Overview
Delivery method
Hybrid
Duration
2 days (February 19 and 20, 2025)
Audience
All public servants at all levels; open to the general public
Description
Visit GC Data Conference 2025 : Discover the line-up of speakers, explore the full agenda and the video for the GC Data Conference 2025.
The GC Data Conference, now in its ninth year, is the primary forum for public servants and data leaders to increase awareness, share knowledge, and be inspired by data innovations from across the Government of Canada and beyond.
With the theme of "Empowering Insight and Action," this year's conference will explore how people play an active role in strengthening data stewardship, how enhancing data knowledge can support the progression from data literacy to data fluency, and how the government is unlocking scientific data for the benefit of Canadians and the planet.
Participants will gain insights into tangible data skills and strategies through action-oriented interactive sessions with peers and learn from leading experts about data governance, practical ways to support Indigenous data sovereignty, and the ethical use of artificial intelligence.
This event is delivered in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with the subject-matter support and expertise of the GC Data Community.
Speakers
- The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, President of the Treasury Board
- Bob McDonald, Science Journalist and Host, Quirks and Quarks, CBC Radio
- Anna Rosling Rönnlund, Creative Director and Co-Founder, Gapminder
- Dr. Jude Kong, Assistant Professor, University of Toronto, and Executive Director, Africa-Canada Artificial Intelligence and Data Innovation Consortium
- Julia Lane, PhD, Author and Professor, New York University Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
- Taki Sarantakis, President, Canada School of Public Service
- Annette Gibbons, Deputy Minister, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Mark Schaan, Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet, Artificial Intelligence, Privy Council Office
- Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar, Deputy Minister, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
- Christiana Cavazzoni, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Digital Officer, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Eric Quan, Manager, Strategic Data Policy and Analytics, Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Ima Okonny, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Data Officer, Employment and Social Development Canada
- Martin Cooke, PhD, Professor, Department of Sociology and Legal Studies, University of Waterloo
- Nadia Ahmad, Director General, Chief Data Officer and Head of Evaluation, Global Affairs Canada
- Steven Alexander, PhD, Section Head, Reconciliation Through Science Unit, Ecosystems and Oceans Science, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Christopher Valiquet, Director, GC Data Community, Canada School of Public Service
- Geneviève Tanguay, Vice-Chief Science Advisor, Office of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada
- Céline Lescop, Project Manager, The Shift Project
- Harmony Johnson, Executive Lead, BC First Nations Regional Data Centre project | Vice-President, Indigenous Wellness & Reconciliation, Providence Health Care
- Robert Seiner, President & Principal KIK Consulting & Educational Services, LLC
- Tiankai Feng, Head of Data Strategy and Governance, Thoughtworks Europe
- Tom Henheffer, CEO, Arctic Research Foundation
- Major-General C.J. Zimmer, MSM, CD, Chief Digital Transformation and Defence Chief Data Officer
- Pansy Leung, Director General, Information and Data Directorate Service, Innovation and Integration Branch, Canada Revenue Agency
- Daria Borovitsky, Senior Data Analyst, Chief Data Office, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
- Sarah Hajjaji, Senior Project Officer, Canada Digital Adoption Program, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
- Dr. Ranjana Sharma, Chief Scientist, Natural Resources Canada
- Jenneke Le Moullec, Chief, Quality of Life Statistics Program Hub, Statistics Canada
- Joel Martin, PhD, NRC's Chief Digital Research Officer and Chief Science Officer and Research Director for the Canadian AI Safety Institute
- Manu Singh, CIO and Chief Services and Digital Officer, Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada
- Karen Myers, President and CEO of Blueprint
- Jennifer LaPlante, Chief Growth and Investment Officer, Canada’s Ocean Supercluster
- Niall O’Dea, Ph.D., Senior Assistant Deputy Minister, Strategic Policy, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Carla Cochrane, Data Sovereignty Implementation Lead, First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba
- Robert Pascal, Director General, Economics, Statistics and Data Governance and Chief Data Steward, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Shohini Ghose, PhD, P.Phys. NSERC Chair for Women in Science and Engineering; Professor, Physics and Computer Science, Wilfrid Laurier University; and Chief Technology Officer, Quantum Algorithms Institute
- Tom Lebrun, AI Standardization Policy Lead, Standards Council of Canada
- Ashkan Ebadi, Senior Research Officer, National Research Council Canada
- Gail McDonald, Senior Executive Policy Advisor, Strategic Research and Data Innovation Branch, Indigenous Services Canada
- Sarah Bérubé, Policy Analyst, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Teresa D’Andrea, Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Data Officer for Human Capital Management at Public Services and Procurement Canada
- Jean-Noé Landry, Senior Advisor, Data Collaboration
- Josée Bégin, Assistant Chief Statistician, Social, Health and Labour Statistics Field, Statistics Canada
- Anastasia Chebakova, Manager, Data Integration and Dissemination, Office of Drug Research and Surveillance, Controlled Substances Directorate, Health Canada
- Diane Spencer, Deputy Chief Data Officer
- Abraham Francis, MSc, Founder, Aronia Collective, Clarkson University
- Dr. Stephanie Sinclair, Lead for Data Sovereignty, First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba
- Simon Bridge, Manager, Geomatics and Information Management, Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Dominic Parent, Chief Data Officer, Public Services and Procurement Canada
- Frédéric Nolin, Manager, Technical Services Group, Office of Energy Efficiency, NRCan
- Karim Bardeesy, Executive Director, the Dais, Toronto Metropolitan University
Moderators
- Francis Bilodeau, Associate Deputy Minister, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada
- Dominic Rochon, Deputy Minister and Chief Information Officer of Canada, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
- Marc Brouillard, Chief Information Officer and Assistant Deputy Minister, Digital Services, Public Services and Procurement Canada
- Élise Legendre, Chief Data Officer, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
- Vanessa Vermette, Vice-President, Innovation, Policy and Skills Development Branch, Canada School of Public Service
- Nancy Hamzawi, Executive Vice-President, Public Health Agency of Canada
- Stephen Burt, Chief Data Officer of Canada and Assistant Deputy Minister, Data and Digital Policy
- Christine Minas, Executive Director, Policy, Partnerships and Science, Office of the Chief Data Officer, Health Canada
- David Collister, Manager, Office of the Chief Data Steward, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Jennie Thompson, Director, Data Innovation and Partnerships, Strategic Research and Data Innovation Branch, Indigenous Services Canada
- Arran McPherson, Ph.D., Assistant Deputy Minister, Ecosystems and Oceans Science, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Christiane Fox, Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet and Deputy Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
- Erika-Kirsten Easton, Chief Data Officer and Director General, Enterprise Service, Data and Architecture Directorate (formerly Service and Data Modernization Directorate), Service and Digital Group, Transport Canada
- Karine Duhamel, Director of Indigenous Strategy, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
- Kaili Levesque, Associate Deputy Minister, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Eric Gagné, Chief Data Officer, Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada
Master of ceremonies
- Irwin Bess, Executive Faculty Member, Canada School of Public Service
- Tereza Cundy, Executive Advisor, Fisheries and Oceans Canada
