The Empire Club of Canada
Hybrid
Thursday, May 21, 2026
Golf Canada’s story offers a compelling vision for the future of sport in Canada. With 6 million players, 70 million rounds played annually, and a diversified funding model built on corporate partnerships, major events, and foundation support—underscored by a shift from a “sport of invitation” toward greater accessibility—Golf Canada shows how strategic innovation can drive both growth and resilience. At the same time, many National Sport Organizations are grappling with rising costs, flat government investment, fragmented structures, and heightened expectations around governance, safety, and inclusion—pressures that force difficult choices about how to sustain programs, support athletes, and deliver community value over the long term.
Join us on Thursday, May 21st when the Empire Club of Canada brings together Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum; Ontario’s Minister of Sport, The Honourable Neil Lumsden and Jacqueline Ryan, CEO, Canadian Olympic Foundation and Chief Brand and Commercial Officer, Canadian Olympic Committee to ask: What’s good for the game?—and what that question reveals about building sport ecosystems that are financially resilient, community‑focused, and aligned with national priorities and public sentiment about Canadian sport in a changing North American landscape. Using golf as a sharp, real‑world case study, NHL Features Reporter for Prime Monday Night Hockey, Christine Simpson will moderate the discussion, unpacking the decisions and conditions that have enabled Golf Canada’s success—from evolving its business model to leveraging emerging technologies and shifting consumer behaviours to redefine how people engage with the sport. Attendees will leave with concrete, transferable insights that leaders across Canadian sport can apply as they design sustainable models and navigate the trade‑offs required to move from short‑term survival to sustained performance and long‑term impact for athletes, organizations, and communities alike.
With a sports management career spanning 30 years in Canada, Europe and the United States, Laurence Applebaum proudly returned home when he was named Chief Executive Officer of Golf Canada, the National Sport Federation and governing body for golf in Canada in July of 2017. In his role as CEO, Applebaum oversees the executive management and strategic direction of Golf Canada’s multi-faceted business which includes Membership & Sport; Commercial Operations overseeing all revenue and marketing activities; fostering key relationships at the provincial, national, and international level; and conducting Championships including the RBC Canadian Open and CPKC Women’s Open. The Toronto native previously served five years as Executive Vice President of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he oversaw a variety of strategic and operational initiatives. Prior to joining the WTA, he served as the Toronto-based Vice President of Salomon Canada and worked in a variety of progressively senior roles at Wilson Sports and Nike. Married with three children, Applebaum is a graduate of the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University where he received an Honours in Business Administration (HBA) degree.
Neil Lumsden was first elected as MPP for Hamilton East–Stoney Creek in 2022, and currently serves as Ontario’s Minister of Sport. A former CFL player and executive, he won four Grey Cups and is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Ontario Sports Halls of Fame. Beyond the field, he has led major sporting events, run a successful marketing agency, and served as Director of Sport at Brock University. A long-time community volunteer and youth coach, Neil continues to champion sport and recreation across Ontario.
Jacquie Ryan is the Chief Brand and Commercial Officer at the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and CEO of the Canadian Olympic Foundation, where she oversees all commercial operations, including revenue growth, brand strategy, partnerships, digital, and sustainability. Since joining the COC in 2019, she has led transformative initiatives such as the launch of the Team Canada app, the Team Canada Impact Agenda, award winning brand campaigns, and the re-set of the Canadian Olympic Foundation business, while also securing landmark partnerships with lululemon, Tim Hortons, Canadian Tire, and RBC.
With over two decades of leadership in brand, sponsorship, and sport marketing, Jacquie previously served as Vice President, Sponsorship Marketing and Philanthropy at Scotiabank, where she led the historic $800 million Scotiabank Arena naming rights deal and oversaw acclaimed hockey marketing programs. Prior to that, she was Head of Olympic Marketing at RBC, where she and her team delivered the highly successful Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games marketing program.
Jacquie’s contributions to marketing and sport have been widely recognized. In 2024, she was named Marketer of the Year by the Canadian Marketing Association. In 2023, she was honored as a “Games Changer” by the Sports Business Journal. Other accolades include Bay Street Bull’s 2021 Women of the Year, The Hockey News’ Top 100 People of Power and Influence in Hockey (2019), Toronto Star’s Most Influential Women in Hockey (2018).
Jacquie currently serves on the Board of the Canadian Marketing Association and is a previous Board Director with the Michael Garron Hospital Foundation.
Christine Simpson is currently an NHL Features Reporter for Prime Monday Night Hockey. But she has worked in the hockey world for over 30 years, first as the marketing manager of the Hockey Hall of Fame. The London, ON native was hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1995 as their first in-arena game host. Her broadcasting career began when she joined Sportsnet when the network launched in 1998 and during her over 2 decades at Sportsnet & Hockey Night in Canada she interviewed the biggest & brightest stars of the NHL. South of the border she has worked as a rinkside reporter & host for NHL games on ABC, ESPN, MSG & hosted a show on the NHL Network. Simpson made history when she was part of the first all-female broadcast of an NHL game in Canada on International Women’s Day in 2020.
