A Conversation with Minister Champagne
Join us for a breakfast event featuring The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, where we explore the innovation landscape of Canada. At Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), the mandate is to foster a growing, competitive, and knowledge-based Canadian economy.
Minister Champagne will share how the federal government is pursuing this mandate and shaping Canada's future by spearheading innovation in key research areas such as clean technology, quantum, life sciences and artificial intelligence, as well as supporting industry to innovate and decarbonize. During this event, the Minister will offer an update on ISED's progress and how innovation is driving Canada’s prosperity.
About the speaker:
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne was first elected in 2015 as the Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice—Champlain. He has previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and Minister of International Trade.
Minister Champagne is a businessman, lawyer, and international trade specialist with over 20 years’ experience at large international companies in Europe, particularly in the fields of energy, engineering, and innovation.
Before entering politics, Minister Champagne was Vice-President and Senior Counsel of ABB Group, a leader in cutting-edge technology that operates in more than 100 countries. He also served as Strategic Development Director, acting General Counsel, and Chief Ethics Officer and Member of the Group Management Committee of Amec Foster Wheeler, a world leader in the energy sector.
In 2009, Minister Champagne was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He has served on several boards over the years, and was notably President of the Canadian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce and the Banff Forum.
After his election in 2015, Minister Champagne served as a parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Finance until 2017, when he was appointed Minister of International Trade. During his time as Minister of International Trade, the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement entered into force, and Canada signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. In 2018, he was named Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and oversaw the federal government’s ambitious $187 billion infrastructure investment plan. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2019, and oversaw the creation of Canada’s Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State Relations, which more than 60 countries have endorsed.
Minister Champagne holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Montréal and a Master of Laws in American law from Case Western Reserve University. Minister Champagne also studied public and private international law at The Hague Academy of International Law, in the Netherlands.
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