Archived events
Canada - US Relations & The Presidential Election
October 29, 2024 @ Vancouver, BC
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Meet the panelists
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Mario Canseco has analyzed and conducted public opinion research since 2003, designing and managing research projects for clients across private and public sectors. Mario is a sought-after commentator on political and sociological issues, and writes a column for Glacier Media. His articles have also appeared in the Vancouver Sun, the Globe and Mail and the National Observer.
Starting in 2007, Mario’s work as an electoral forecaster in four different companies has resulted in 127 correct predictions of democratic processes in Canada and the United States, including five Canadian federal elections, 24 Canadian provincial elections and three United States presidential elections.
Throughout his career, Mario coordinated research teams for a global public opinion firm that operated in Canada, the United States and Britain, worked as an editorial researcher for Peter C. Newman’s books “The Secret Mulroney Tapes” and “Here Be Dragons”; as a researcher at the Liu Institute for Global Issues at UBC; and in various journalistic roles around the world.
Mario holds a Masters of Journalism from the University of British Columbia and a Bachelors in Communications.
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Maria is the founder and Chair for the American Chamber of Commerce – Pacific Chapter, in Canada.
For the past seventeen years, Maria has worked for RBC as a Commercial Banker where she loves helping her clients grow.
Prior to joining RBC, Maria was the Executive Director for the American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka.
The American Chamber of Commerce is the larges business federation in the world and has over 120 offices worldwide and represents over 3 million members with over $400 billion in annual trade.
Maria also has experience working for the Canadian Federal Government with both the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and the National Research Council (NRC).
Maria grew up in Vancouver and attended UBC where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science.
In her spare time she works on her own company, which distributes The Original Garden Broom (www.TheOriginalGardenBroom.com) and loves skiing, golfing and swimming.
None of the above would be possible without the support of her loving husband Tom!
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Richard Mahoney specializes in public policy issue management, regulatory affairs and governance matters, and has experience navigating the Canada – U.S. relationship. He has helped solve client business challenges in the fields of energy, public infrastructure, telecommunications, financial services, technology, land use and planning, and cultural industries.
He has served as a senior advisor to the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin throughout the former Prime Minister’s career in public life. He has also advised and played leadership roles in several Ontario provincial campaigns. Richard spent many years as a partner of one of Canada’s largest law firms, serving as Chair of its Public Policy Practice Group. He is also a former senior VP at the infrastructure investment arm of a major Canadian pension fund and successfully led a practice at Canada’s largest communications consultancy.
A frequent media commentator on Canadian politics and public policy, Richard is also a former President of the Ontario Liberal Party. He has served on a number of private and charitable sector boards and holds a law degree from the University of Ottawa.
Richard is also a member of McMillan LLP.
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Stewart Prest teaches political science as a lecturer with the Department of Political Science. He teaches and researches in a variety of areas of the discipline, ranging from BC politics, to the comparative study of democratic institutions, to international relations and the study of contentious politics. He is a frequent commentator on local, provincial, and federal issues in the media.
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Gary Mar is an accomplished and respected leader with deep experience in government and business. Prior to joining the Canada West Foundation in 2020, Gary served as President and CEO of the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC), the national trade association representing the service, supply and manufacturing sectors within the upstream petroleum industry.
He has broad experience in government and served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly in the Province of Alberta from 1993-2007. During his time as an elected official, Gary held several Cabinet portfolios – Community Development; Health and Wellness; Education; Environment; and International and Intergovernmental Relations. Gary has also served as the Official Representative (Minister-Counsellor) of the Province of Alberta at the Canadian Embassy in Washington D.C as the Province of Alberta’s Representative in Asia from 2011 to 2015.
Following his government service, Gary was an independent consultant working for both Chinese and Canadian companies seeking assistance with trans Pacific trade and investment. In 2016, he co-founded Canadian Advantage Petroleum Corporation which successfully purchased heavy oil in Alberta and sold it directly to refineries in China.
Gary has a law degree from the University of Alberta and was appointed as an Adjunct Professor at the U of A’s School of Business in Marketing, Business Economics and Law, and is also Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business. In 2022, Gary was appointed a member and chair of the Council of the Alberta Order of Excellence and was also awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal for public service.
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Calvin is a consultant with a global boutique risk, security and intelligence advisory firm, the Critical Risk Team. A advisory group working with corporate clients and lawyers firms, often in the space that includes, transnational threats, national security, illicit activity and international threat actors. He is a RCMP veteran with 33 years of policing, including the last decade running intelligence operations in BC and then as the Senior Operations Officers of the RCMP’s Federal Major Projects Group tasked with countering the highest level threats from transnational organized crime networks the triads, Iranian crime groups and cartel operations in Canada and abroad. His teams consisted of the RCMP. DEA, HSI, US Border, CBSA, Vancouver City and others. He was a member of the National Transnational Organized Crime, National Money Laundering, the CEO (Montreal, Toronto Vancouver), the AGEO (Group) on illicit finance and drugs and worked intimately with foreign operations including with the AFP, US entities, Scotland Yard and EUROPOL. His duties included overseeing the ports, borders, marine as well as targeting the cartels, including as the National Ops Coordinator for Cartel Operations. He moved to the private sector in 2018 and remains active in mitigating these threats, including advising and supporting global entities addressing foreign threats, including those in Canada. He recently co-authored a policy paper on Canadian threats and responses, outlining illicit threats in Canada that received significant media attention nationally and globally (https://icaie.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ICAIE-Canada-FINAL-Policy-Brief-Illicit-Trade-Vectors-Threat-Convergence-Harms-to-Canadas-National-Security-27-November-2023.pdf).
Calvin is also a founding members and on the Steering Committee of a global NGO - think tank, on countering foreign threats, the Council on Countering Hybrid Warfare (CCHW). CCHW is based in New York, associated with NATO, and he serves as the Director of their Global Security and Intelligence Advisors. He also advises foreign governments, lectures at law schools, advises political and policy leaders, and international media on the complexities of transnational threats and networks. Calvin is based in Vancouver.