The Empire Club of Canada
Thursday, November 14, 2024
The Empire Club of Canada is proud to present our annual Empire Nights housing event entitled Solving the Housing Crisis: Innovations in Building, Policy and Planning. This year’s event will address Canada’s housing shortage, highlighting the innovators at the forefront transforming how we build the homes required for our growing population.
The event will feature a panel of leading experts in the housing sector, along with special remarks and a presentation by Dr. Mike Moffat, Senior Director of Policy and Innovation at the Smart Prosperity Institute, who will provide a realistic assessment of the challenges ahead.
*The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada.*
*Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.*
The Empire Club’s panel of housing experts, alongside Dr. Mike Moffat, will include Ana Bailão, Head of Affordable Housing and Public Affairs at Dream Unlimited Corp., George Carras, Founder and CEO at R-LABS Canada, and Geoff Cape, CEO at Assembly Corp. The discussion will be moderated by Cara Stern, Senior Media Producer at Smart Prosperity Institute. Together, they will focus on the innovative solutions being adopted by industry, policy makers and city planners — and the barriers that continue to stifle progress.
On November 14, 2024, join us for our annual discussion about building more housing supply and restoring affordability to the housing market for both renters and home buyers.
The Empire Nights at the Club offer an evening of passed canapés, refreshments, a theater-style presentation, and opportunities for networking — creating an ambiance for an evening dedicated to exploring serious solutions for the housing crisis.
Ana Bailão is the head of affordable housing and public affairs for Dream Unlimited Corp. She is a municipal leader and housing expert, former Deputy Mayor of Toronto, long-time City Councillor, and former candidate for mayor.
After establishing a successful career in the private sector Ana was first elected to City Council in 2010. In her 12 year tenure at Toronto City Hall she served on multiple committees, and represented Toronto at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, achieving national recognition for her work as one of Canada’s leading voices for city-building and housing. As the Chair of Toronto Community Housing and the city’s inaugural Chair of Housing and Planning Ana secured unprecedented billions in investment from other governments for housing, and championed innovative solutions including historic planning and zoning changes, and established CreateTO to manage city real estate.
In 2023 Ana placed a solid second in the largest by-election in Canada’s history with a strong campaign for mayor focused on housing and city services. Today, Ana remains focused on making cities more livable and inclusive, working with partners across all sectors and regions.
For almost 35 years, Geoff Cape has been at the forefront of promoting urban innovation and environmental sustainability across diverse platforms. As CEO of Assembly Corp, Geoff has a long background in real estate and urban planning. Geoff began with a hammer, framing new builds and restoring century homes off the east coast at the age of 19. He has been a builder, planner, operator, and a long time advocate for sustainable cities, and green infrastructure. Geoff is most well known for starting Evergreen in 1991, and transforming the 42 acre site at Evergreen Brick Works in Toronto, into an internationally recognized centre for environmental excellence.
Selected in 2018 as a Member of the Order of Canada, and in 1999 as “Top 40 Under 40”, Geoff has also been honoured with the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in recognition of “Canadians who have made outstanding and exemplary contributions to their communities or to Canada as a whole.” In 2007, Geoff won the prestigious Schwab Foundation’s “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” award. Geoff was founding Chair of the Sustainability Institute, past Board member of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, and the Peter F. Drucker Foundation Selection Committee. Geoff has been a regular participant and speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland and on their “Future of Urban Development Advisory Board” and “Technology Pioneers Selection Committee”. Geoff is a Global Fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation.
Geoff lives in the Annex neighbourhood in Toronto with his wife Valerie and three boys Toma, Ben and Sebastien, and cycles to work every day—even in blinding snow storms.
George Carras is a Professional Engineer, entrepreneur and trusted innovator in Canadian real estate. In 1995, he founded his first company, RealNet Canada Inc., which became the official source of industry information to over 45,000 real estate professionals, industry associations and government institutions.
George is currently the founder & CEO of R-LABS Canada, the Real Estate Industry Venture Builder, a partnership of innovative corporations, institutions and game-changing entrepreneurs co-founding new companies that solve major problems in real estate and housing. He is a past president of Toronto NAIOP, a co-founder of the NAIOP REX awards program and the Schulich Developers Den Case Competition.
Dr. Mike Moffatt is the Senior Director of Policy and Innovation at the Smart Prosperity Institute and an Assistant Professor in the Business, Economics and Public Policy group at Ivey Business School, Western University. Mike’s research at SPI focuses on the intersection of regional economic development, building child-friendly, climate-friendly housing and communities, and clean innovation.
In 2017, Mike was the Chief Innovation Fellow for the Government of Canada, advising Deputy Ministers on innovation policy and emerging trends. He has also previously held the titles of Director (Interim) of the Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management, Directory of Policy at Canada 2020, and Chief Economist for the Mowat Centre at the University of Toronto.
Mike has worked with politicians and policymakers of all political stripes in several countries to craft more effective public policy. From 2013 to 2015, Mike served as an economic advisor to Liberal leader Justin Trudeau.
Mike holds a Ph.D. in Management Science from Ivey Business School and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Rochester. Outside of his clean economy work at SPI, Mike is a disability-rights activist.
Cara Stern is a journalist who has spent her career creating educational content to help people understand the intersection of housing, affordability, and politics. She spent almost a decade as a producer on The Agenda with Steve Paikin, the flagship current affairs program on TVO, the Ontario public broadcaster. While at TVO, she created discussions on a wide variety of topics with a passion for housing debates. She also produced several political leadership debates. She is a host of the Missing Middle podcast, where she has conversations with economist Mike Moffatt and guests related to the disappearing middle class in Canada.
