Partner, Head of Infrastructure M&A for the Americas, Infrastructure National Practice Leader, Deloitte 
• Moderator: Brian Detchou, Sr. Director of Natural Resources, Environment & Sustainability, Canadian Chamber of Commerce 

11:50 - 1:00 p.m. | Networking Lunch sponsored by Hydro Ottawa 

Keynote Speaker: Francis Bradley, President & CEO, Electricity Canada


 

Speakers:



All attendees are encouraged to bring small electronic items for recycling at the conference. Free on-site hard drive shredding will also be available. All collected devices will be securely data wiped by the Electronic Recycling Association (ERA), with reusable items refurbished and donated to charities across Canada in need. 


Sponsorship opportunities available here.