The Empire Club of Canada
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
The Empire Club of Canada Presents:
Fueling Canada’s Low-Carbon Future
Innovation and new technologies are driving Canada toward a low-carbon future. Canadians have more transportation energy options than ever before.
What role does the transportation sector play in meeting Canada’s goal of Net-Zero by 2050? How will we maintain the movement of people and goods across Canada and beyond while reducing GHG emissions?
Our panelists are at the centre of this challenge. Join us for the next installment of the “Fuel for Thought Speaker Series” to learn more about ‘made-in-Canada’ solutions that will fuel our future.
This event was produced in partnership with the Canadian Fuels Association as part of the Fuel for Thought Speaker Series.
Speakers:
The Hon. Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, Government of Canada
Susannah Pierce, Country Chair, Shell Canada
*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.*
Susannah has spent the last 20 years of her career at the intersection of environmental, social, governance interests in Canada and abroad.
Her expertise lies in bringing business, governments, communities, Indigenous groups and other non-governmental actors together to support the development of energy resources from initial stages of project design through permitting and consultation to investment decision, construction, operations and decommissioning.
In her current role as Shell Canada Limited President and Country Chair she is responsible for integrating and coordinating business investment and operational performance across Shell’s lines of business in Canada including upstream, downstream, integrated gas and new energies, and is accountable for Shell’s overall reputation and stakeholder relations in the country.
While President and Country Chair, Susannah is also General Manager, Renewable Energy Solutions for Canada. In this capacity she is responsible for identifying investment opportunities in Shell’s growth pillar which invests in renewable power, carbon capture sequestration, renewable fuels including hydrogen and nature-based systems.
Susannah was formerly Director of Corporate Affairs, LNG Canada, a joint venture of Shell, Petronas, Mitsubishi, PetroChina and Kogas. She was responsible for the project’s federal and provincial regulatory approvals, Indigenous relations and negotiations, government relations, media relations, community consultation and communications. When the joint venture participants took a Final Investment Decision to build the facility in 2018, it was heralded as the single largest private sector investment in Canadian history.
Susannah joined the LNG Canada project as a Shell secondee after holding roles as Vice President, Value Chain Integration, Shell Canada; Vice President, Communications, Upstream International; and Head, Government Relations for Shell Canada.
Prior to joining Shell in 2009, Susannah was Director, Government Affairs for TC Energy based in Washington, D.C. and New York City, where she was responsible for driving government policy at federal and state levels in support of TransCanada’s existing power and pipeline interests, as well as new business development activities.
Susannah has served on various for profit and non-profit boards. She is currently on the board of The Vancouver General Hospital Foundation and serves on the Executive Committees of the Business Council of BC and the Business Council of Canada. She is also on the Asia Business Leaders Advisory Council, the Canadian Global Affairs Institute Advisory Council, co-Chair of the Business Council of Alberta’s Define the Decade and co-Chair of the Canada Chamber of Commerce Western Executive Council.
Susannah holds a MA from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a BA from The George Washington University. She also speaks English, French and Spanish.
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson was first elected as the Member of Parliament for North Vancouver in 2015. He has previously served as Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Raised in Saskatchewan, Minister Wilkinson spent more than 20 years in the private sector, holding leadership positions with a number of companies dedicated to the development of green technologies.
Minister Wilkinson’s work as CEO of both QuestAir Technologies and the former BioteQ Environmental Technologies (now BQE Water), in addition to his role as Senior Vice-President of Business Development with Nexterra, provided him with extensive experience in the energy and environmental technology sectors. He also previously worked at Bain & Company, a leading global management consultancy.
A Rhodes scholar, Minister Wilkinson made use of his educational background in public policy when he worked as a constitutional negotiator and a federal-provincial relations specialist for former Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow. He has served on several industry and charitable boards, including United Way of the Lower Mainland and the BC Technology Industry Association. He also served as a board member and treasurer of the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation.
Minister Wilkinson has deep roots in North Vancouver, where he is raising his family alongside his wife, Tara.