Program

9:00am – 7:00pm

Registration Open

AMO Education Workshops — Additional registration required

• Indigenous-Municipal Relations

This collaborative, hands-on workshop will provide participants a chance to weave a community-sized dreamcatcher while taking part in a sharing session. Facilitators will engage on key themes throughout and guide conversation allowing attendees to learn from drawing on their own personal experiences in a safe space.

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• Preventing Escalated Behaviours: Practical Strategies for Safer Municipal Workplaces

Municipal leaders and staff are increasingly navigating complex and, at times, challenging interactions in their roles. Creating environments where individuals feel safe, respected, and heard is essential to effective leadership, collaboration, and community service.

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1:00pm – 2:30pm

Conference Workshops

• Securing More Revenue Without Raising Taxes, sponsored by The Partnership Group, Sponsorship Specialists

Want more money without increasing taxes and user fees? This workshop will help you to understand the channel of commercial sponsorship and naming rights to put more revenue on your bottom line. 

• MEPR: Practising Leadership in a Flooding: A Municipal Exercise Workshop

In this realistic flooding exercise and workshop, municipal leaders and staff will navigate escalating impacts on critical infrastructure, public safety, municipal services, and community recovery while working through the decisions local leaders face during a flooding event. Participants will experience how municipal exercises encourage discussing mutual aid, prioritizing resources, and collaborating with provincial and community partners. Participants will also get hands on experience working with the provincial supports available to municipalities before, during, and after an emergency. No emergency management experience is required.

Conference Workshops

• Asset Management for Sustainable Decision-Making

A municipal council is ultimately responsible for setting service levels.  This is achievable through your municipal asset management program, which provides the information needed to make confident, evidence-based decisions about infrastructure investments, service levels, risks, and long-term financial sustainability. 
To support municipal staff and council, AMO and AMONTario have prepared a comprehensive Asset Management Orientation Toolkit that is adaptable to all communities.

This engaging workshop will introduce the toolkit, and showcase how asset management supports informed, prioritized decision-making. Come ready to participate, share your experiences, and swap ideas with peers who are navigating the same challenges.

• NWMO: Planning Canada’s Second Deep Geological Repository

The Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) is planning a second deep geological repository (DGR) to safely manage Canada’s intermediate- and high-level radioactive waste over the long term. This initiative is separate from NWMO’s first DGR for used nuclear fuel.

The proposed approach to site selection will place the highest priority on safety, will be consent-based, principles-led, flexible, adaptive, aligned with international best practices and will be grounded in Reconciliation. During this workshop, participants will be asked to share their views on our proposed approach with an external facilitator. This is your opportunity to confirm and refine the site selection process for Canada’s second DGR.

Harmony in Leadership, presented by the Georgia Municipal Association

Great leadership begins before you ever enter the room; it starts with how you show up. Through the BIKE module, this course invites you to lead with greater intentionality, civility, kindness, and emotional intelligence. You'll explore how your thoughts, emotions, and actions shape your influence and the people around you. Whether you're rebuilding trust, deepening connection, or striving to lead with more heart, this course will equip you to lead harmoniously, creating environments where people feel seen, valued, and inspired to grow together.

The Astronaut, the Thermostat and the Hidden Work of Reliable Energy

This panel discussion brings Chris Hadfield’s space-tested perspective to reframe how municipal leaders think about reliability on Earth.

In space, every watt is planned, protected and tied to survival. In Ontario, energy is so reliable that it often feels invisible. When extreme weather, outages, cold snaps or rapid growth put our systems to the test, we’re reminded how much daily life depends on it.

In a dynamic conversation with Commander Chris Hadfield, Enbridge Gas President Michele Harradence, and Ottawa Councilor and Federation of Canadian Municipalities President Tim Tierney, this panel will explore the hidden work behind reliable energy systems, why infrastructure must be planned and built for extremes, and how bold leadership supports the long-term planning needed to keep residents safe, businesses operating and economies growing.

Plenary Program:

• Welcome, O Canada 
• Opening Keynote: The Curse of Politics, sponsored by Enbridge Gas
• Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict (invited)
• Robin Jones, AMO President
• Annual General Meeting  

Plenary Program:0

• The Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario (invited)
• Women’s Leadership Forum
  • Patrice Barnes, Senior Advisor, Counsel Public Affairs
  • France Bélisle, Co-présidente, Posture Inc.
  • Madeleine Redfern, CEO, Native Women’s Association of Canada 

Plenary Program:

• The Hon. Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario (invited)
• Marit Stiles, Leader of the Opposition and Ontario NDP (invited)

Women's Networking Event and Coffee Break with Exhibitors

Women's Networking Event hosted by: The Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario

Concurrent Sessions:

• Advancing Mental Health Supports in Emergency Services 

This panel explores how municipalities are addressing mental health challenges for first responders, including WSIB pressures and evolving obligations. Experts will share practical strategies, innovative service models, and lessons learned to strengthen supports, reduce risks, and drive organizational change while highlighting the significant costs of inaction. 

• Buy Ontario, Build Local: Navigating Municipal Procurement 

Recent changes to provincial procurement policy now require municipalities to prioritize Ontario and Canadian vendors during construction procurement. Learn about how municipalities can navigate this changing landscape to support Canadian businesses while balancing infrastructure project costs and timelines. Brief introductory remarks will be provided by Minister Stephen Crawford, Minister of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement (MPBSDP). 

• How to Talk About Costs with Constituents 

“Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.” This quote from 130 years ago still captures the challenge that elected representatives and municipal staff face today when explaining to their constituents the need for a tax increase or the billion price tag to repair aging infrastructure.  

Businesses that sell expensive goods or services have time-tested marketing playbooks on how to shift consumers’ focus from cost to value. This session will provide practical insights on how to communicate and sell the value of expensive goods and services to rate and taxpayers. 

• Primary Care Expansion and Community Impact 

While health care is a provincial responsibility, municipalities are increasingly having to use property tax dollars to fill service gaps ensure their residents can get the care they need. This panel will examine how municipalities are stepping up and solutions needed to ensure the healthcare system works in communities across Ontario. 

Insight Breakfasts

• CAA South Central Ontario
• Emergency Services Steering Committee
• Ontario Professional Planners Institute
• AdvantAge

Concurrent Sessions:

• Beyond Assessment: MPAC’s Expanding Value to Municipalities 

Join MPAC for an annual update on how our evolving strategy is delivering greater value to municipalities and the residents you serve. Discover how our data, tools, and services – current and emerging – can strengthen financial planning, support informed decisions, and unlock new opportunities for your community.   

Learn how a stronger partnership with MPAC can help you serve your constituents and plan with confidence for the challenges ahead. 

• Delivering Infrastructure Innovation: From Pilot to Practice 

Municipalities need to invest over $250 billion in public infrastructure over the next decade, and innovation will be essential to meeting this challenge. This session will explore case studies that highlight the opportunities and challenges of moving innovative infrastructure solutions from pilot stage to implementation. 

• Health and Supportive Housing Partnerships to Address Homelessness

Permanent supportive housing with wraparound supports and medical care can help reduce chronic homelessness. Learn through case studies about what cross-sector partnerships can accomplish and how relationship building with health and housing providers can produce benefits for people, communities and municipal governments.

• The Mayor/CAO/Urban Indigenous Relationship 

Urban Indigenous organizations play a critical role in meeting the needs of the growing Indigenous population in municipalities. This panel will explore how municipal leaders can work in partnership with urban Indigenous organizations to deliver on local priorities and advance Indigenous rights. Bringing together representatives from municipalities, local Friendship Centres, and Indigenous women’s organizations, this session will deliver insights, lessons for municipal leadership, and real-world examples for successful and impactful relationships between municipalities and local urban Indigenous organizations that advance reconciliation in practical ways.

Plenary Program:

• FCM President, Tim Tierney 
• John Fraser, Interim Leader, Ontario Liberal Party (invited)

• Protecting Democracy and Local Governance  

A vibrant municipal democracy empowers local leadership and diverse voices to build a resilient, self-determined future for every community in Ontario. There is concern centralizing local governance could undermine the transparency and collaboration that is foundational to local government. Learn how municipalities can navigate changing governance structure and ensure that local democracy continues to work.  

• Mike Schriener, Leader, Green Party of Ontario
• The Hon. Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, Canada (invited)

Learning Lunches

• Bruce Power
• Independent Electricity System Operator
• Ontario Medical Association
• Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council

Concurrent Sessions:

• Governing Municipal AI for Privacy and Human Rights 

As municipalities adopt AI and automated decision-making for local services, they face scrutiny regarding public trust, data privacy, and civil liberties. Learn to decode exactly what municipal governments must know, and do, to harness AI for the public good without compromising fundamental human rights and privacy.  

• Resilience in the age of disruption 

Economic uncertainty of the last several years has acted as a catalyst for municipal innovation. Leaders from each corner of the province will discuss their playbook for creating resilient communities – from taking a people first strategy to revitalizing downtowns to working across political divides and ideology to buffer local industries and businesses to shifts in consumer preferences and geopolitics. 

• Strengthening Municipal Capacity for Emergency Readiness 

This session examines how municipalities are adapting to growing emergency preparedness challenges driven by climate risks, staffing shortages, and rising expectations. Panelists will discuss “reasonable preparedness,” share lessons from recent disasters, and identify where provincial support is effective and where critical gaps remain.  

• The Business Case for Green Infrastructure Investment 

Municipal governments across Ontario are at the forefront of climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts. This session will provide practical insights on how to effectively make the case for green infrastructure investment to support climate adaption and resilience. 

Plenary Program:

• Municipal Infrastructure 

We know the status quo is changing, but how much room do we actually have to innovate?  

 This mainstage session unveils new AMO research on the cost of maintaining and growing municipal assets. We are cutting through the noise to provide clear insights on debt-carrying capacity, the limits of reserve reliance, and the true financial scale of Ontario’s infrastructure challenge.   

• PJ Marshall Awards  
• AMO Board Election Results 
• The Hon. Rob Flack, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
• Ministers’ Forum  

7:00am – 10:00am

7:30am – 8:15am

Registration Open

Insight Breakfasts

• Paving the Way: The Build Communities Strong Fund Community stream

The Community stream provides flexible and predictable funding that best enables strategic investments in infrastructure ensuring healthier, more connected, and more resilient communities. Join us as we explore how the fund is effectively delivering results by supporting the growth and livability of Ontario communities.

Plenary Program:

• Incoming AMO President
• Jasvinder Sandhu, Chair, Healthy Democracy Advisory Committee
• The New Era in Leadership

Building on AMO’s work through the Healthy Democracy Project and respect in local leadership, join Peter McLeod, Founder and Principal of MASS LBP and Freddie Broome, Director of Membership Services, Georgia Municipal Association, in conversation with TVO host Nam Kiwanuka as they explore civility and respect in this new ear of governance. The conversation will focus on the role and importance of civility and respect in municipal political leadership, recognizing in many cases these are no where to be found. Explore cross jurisdictional experiences, strategies and important things to think about for everyone looking to run in 2026.

• The Future of Affordable Housing 

Addressing Ontario's affordable housing crisis requires a coordinated, multi-level government approach working with the non-profit, co-operative, and private sectors. The launch of Build Canada Homes and the next iteration of the National Housing Strategy provide the opportunity to leverage inter-governmental partnerships to accelerate affordable housing supply at a new scale. This panel will discuss what is needed to ensure they succeed. 

• Conference Closing, Wrap-up Prize Draw