Summit program
Day 1 | Tuesday, May 5
Day 1
Tuesday, May 5
| 7:30 – 8:30 | Registration & Breakfast |
| 8:30 – 8:45 | WELCOME Graham Carr, President and Vice-Chancellor of Concordia University |
| 8:45 – 9:00 | INDIGENOUS WELCOME Ross Montour, Environment, Indigenous Rights & Research portfolio, Mohawk Council of Kahnawà:ke |
| 9:30 – 10:00 | Plenary Talk Addressing energy transition through a theory of change Markham Hislop, Energy journalist, CEO of Energi Media |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | PANEL Jennifer Garard, Director of Engagement, Living Labs and EDI, Volt-Age Panelists Vaitea Cowan, UK Lead at Fifty Years Melina Laboucan-Massimo, Founder and Executive Director, Sacred Earth Solar & co-founder, Indigenous Climate Action Ahmed Hanafy, Partner at Dunsky Energy and Climate Advisors |
| 11:00 – 11:15 | Break |
| 11:15 – 12:00 | FIRESIDE CHAT Grégoire Baillargeon, President, BMO Financial Group |
| 12:00 – 13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30 – 14:00 | Plenary Talk Moe Kabbara, Chief Executive Officer, The Transition Accelerator |
| 14:00 - 15:00 | Breakout Sessions / Workshops |
| 15:00 – 15:15 | Break |
| 15:15 – 16:15 | Breakout Sessions / Workshops |
| 17:30 – 22:00 | Gala Dinner, Theatre St-James GUEST SPEAKER Henk Rogers, Founder of Blue Planet Alliance |
Day 2 | Wednesday, May 6
Day 2
Wednesday, May 6
| 8:15 – 8:50 | Breakfast |
| 8:50 – 9:00 | INTRODUCTION Karim Zaghib, Chief Executive Officer, Volt-Age |
| 9:00 – 9:45 | KEYNOTE ADDRESS Jeff Dahn, Professor Emeritus in Physics and Chemistry, Dalhousie University |
| 9:45 – 10:45 | PANEL Climate and Energy Security Panelists Denis Faubert, Strategic Advisor to Scale AI, former CEO of CRIAQ and CARIC, and former General Manager of Hydro-Québec’s Research Institute (IREQ) Pauline Baudu, Program Director – Climate Security, CDA Institute |
| 10:45 – 11:00 | Break |
| 11:00 – 12:15 | PANEL Indigenous Clean Energy Leadership Panelists Aphrodite Salas, Associate Professor, Journalism, Concordia University; Co-leader of Theme 3, Volt-Age Tommy Palliser, Executive Director of the Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board Eric Atagotaaluk, Director of Pituvik Sarvaq Energie Inc. Sarah-Lisa Kasudluak, Vice President of the Pituvik Landholding Corporation in Inukjuak |
| 12:15 – 13:30 | Lunch |
| 13:30 – 14:30 | Securing Canada’s Energy Future Through Academic Leadership |
| 14:30 – 15:00 | CLOSING REMARKS |
Themes guiding the Summit
The 2026 Electrify Society Summit’s program will be guided by four broad themes that are central topics in the electrification space today. These themes, which aim to include academia, industry, government, finance and community, will guide the Summit’s presentations and activities, although they will also be discussed as a larger whole.
Canada’s leadership in the energy transition: past, present, and future
Canada has long been a pioneer in clean energy, particularly through its historic development of hydropower. While the country has mastered clean energy production, it now faces the challenges of how to manage, store, and optimize it for a sustainable and equitable net-zero emissions future. How can Canada reclaim its leadership and close the loop from energy generation to intelligent consumption?
Beyond the grid
The electric grid remains at the heart of electrification, but it also represents a limiting structure. Today, new technologies are empowering decentralized energy systems, where communities and individuals can produce, store, and manage their own power through solar panels, electric vehicles, and local energy storage systems (ESS). As distributed generation expands, we must ask: do we still need a traditional grid, or do we need to reinvent it?
Financing the energy transition: new approaches, new frameworks
The global shift to clean energy requires innovative financial models. Around the world, new mechanisms are emerging that integrate carbon accounting, impact investment, and clean technology financing. These approaches redefine value by linking financial returns to climate performance. How can Canada align its financing frameworks with this global momentum and position clean tech as both an environmental and economic driver?
Breakthroughs, barriers, and next steps in electrification research
Research and innovation are essential to advancing electrification, but key gaps remain. What breakthroughs are shaping the field? Where are the barriers? Initiatives like Volt-Age are exploring co-creation approaches that connect researchers, industries, and policymakers to accelerate progress. Yet the challenge persists: research and industry often depend on each other in a “chicken and egg” dynamic. How can more inclusive and collaborative frameworks turn this interdependence into a strength?