As a new U.S. administration issues repeated threats to impose punishing tariffs on Canadian exports, the IRPP hosted a panel discussion on how to address the intersecting affordability and climate crises. 

Increasing costs from extreme weather events, uncertainty about energy and supply chains and added pressure on already inadequate infrastructure and housing mean new, comprehensive solutions are needed to keep Canadians safe. The panel focused on how to protect households from the rising cost of living, how to minimize the impacts of extreme weather events and how to keep affordable food on the table. 

Hosted in partnership with the Affordability Action Council, the panel featured Tyler Meredith, former economic policy adviser to the Liberal government, Kathleen Monk, former director of communications to NDP leader Jack Layton, and Karen Restoule, vice-president of Toronto-based Crestview Strategy and senior fellow at Macdonald-Laurier Institute. The discussion was moderated by IRPP president and CEO Jennifer Ditchburn. 

Photos

Video

Audio


Panelists

Tyler Meredith

Founding Partner, Meredith Boessenkool & Phillips

Helping oversee Canada’s economic response to COVID-19, Tyler witnessed firsthand how solid non-partisan policy saved jobs, businesses, and lives during one of the most critical times in Canadian history. Tyler is intent on bringing the same strong policy acumen to supporting clients across Canada and creating superior policy-based solutions.

First enticed into political life in late 2015, Tyler was recruited from a think tank to advise Canada’s Prime Minister on domestic economic policy. Tyler then spent the next seven years in government because he knew there was no other job where he could impact so many people in so many positive ways in such a short period of time. Tyler helped deliver six federal budgets, held responsiblity for tax and financial sector policy, including all financial sector transaction reviews from 2019-2022, and architected two winning federal campaign platforms.

Along with his partner role at Meredith Boesskenkool & Phillips, Tyler is also Fellow at University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and Fellow at the Maytree Foundation. When not busy shaping policy, Tyler loves to experience the world and all it has to offer with his life partner Chris, and their chocolate lab Cole.

Kathleen Monk

Principal, Monk + Associates

Kathleen Monk is a veteran campaign strategist and an award-winning communicator. She works with businesses, labour unions and non-profits, to build strategies that shape public opinion and secure public affairs victories. Kathleen served as director of communications for the late Jack Layton. Before entering her career in politics, Kathleen worked in newsrooms in Toronto, Ottawa, and Washington, D.C. She appears weekly on CTV “Sunday Strategy Session” and CTV Power Play’s “Front Bench Panel.”

Karen Restoule

Vice-President, Crestview Strategy and Senior Fellow, Macdonald-Laurier Institute


Moderator

Jennifer Ditchburn

President and CEO, IRPP

Jennifer Ditchburn is the President and CEO of the Institute for Research on Public Policy. She is a not-for-profit sector executive and seasoned communicator working to make complex public policy issues and politics better understood by Canadians. From 2016 to 2021, she was the Editor-in-Chief of the IRPP’s influential digital magazine, Policy Options.

Prior to joining the IRPP, Jennifer spent two decades covering national and parliamentary affairs for The Canadian Press and for CBC Television. She is the winner of three National Newspaper Awards, the recipient of the prestigious Charles Lynch Award for outstanding coverage of national issues, and three Canadian Online Publishing silver awards for her columns. In 2015, she was named one of the 10 most influential HispanicCanadians. Jennifer sits on the board of the Banff Forum, an influential Canadian leadership network. She is also a fellow at Carleton University’s Political Management program, and an inductee in the Hall of Distinction at CEGEP John Abbott College.

Event Details

Date and Time

February 23, 2025

5:30 p.m. EST
- 7:30 p.m. EST
Location

Delta Hotel Ottawa, 101 Lyon St. N, Ottawa - Panorama Room

Event Type
Ticket Price

Free

Registration is closed.

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