Each year Public Interest Alberta hosts an advocacy conference addressing pressing public interest issues in Alberta. These conferences are essential opportunities to work with other individuals and organizations in developing public solutions that strengthen our communities and provide us with the tools to mobilize us into action to build a better Alberta for all.
14th Annual Public Interest Alberta Conference
Our Power: Creating a Just Future for All
Conference Wrap Up & All Sessions→
13th Annual Public Interest Alberta Conference
Our Public Services: Protecting and Revitalizing in Uncertain Times
April 4 - 5, 2019
Chateau Louis Conference Centre, Edmonton
Keynote April 3 in Calgary
Keynote Speaker: Trish Hennessy, Executive Director of Upstream
OUR PAST CONFERENCES:
2018 - Alberta at the Crossroads: Forward, Not Back
Opening Keynote Speaker: Alex Himelfarb, former Clerk of the Privy Council and editor of Tax is Not a Four-Letter Word
Closing Keynote Speaker: Diana Gibson, Research Associate, Canadians for Tax Fairness
Speakers and moderators:
- Ricardo Acuña, Parkland Institute
- Gillian Steward, Toronto Star columnist
- Michael Janz, Edmonton Public School Board
- Jennifer Tupper, University of Alberta, Faculty of Education
- Lewis Cardinal
- Charlene Bearhead, National Inquiry into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women
- Kevin Taft
- Laurie Adkin, University of Alberta, Department of Political Science
- Nikki Way, Pembina Institute
Conference wrap up
2017 - Bold Advocacy for Big Changes
Keynote Speaker: Erika Shaker, Director of Education and Outreach, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
Speakers and moderators:
- Ian Hussey, Parkland Institute
- Adrienne Silnicki, Canadian Health Coalition
- Sandra Azocar, Friends of Medicare
- Michael Janz, Edmonton Public School Board
- Hilary Gough, Saskatoon City Council
- Michael Phair, University of Alberta Board of Governors
- David Climenhaga, United Nurses of Alberta
- Mariam Ibrahim, Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
- Chris Chang-Yen Phillips, Edmonton's Historian Laureate
- Reakash Walters, Black Lives Matter, Bread and Roses
- Claire Edwards, Camp FYrefly
- Diane Connors, Council of Canadians
Conference wrap up
2016 - Advocacy in a Time of Opportunity
Keynote Speakers:
- Larry Brown, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
- Elaine Bernard, Executive Director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School
Conference wrap up
2015 - A Just and Fair Alberta for All: Making it Happen
Keynote Speaker: Avi Lewis
Plenary speakers:
- Asbjørn Wahl, Norwegian Union of General and Municipal Employees
- Sarah Hainds, Chicago Teachers’ Union
- Colleen Fuller, Health Policy Researcher
- Bill Phipps, Social Justice Advocate
2014 - Reasserting the Public Good in a Corporatized World
Keynote Speaker: Vandana Shiva
Plenary speakers:
- Dr. Alex Himelfarb, Former Clerk of the Privy Council
- Dr. Craig Holman, Government Affairs Lobbyist for Public Citizen
2013 - Fighting for Our Future: People Power vs. Corporate Control
Keynote Panel - Fighting for our Future, Speakers: Linda McQuaig, Crystal Lameman, Peas Peas Ayui, Gregor MacLennan
Plenary speakers:
- Afsar Jafri, Coordinator Focus on the Global South, Focus-India
- Sean Devlin, founder and Creative Director of Truthfool Communications, and founder of ShitHarperDid.com
- Kevin Millsip, Co-founder & Director of Next Up
- Julia Pope, Director of Strategic Communications at Leadnow.ca
2012 - Make Shift Happen: Mobilizing the Power of the People
Keynote speaker: John Ralston Saul
Plenary speakers:
- Armine Yalnizyan, Senior Economist, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives
- Dr. Danielle Martin, Board Chair, Canadian Doctors for Medicare
- Anil Naidoo, Coordinator, Blue Planet Project
2011 - Mobilizing for a Better Alberta: Strong Communities, Public Solutions
Keynote speaker: Dr. Dennis Shirley, Professor, Lynch School of Education, Boston College
Plenary speakers:
- Rob Hopkins (via live video feed), Co-Founder, Transition Town Movement
- Dr. Ritika Goel, Co-Founder, Students for Medicare
- Dr. Trevor Harrison, Professor of Sociology, University of Lethbridge
- Walter Davis, Executive Director, National Organizers Alliance
Visit our YouTube Channel to check out videos from this conference and more.
2010 - Worth Fighting For: Public Solutions and Our Common Future
Keynote speaker: David Korten, author of When Corporations Rule the World and Agenda for a New Economy
Plenary speakers:
- Robert Chernomas, Professor of Economics at the University of Manitoba
- Alex Molnar, an expert on the commercialization of public education from Arizona State University
- Natalie Mehra, Ontario Health Coalition
- Ricardo Acuna, Executive Director of the Parkland Institute
- Meera Karunananthan, National Water Campaigner for the Council of Canadians
2009 - Beyond Band Aids and Bailouts: Public Solutions in Critical Times
Keynote speaker: Judy Rebick, CAW-Sam Gindin Chair, Social Justice & Democracy, Ryerson University
Plenary speakers:
- Dr. Elaine Bernard, Executive Director, Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School
- Margrete Strand Rangnes, Deputy Director, Blue Green Alliance
- Dr. Robert Woollard, Canadian Doctors for Medicare
- Diana Gibson, Parkland Institute
2008 - Not for Sale: Promoting Public Solutions in Today's Alberta
Speakers: Avi Lewis, Allyson Pollock, Deb Brennan, Heather-jane Robertson and Maude Barlow
2007 - 1st Annual Conference, Changing Alberta: Pursuing the Public Interest
Keynote speaker: Tony Clarke, President, Polaris Institute
Plenary speakers:
- Tyson Slocum, Director, Public Citizen's Energy Program in Washington D.C.
- Annie Kidder, Executive Director and Co-Founder, People for Education
- Monica Lysack, Executive Director, Child Care Advocacy Association of Canada
