2026 National Conference

Co-hosted by the Ivey Foundation and EFC, this gathering is part of the Atlantic Electricity Cooperation Initiative, a regional effort bringing together partners to collectively support and advance informed decision-making on electricity systems across Atlantic Canada.  This event will feature a series of panel discussions with perspectives from across the region and an opportunity to collect audience input.

The Opening Reception convenes conference participants, local leaders, and community members to foster networking and relationship-building ahead of the conference. The evening will feature welcome remarks from political leaders, with light refreshments and hors d’oeuvres served.

We are honoured to open the conference with a prayer and smudging ceremony led by Elder Joe John Sanipass, a respected Mi’kmaq Elder from Elsipogtog First Nation whose lifelong dedication to culture, language, service, and traditional craftsmanship has inspired communities across Atlantic Canada. The opening will be followed by an engaging and interactive presentation by Julie Pellissier-Lush, Mi’kmaq storyteller, photographer, actor, drummer, bestselling author, and Prince Edward Island’s first Indigenous Poet Laureate.

Canada’s institutional, financial and political orientation is almost exclusively oriented to the priority and urgency of building economic resilience and protecting national sovereignty. What are the implications for advancing environmental solutions in this context? Join us to discuss practical approaches for keeping environmental progress moving forward — even when it’s not the headline.

Speakers:
Armine Yalnizyan, Economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers, Atkinson Foundation
David Coletto, CEO, Abacus Data
Karel Mayrand, CEO, Trottier Foundation
Alex Doukas, Director, Polluter Pays Project

Session 2 focuses on strengthening environmental and philanthropic sector resilience against a backdrop of increasing and anticipated alt-right attacks fueled by mis/disinformation and powerful industry lobbying. Participants are invited to participate in smaller, concurrent discussions designed for deeper exchange and practical insight.

Session 2A: Culture and Narrative Wars – fighting fire with fire
Anti-environment forces have managed to successfully shift the Overton Window of Canadian public opinion through the use of highly sophisticated online and offline infrastructure designed to influence and shift narratives in ways that have directly contributed to the rollback of environmental progress in many areas. But, there is hope! Come and learn about a collective of Canadian superstars who are now building the counter-infrastructure, to fight fire with fire!

Speakers:
Aurore Fauret, Climate Program Director, Trottier Foundation
Gareth Gransaull, Executive Director, ReGeneration
Katie McChesney, Executive Director, Organizing Exchange
Juhi Sohani, Co-Founder, Weaver

Session 2B: Indigenous Litigation
This session explores the growing role of Indigenous-led litigation in advancing environmental protection, rights, and sovereignty across Canada. The discussion will highlight emerging strategies, lessons learned, and what it means to support this work in a rapidly evolving legal and political landscape

Speakers:
Sara Mainville, Managing Partner, JFK Law
Merle Alexandre, Principal, Miller Titerle Law Corporation
Meaghan Calcari Campbell, Program Officer, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

Session 2C: Guarding Against Sector Attacks and Misinformation
As environmental and social sectors face increasing scrutiny, coordinated attacks, and misinformation, how can funders and leaders respond with clarity and resilience? This session shares lived experiences, lessons learned, and emerging approaches to building stronger, more intersectional defence infrastructure.

Speakers:
Betsy Apple, Executive Director, Global Climate Legal Defense (CliDef)
Joanna Kerr, Founder and Principal, NutHatch
Kate Turner, Coordinator, Building Power Network
Sadia Zaman, CEO, Inspirit Foundation

During lunch, conference attendees can connect with representatives from Environment Funders Canada’s Funder Interest Groups: Let’s Talk Climate and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs).

There are many theoretical discussions about the economic opportunities associated with proactively building a low-carbon, nature positive economy. This session aims to move past opportunity articulation, to instead explore practical examples of where opportunities have actually been seized and implemented, to better understand how barriers were overcome and power was shifted.

Speakers:
Jigar Shah, Co-Managing Partner and Host of the Energy Empire and Open Circuit Podcasts, Multiplier*
Brian Kettenring, Co-President, Global Fund for a New Economy
David Flood, Executive Director, Wahkohtowin Development GP Inc.
Rachel Doran, Executive Director, Clean Energy Canada

Session 4 provides the opportunity for EFC Members to lead sessions of their choosing.

Session 4A: Climate & Cities

Cities are a primary arena for climate action — and the place where momentum is both most visible and most fragile. Over the past decade, sustained engagement, investment, program delivery at the city level has produced real gains. Today, that progress is meeting significant headwinds.

This session examines the opportunities and barriers for sustaining climate momentum in cities. Where is climate momentum holding, and what’s driving it? Where is it eroding, and why? What role can funders play in sustaining it at a moment when the work is harder than it has been in years? We’ll hear from practitioners who operate at the intersection of funding, program delivery, and municipal relationships — then open the floor to share insights from other funders and  experiences across Canada.

Session facilitators:
Rod Ruff, President & CEO, Alberta Ecotrust Foundation
Sarah Lusina, Director, Grants, Programs and Engagement, Metro Vancouver Zero Emissions Innovation Centre (ZEIC)

Session 4B: Why Water Security Matters Now: What Funders Can Do Next

Water security touches many of the issues funders already care about, often in ways that are not immediately visible. Join peers and practitioners to explore innovative approaches, hear examples from across Canada, and discuss emerging opportunities for impact, investment, and collaboration.

Session facilitators:
Lori Rissling Wynn, Director, Grants & Initiatives, Alberta Ecotrust Foundation
Jenna Duncan, Senior Manager – Special Projects, Habitat and Environmental Protections, First Nations Fisheries Council of BC
Kris Archie, CEO, The Circle on Philanthropy

Session 4C: The Evaluation Clinic

Love it or loathe it, evaluation remains a core component of philanthropic practices. In this collaborative session, participants will tap into the collective wisdom of the room to share their evaluation challenges or offer insights on burning questions faced by other environmental funders.

Session facilitators:
Trilby Smith, Senior Director for Programs and Learning, Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation
Florianne Lemoine, Program Director, Climate and Health, Definity Insurance Foundation
Ben Liadsky, Program Manager, The Counselling Foundation of Canada

Session 4D: Nature Finance

Session facilitators:
Jeremy Guth, Trustee, Woodcock Foundation
Carolynn Beaty, Executive Director, The Sitka Foundation

Our offsite dinner takes us to a Charlottetown favourite, Lobster on the Wharf, where stunning waterfront views set the scene for an evening of kicking back with great company. Our conference attendees will enjoy a buffet featuring a PEI potato bar, fresh seafood, and lively entertainment from local musicians.

2025 marks EFC’s 25th anniversary! Don’t miss a trip down memory lane, with a chance to contribute your photos and memories to our shared Prezi presentation.

Please note that our dinner will be on the second floor of the restaurant and includes an extended deck overlooking Charlottetown Harbour.

Greet the sun with a Sunrise Ceremony led by Elder Junior Peter Paul, a reflective gathering to honour the Creator, Mother Earth, residential school survivors, children, and elders. Participants will form a circle to smudge and join in a blessing and song as the sun rises, giving thanks for the light it brings to humans, animals, and plants.

Drawing on new research recently commissioned by EFC, this session examines strategies to grow overall funding for environmental work by engaging new donors, sectors, and approaches, with the goal of increasing the scale and impact of environmental philanthropy.

Speaker:
Steve Joneslee, Principal, Steve S.J. Lee Consulting
Suzanne Duncan, Vice-President, Philanthropy, KCI
JP Bervoets, Chief Strategy Officer, Community Foundations of Canada
Devika Shah, Executive Director, Environment Funders Canada (Moderator)

During the lunch and field trips portion of the conference, participants will grab a boxed lunch and join one of two field trips to step outside the conference centre, learn from local leaders, and visit special places of interest.

Field Trip A: Exploring Climate, Coastlines, and Community on PEI’s North Shore (supported by RBC Foundation and Wilburforce Foundation)

Field Trip B: Walking the Forests of PEI: Restoration, Stewardship, and Place at Macphail Woods (supported by North Family Foundation and TD Friends of the Environment)

This interactive session will feature a series of short presentations from delegates involved in existing or emerging collaborative funding initiatives (“funder collabs”). Through brief snapshots, presenters will share collaborative approaches, highlight current areas of work, and invite others to learn more or get involved. Participants will then move into World Café-style discussions to explore ideas in more depth, spark connections across the funding community, and identify opportunities for ongoing partnership. The session is designed to facilitate distributed leadership around collaboration and deepen understanding of those in the network.

Facilitator:
Barb Sweazey, Founder and Principal, Barb Sweazey Professional Services Inc.

This closing session explores whether meaningful environmental progress can be achieved within our current economic system, or whether philanthropy can and should play a role in ushering in a new and improved economic paradigm as a prerequisite to solving the biodiversity and climate crisis.

Speakers:
Colette Murphy, CEO, Atkinson Foundation
Linda McQuaig, Author and Journalist
Rachel Wasserman, Fellow, Canadian Anti-Monopoly Project
Arlene Dickenson, Founder and General Partner, District Ventures Capital
Steven Guilbeault, Member of Parliament, Government of Canada

All are welcome to join the first in-person meeting of the Atlantic Canada Funders Collaborative to meet with peers who already are or are planning to fund organizations and initiatives in the Atlantic provinces.