CCI expands national policy and Alberta advocacy capacity to better serve Canadian scale-ups

The Council of Canadian Innovators, a national business association of 150 of Canada’s fastest-growing technology-intensive companies, is proud to announce the addition of two new members to our team, Laurent Carbonneau and Jess Sinclair.

In his role as Director of Policy and Research, Laurent Carbonneau will amplify our public policy research capacity across Canada and deepen CCI’s impact on national and provincial innovation strategies. Laurent is spearheading the launch of CCI Mooseworks, a policy newsletter focused on comparative innovation policy across jurisdictions.

‍ Subscribe here. ‍

“As the Council of Canadian Innovators has grown over the past eight years, the range of policy issues in the innovation economy has become broader and more complex. Laurent will help CCI engage more deeply with public policy issues impacting scale-up companies,” said Dana O’Born, Vice-President of Strategy and Advocacy.

Laurent comes to us from Universities Canada, where he worked on policy and government relations in the post-secondary education sector. Prior to that he worked in legislative, policy and issues-management roles on Parliament Hill in the NDP leader’s office, as well as a national central campaign. He is based in Ottawa.

In addition, Jess Sinclair has joined the team as Director of Government Affairs for Alberta. Jess is based in Edmonton and will be responsible for coordinating CCI’s advocacy in Alberta and across the prairie provinces. Previously, Jess served as a Chief of Staff to the Minsters for Children’s Services and Status of Women, and worked in Former Premier Jason Kenney’s Office as an issues manager.

“Western Canada is full of exciting technology companies, and in recent years the province of Alberta has taken important steps to build Calgary and Edmonton as innovation hubs. Government policy must work hand-in-hand with innovative companies, and Jess is ideally placed to foster those connections in Alberta,” said Dana O’Born, Vice-President of Strategy and Advocacy.

As CCI’s boots on the ground in Alberta, Jess is focused on the campaign trail of the 2023 election which is anticipated to get underway today. She will be watching for innovation policy developments and keeping innovators up to date with her election newsletter. Sign up here.

‍ About the Council of Canadian Innovators

The Council of Canadian Innovators was created in 2015 by Canada’s most successful technology CEOs to ensure their voice was heard in the public policy development process because for far too long, Canada’s public policy regarding innovation has been dominated by foreign multinationals and other actors whose primary purpose is not to create economic growth in Canada. Currently, the Council is composed of more than 150 CEOs leading high-growth companies. The Council is chaired by Jim Balsillie, retired chairman and co-CEO of Blackberry, and John Ruffolo, Founder & Managing Partner of Maverix Private Equity, and Founder of OMERS Ventures. Follow CCI on LinkedIn and Twitter, and visit www.canadianinnovators.org for more information.