The Empire Club of Canada
Hybrid
Monday, May 12, 2025
Canada is in the midst of a Global Trade War. This puts Ontario — as Canada’s economic engine — at the heart of the battle. At this unprecedented moment, the Empire Club of Canada will host The Honourable Peter Bethlenfalvy, Ontario’s Minister of Finance for his annual speech in anticipation of Ontario’s 2025 Provincial Budget.
This event will discuss the Ontario government’s plan to protect businesses, workers, and families during a time of economic uncertainty, while setting the stage to make Ontario the most competitive place in the G7 to invest, create jobs and do business.
On May 12, 2025 – join us at The Empire Club of Canada for a keynote speech and fireside chat with Minister Bethlenfalvy regarding his first budget since the Conservative Government received a new mandate in the 2025 General Election. The discussion will be moderated by Amanda Lang, Anchor of Taking Stock, CTV.
Peter Bethlenfalvy is Ontario’s Minister of Finance. He was elected as MPP for Pickering—Uxbridge in 2018 and was re-elected in both 2022 and 2025.
As Minister of Finance, he is responsible for the management of the province’s finances and building the environment for Ontario’s long-term economic prosperity. Through four provincial budgets and four fall economic updates, Minister Bethlenfalvy continues to deliver on the government’s plan to build a strong Ontario that supports people and businesses today, while laying a strong fiscal foundation for future generations. Having secured two major credit rating upgrades and a positive outlook in 2024 alone, he has reversed a decades-long trend of downgrades under previous governments and strengthened the province’s fiscal standing in the face of economic uncertainty. With Premier Ford, he is working to Protect Ontario from the impact of U.S. tariffs by supporting workers, families, businesses and communities while strengthening the economy for long-term growth.
Prior to entering public service, Minister Bethlenfalvy served in senior leadership roles for several financial institutions including as President and Chief Operating Officer of TD Securities (USA) and Co-President of DBRS.
He has served on the Board of Directors for many charitable organizations. In 2014, he joined the True Patriot Love Expedition to the magnetic North Pole in support of Canadian military families.
He holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Business Administration from McGill University which included a year at the HEC School of Management, Paris, and a Master of Arts in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
Award-winning business journalist Amanda Lang has been covering business in North America for 25 years. Lang is chief financial correspondent for CTV News, contributing to its flagship national newscasts and across its networks. She is also the host of Taking Stock, a weekly national television program airing across multiple Bell Media networks including BNN Bloomberg, CP24 and CTV News Channel. Taking Stock also airs as a weekly podcast and on the iHeart radio network. She is also host of Wonk, a podcast produced by the Public Policy Forum. Lang was previously host of Bloomberg Markets, a global program airing in Canada on BNN Bloomberg and on the Bloomberg Television network globally. Prior to that, Lang was CBC’s senior business correspondent, reporting for its flagship nightly news program, The National, and host of The Exchange with Amanda Lang, a daily business program airing on CBC News Network. For five years before that Lang hosted The Lang and O’Leary Exchange, with Kevin O’Leary. And prior to that the pair co-hosted SqueezePlay, on BNN, for 6 years.
Lang studied Architecture at the University of Manitoba, before becoming a journalist. Her first job in journalism was for the Globe and Mail, and subsequently Lang joined the Financial Post newspaper, where she became the paper’s New York correspondent. In New York she made the leap to television, where she first was part of the team that launched BNN and before long wound up at CNN as a reporter and anchor.
Lang is a senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Lang is past chair of the board of Covenant House Toronto, the largest agency in Canada serving homeless and at-risk youth. She is a member of the board of Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada. She is a member of the board of the Wolf Cooper Foundation, which supports the Wolf Scholars at the University of Toronto.
Lang is also a best-selling author. “The Power of Why,” (HarperCollins, October 2012) explores the connection between curiosity and success. “The Beauty of Discomfort” (HarperCollins, April 2017) examines how difficult change can be, and set out strategies for how to achieve it.
