The Empire Club of Canada
Hybrid
Friday, April 17, 2026
Millions of Canadians step into caregiving roles when the people they love begin to age or face serious health challenges. For many, this responsibility arrives not at a quiet stage of life, but in the midst of their most demanding years. In 2026, caregiving continues to fall disproportionately on women—particularly those in the sandwich generation, who are caring for young children while also supporting aging parents or relatives.
These women are often maintaining full-time careers in dual-income households, yet remain the first call when a child is sick, the primary coordinators of household life, and the default caregivers when an elderly parent’s needs increase. The result is a relentless, overlapping set of responsibilities with little margin for rest.
This reality carries consequences for families, for employers and for society at large. Many women see their health suffer, their workplace productivity decline, or are forced to scale back—or leave—their careers altogether. A recent McKinsey report on the Women’s Health Gap identifies informal caregiving as a significant factor shaping health outcomes and productivity, underscoring the scale and urgency of the issue.
These realities raise critical questions for 2026 and beyond: What responsibility do our health systems, employers, and governments have to better support caregivers? What tools, policies, and services are needed to make caregiving more sustainable—for individuals, families, and the economy as a whole?
On April 17th, 2026, The Empire Club of Canada will explore these questions in an empowering and timely examination of the sandwich generation, featuring The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Chair of BayCrest Foundation/Vice Chair, Office of the CEO, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Amy Coupal, Chief Executive Officer at the Ontario Caregiver Organization, Ann Hui, Generations Reporter, Globe and Mail, and moderated by Teri Hart, journalist and TV Host.
To kickoff the event, we are excited to hear from Liza Vityuk, Partner, McKinsey & Company about the latest research from the McKinsey Health Institute – which highlights that unpaid caregivers in the workforce are growing significantly. Liza will outline the impact to business and women in the workforce.
Through personal stories, evidence-based insights, and practical solutions, this event will offer meaningful guidance for both organizations and individuals—and affirm a powerful truth: individual women should not have to carry this burden alone.
Liza has more than 15 years of experience in the consumer space. Since joining McKinsey in 2012, she has focused on helping clients with commercial and growth strategies, building digital businesses, and improving customer experience with retail, consumer goods, and direct-to-consumer clients globally.
Examples of Liza’s recent client work include:
– helping lead a multiyear digital transformation and serial business-building with a US retailer
– deploying a global program that leveraged advanced analytics, occasion research, and extensive capability-building to step-change portfolio and pricing capabilities across North America, Latin America, the UK, and European markets
– supporting an incoming CEO of a Canadian business unit (BU) in the development of growth goals, plans, and top-team effectiveness
– assisting an organization redesign to achieve ambitious growth aspirations for a Canadian private equity (PE)-owned consumer company
Liza is a recognized leader and practitioner who leads McKinsey’s thinking on digital, analytics, and gen AI topics in the retail sector. She also chairs the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee in Canada which oversees programs and efforts for more than 850 McKinsey colleagues.
Before joining McKinsey, Liza worked at Danone in various roles in supply chain, commercial, and project management, spending two years leading integration with the largest Russian dairy company, including commercial and operational strategy, sales and distribution network redesign, and enterprise resource planning (ERP)-system integration.
Expertise
Growth, Marketing & Sales
Private Equity
Consumer
Digital & Analytics
Strategy
Past Experience
Danone
Sr. Integration Manager
Activity Manager
Demand Planning Supervisor
Education
Moscow State University — Higher School of Economics
MA, advanced mathematics & econometrics
The Honourable Lisa Raitt joined CIBC Capital Markets as a Vice Chair in January 2020, having previously worked in both the public and private sectors. Ms. Raitt’s current focus is on senior client coverage and business development with clients in the energy, infrastructure and industrial sectors, which align closely with her deep expertise.
Prior to her current role, Ms. Raitt was the President and CEO of the Toronto Port Authority. She was elected into the House of Commons in 2008, where she went on to hold three senior portfolios serving as Minister of Natural Resources, Minister of Labour, and Minister of Transport. Most recently, Ms. Raitt was the Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada.
Ms. Raitt holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Francis Xavier University and a Master of Science (Chemistry) from the University of Guelph. She possesses an LL.B from Osgoode Hall Law School, was called to the Ontario bar in 1998 and was a Harold G. Fox Scholar at the Inns of Court in London, England.
Currently, Ms. Raitt is a Director on the Boards of LFL Group, Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO), Baycrest Health Sciences and the Global Risk Institute. She also is the Chair of the Board of Governors of St. Francis Xavier University, Vice Chair of CARE Canada, and Co-Chair of Coalition for a Better Future.
In June 2024, Lisa was presented with an Honorary Doctorate in Business from the University of Ottawa.
Amy Coupal is the CEO of the Ontario Caregiver Organization, a charitable organization that exists to support Ontario’s 4.2 million family caregivers. Amy has led not-for-profit organizations in both the healthcare and education sector, with a focus on mobilizing change through knowledge exchange and collaborations that positively impact the lives of individuals and communities.
Amy serves as a board Director and committee member on many healthcare initiatives focused on issues relevant to caregivers. She has a Masters of Education from the University of Calgary, holds the Institute of Corporate Directors Director designation, and is a National Health Fellow with the Health Leadership Academy.
As a caregiver for most of her life, Amy helped to support her brother who had Cerebral Palsy. She was also a caregiver to her mother throughout her cancer and palliative care journey and now supports her father through older adulthood.
As the Globe and Mail’s generations reporter, Ms. Hui examines how demographic shifts have contributed to deepening divides in the world around us. Her stories look at how generational groupings matter more today than arguably ever – creating differing experiences of the same world, and differing perspectives around our country’s biggest challenges.
As part of her work, she’s written on social isolation among seniors, on teenagers growing up in a post-#MeToo world, and burnout among millennial women. Previously, she covered food, Toronto city politics, and national news for The Globe.
She’s also the author of the bestselling book ‘Chop Suey Nation,’ which tells the stories of Chinese restaurant owners in small towns across Canada. Chop Suey Nation was named one of the best books of 2019 by the Globe, The Walrus, and the CBC, and won the 2020 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction from Wilfrid Laurier University.
With over 30 years broadcasting experience Teri Hart is one of Canada’s most recognized and sought-after media personalities, a multi-talented host, interviewer, critic and producer.
Teri is the host, creator and executive producer of “The Hart of it All” a podcast about the realities of caregiving which launched in 2025.
Currently appearing as the face of Super Channel with Teri Hart’s weekly Super Channel Superpicks and engaging IG Live interviews. Teri is also a frequent contributor to CBC’s national radio show “Commotion with Elamin Adbelmahmoud”. Teri was the face of The Movie Network for 19 years, the entertainment reporter for CITY News and Breakfast Television for 5 years and has also appeared on CBC, The Morning Show (Global), E-Talk and The Social (CTV).
Teri is a member in good standing of the Critics Choice Associationn and volunteers her time with Pioneering Women in support of the Canadian Picture Pioneers.
Follow Teri:
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/terihart/?hl=en
