The Empire Club of Canada
Hybrid
Thursday, January 14, 2027
Canada enters 2027 on new ground. Geopolitical competition, industrial policy and a growing focus on economic security are redrawing the map for trade and investment, and the country is responding by building at home and diversifying its international export markets: opening its internal market, advancing nation-building projects and deepening partnerships around the world.
The ambition is clear. Turning it into lasting growth depends on capital: whether Canada can attract it, keep it and put it to work. Productivity continues to lag, too many promising companies look elsewhere to scale, and AI, energy, infrastructure and critical minerals are reshaping where investment flows. The question for the year ahead is: “What will drive Canada’s next growth cycle?”
On January 14, join The Empire Club of Canada for its annual Financial Outlook. Frances Donald, Chief Economist, RBC, returns to open the program with a concise overview of the macroeconomic environment heading into 2027, highlighting the key trends, risks and opportunities for the Canadian economy, one year after mapping the outlook for 2026 on this stage.
A forward-looking panel discussion follows, bringing together perspectives from capital markets, institutional investing and geopolitics with John McKenzie, CEO, TMX Group; Blake Hutcheson, President and CEO, OMERS; and Kirsten Hillman, Lead Strategic Advisor, Scotia Growth Institute, and Distinguished Fellow, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy; moderated by Andrew Willis, business columnist for the Report on Business at The Globe and Mail. The panel will offer insights on topics ranging from how capital is being deployed today to the barriers holding back productivity, and the policies and market conditions that would most strengthen long-term performance.
Join us as leaders from across Canada’s economy look past the uncertainty to the growth cycle the country can build by 2030, if it gets competitiveness and capital formation right.
Frances Donald is the Chief Economist at RBC and leads a team of economists who deliver economic analyses to help inspire and empower informed decision making in an evolving world. Frances is a leading voice on economic issues and is highly sought after by clients, government leaders, policy makers, and media in the U.S. and Canada for her deep insights on the macro-economic environment and financial markets in North America. She is recognized for her ability to effectively communicate complex economic issues to wide audiences.
Frances joined RBC from another financial institution where she served as global chief economist and strategist. In this capacity, she was responsible for forecasting global macroeconomic and financial trends, analyzing the economy and capital markets for potential opportunities and risks, and serving as a thought leader both within the firm and externally.
She’s a frequent public speaker and regularly appears in international media, including Bloomberg and CNBC.
Frances obtained a Bachelor of Economics from Queen’s University and earned her master’s degree in economics from New York University.
Ambassador Kirsten Hillman is one of North America’s leading experts on trade and international economic affairs. As one of Canada’s longest serving Ambassadors to the United States from 2020-2026, and the first woman appointed to this role, she led the highly consequential U.S.-Canada relationship through a period of volatility and transformation, spanning three U.S. administrations, two Canadian governments, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout her tenure, Ambassador Hillman established herself as Canada’s foremost strategic voice in Washington and across the U.S., building strong relationships with both Republicans and Democrats at the Federal and State levels.
With appointments to some of her country’s most senior diplomatic, policy, and trade positions, Ambassador Hillman served as a key advisor to three Canadian Prime Ministers, both Conservative and Liberal. As Canada’s Chief Negotiator for the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (2011-2015), Ambassador Hillman helped shape historic rules for open and predictable trade in the Indo-Pacific. She then served as Canada’s Chief Trade Negotiator (2015-2017), leading the branch of the Government of Canada responsible for all trade policy and trade negotiations, including discussions with India, China, the EU and the U.K. In late 2017 she was appointed to serve as Canada’s Deputy Ambassador in Washington in order to take up a central role in the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) including working with the U.S. Administration, Congress and the Business Community to ensure the successful conclusion and ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020.
Earlier in her career, Ambassador Hillman served as Canada’s Senior Legal Advisor to the World Trade Organization (2007-2011) in Geneva and as Chief Legal Counsel in the negotiation of several international environmental agreements. Ambassador Hillman currently serves as a Distinguished Fellow at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and as a strategic advisor to companies in Canada, the United States and Europe.
Ambassador Hillman’s leadership and influence have been widely recognized in both Canada and the United States. She is firmly established as one of the foremost experts on American First trade policies for Canadian audiences.
In 2022 she was named to Maclean’s Power List of 50 Canadians forging paths, leading debate, and shaping how we think and live, and was recognized by Washingtonian Magazine as one of Washington’s Most Powerful Women three consecutive times. She has been honoured with numerous leadership awards in the United States and Canada. Among others, in 2025, she was awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of her outstanding public policy contributions.
Blake Hutcheson is President and CEO of OMERS. He is responsible for the overall leadership and performance of the OMERS enterprise.
He was appointed OMERS President and Chief Pension Officer in 2018. His mandate included leading OMERS Pension Services, Strategy, Communications & Public Affairs, Legal, Technology and Operations, in addition to Asset Liability Management.
Blake previously served as President and CEO of Oxford Properties Group since 2010, and in 2014 he also became Chief Investment Officer, Real Estate and Strategic Investments and added the OMERS Platform Investments portfolio, an integral part of the OMERS innovative agenda.
Prior to OMERS, Blake was the Head of Global Real Estate with Mount Kellett Capital Management, a New York-based private equity firm with offices in key locations around the globe. Previously, he was Chairman and President of the Canadian, Latin American, and Mexican operations for CB Richard Ellis, the world’s largest real estate services company.
An appointee to the Order of Ontario and a former recipient of Canada’s Top 40 Under 40, Blake is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario. He also completed a Graduate Diploma in International and Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics (with Distinction) and a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development at Columbia University (where he received the Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2017).
Blake continues to play Masters Lacrosse every summer for his home town of Huntsville, Ontario. He is married and has two children.
John McKenzie is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TMX Group.
Mr. McKenzie is a member of the TMX Group Board of Directors and also a member of the Board of Directors of several TMX Group subsidiaries.
Mr. McKenzie has worked for TMX for over 20 years; prior to his appointment as CEO on August 17, 2020, he served as Chief Financial Officer and was responsible for corporate strategy, corporate development, investor relations and the financial management of the company as well as for the administrative oversight of TMX Group’s Capital Formation business. He has led various TMX acquisitions, including the Maple transaction, and the acquisitions of Montréal Exchange and Trayport.
From July 2015 to August 2016, Mr. McKenzie served as President of CDS, Canada’s equity and fixed income clearing house and a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group. Prior to that he was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and CFO of CDS.
Mr. McKenzie is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) and has an MBA from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University and an Honours BA from Wilfrid Laurier University. He has served on a number of boards, and is currently the Working Committee Chairman of the World Federation of Exchanges, and a Board Member and Treasurer for the Hamilton Health Sciences Foundation.
Andrew Willis is a business columnist for Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper. He been in journalism and communications for more than three decades, including serving for six years as senior vice-president at Brookfield Asset Management. He has co-written two books and frequently serves as a commentator on radio and BNN Bloomberg television.
