The Empire Club of Canada
Hybrid
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Toronto is a world-class city too often caught between big ambitions and everyday frustrations. From housing affordability and transit reliability to public safety, culture, and inclusive growth, the questions facing the city are immediate, practical, and deeply personal. As Toronto prepares to choose its next mayor, those questions carry even greater urgency.
Building on the spirit of the Toronto Star’s If I Were Mayor series and the annual City Report Card, this third annual Empire Club of Canada and Toronto Star event arrives at a defining moment for the city and the people who will shape its next chapter. Data, public sentiment, and lived experience come together to show where Toronto is performing well, where it is falling short, and what bold but realistic ideas could move the city forward.
Special remarks from Jordan Bitove, Publisher of the Toronto Star, will help frame the discussion, while polling conducted by Ipsos will offer a timely snapshot of how Torontonians see the city, its challenges, and its possibilities.
The discussion will explore not only what the numbers tell us about Toronto’s priorities, but also what residents are saying in their own words about the changes they want to see. Through a panel conversation moderated by Courtney Glen, Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications at Kilmer Group, featuring Edward Keenan, Columnist and host of First Up at the Toronto Star and Jennifer Keesmaat, President & CEO of Collecdev Markee, the event will connect city-wide sentiment with the real experiences and proposals of Torontonians.
Fresh polling, audience engagement, and a curated selection of civic voices will create a conversation grounded in evidence, shaped by public opinion, and animated by the stories and solutions of Torontonians themselves.
What qualities should our next mayor have, and what issues matter most to you?
Join us on September 22nd to find out whether the pollsters’ view of the city lines up with yours — and to explore what happens when the public’s ideas are treated not as commentary, but as a serious part of the city-building agenda.
Jordan’s distinguished career at the forefront of Canadian business includes ownership of Canada’s leading media brands, and significant investment in businesses related to technology, online gaming, real estate, hospitality, natural resources, and distribution.
As a leader in Canada’s sports industry, Jordan helped launch the Toronto Raptors basketball team, the first NBA franchise awarded outside the United States, and he was part of the ownership consortium that built the SkyDome (now Rogers Centre).
Since 2012, Jordan has been a member of the Board of Trustees for SickKids Foundation. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Toronto International Film Festival, the Board of Governors of Western University, and the Canadian Advisory Board for Right to Play. In 2012, he was a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for his philanthropic work. In November 2023, Jordan was awarded the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest civilian honour for extraordinary contributions.
Jordan is a graduate of Western University and holds the position of Honorary Consul to the Republic of North Macedonia
Jennifer Keesmaat is one of Canada’s leading urbanists and city-builders. Named one of Canada’s Most Powerful People by Maclean’s, one of Toronto’s Most Influential People by Toronto Life, and one of Canada’s Top Women of Influence, she has spent her career helping governments, communities, and the private sector tackle some of the most complex challenges facing cities, including housing affordability, sustainable growth, and resilient urban development.
Jennifer is President and CEO of Collecdev Markee, where she leads the development of new communities across the Greater Toronto Area with a focus on delivering sustainable, liveable neighbourhoods and expanding access to high-quality housing. Under her leadership, the firm is advancing innovative approaches to housing delivery, including purpose-built rental, affordable housing, co-operative housing, and modern methods of construction.
Previously, Jennifer served as Toronto’s Chief Planner, where she became widely recognized for championing city-building that balances growth, housing, mobility, public space, and environmental sustainability through a collaborative and forward-looking approach.
Jennifer continues to shape housing and urban policy nationally. She serves on Canada’s National Housing Council, advising the federal Minister responsible for housing on policies to improve housing affordability and supply across the country. She was also a member of the National Housing Supply Task Force, whose landmark report, Blueprint for More and Better Housing, has helped shape housing policy discussions across Canada.
She is the Chief Architect of the Declaration for Resilience in Canadian Cities, a national framework developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to help Canadian municipalities build more resilient, equitable, and sustainable communities. The declaration has informed resilience planning well beyond Canada.
Jennifer has advised leading academic and public institutions throughout her career. She is a Distinguished Visitor in Residence Emeritus at the University of Toronto, has served on the Advisory Board of the Urban Land Institute Toronto, the International Panel of Experts for Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority, and currently serves on The Ohio State University’s President’s Planning and Growth Advisory Board and Design Review Panel.
In recognition of her global impact on the planning profession, Jennifer was named by Planetizen as one of the 100 Most Influential Urbanists of All Time—a rare honour recognizing the thinkers and practitioners whose ideas have fundamentally shaped the way cities are planned and built around the world.
Courtney Glen is Vice President of Public Affairs and Communications at Kilmer Group, where she leads strategic advisory, government relations, and communications across the firm’s diverse portfolio of businesses and philanthropic initiatives.
With more than 20 years of experience spanning the public and private sectors, Courtney is a trusted advisor on complex policy, stakeholder, and reputational issues. Prior to joining Kilmer, she served as Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Toronto, playing a central role in shaping and advancing the city’s policy agenda on key social and economic priorities. At City Hall, she was instrumental in navigating complex intergovernmental relationships, aligning diverse stakeholders, and driving the implementation and communication of major initiatives.
Courtney has also held senior roles in public affairs consulting in Toronto, advising leading organizations on strategic communications and public policy. She has also been an advisor on many political campaigns, including John Tory’s three straight election wins in 2014, 2018 and 2022.
Courtney serves on the Board of Directors of Toronto Global, contributing her expertise to the organization’s mission of driving economic growth and investment in the Toronto region.
She holds a Master of Science in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh and an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Guelph
Edward Keenan is a Toronto Star columnist and the host of the flagship First Up morning newsletter. He has been covering the city of Toronto for more than 20 years, as a columnist at the Star and before that at as a columnist and editor of Eye Weekly, The Grid, and Spacing magazine. He has covered every mayor since the amalgamation of Toronto, and every election campaign since 2003. Edward is the author of two books, “Some Great Idea: Good Neighbourhoods, Crazy Politics and the Invention of Toronto” and “The Art of the Possible: An Everyday Guide to Politics.” Between 2019 and 2022, he served as the Washington Bureau Chief for the Toronto Star, covering two impeachment trials, the largest street protest movement in U.S. history, a contested election, and the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building. He lives in Bloor West Village with his wife Rebecca and their three children, and spends most of his leisure time coaching youth sports.
