Canadian Chamber of Commerce Announces 2022 Business Leader Lifetime Achievement Award and Canadian Business Leader of the Year Award Recipients

(CALGARY & TORONTO) – February 3, 2022 – The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the honourees of our 2022 Canadian Business Awards:

Canadian Business Leader Lifetime Achievement Award

• Nancy Southern, Chair & CEO, ATCO Ltd. and Chair & CEO, Canadian Utilities Limited
• Edward Sonshine, Founder and Chairman, RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust

Canadian Business Leader of the Year Award

• Darren Entwistle, President & CEO, TELUS
• Wes Hall, Executive Chairman and Founder, Kingsdale Advisors, The BlackNorth Initiative, Dragon on CBC’s “Dragons’ Den” leadership representative for the region of North America

Both awards were established to celebrate and recognize Canadian business executives at the top of their fields, who have distinguished themselves through stellar corporate leadership, and meaningful contributions to their communities.

All four honourees embody these traits wholeheartedly. Their long list of achievements inspire a sense of optimism and pride in the Canadian business community and its commitment to creating a brighter future for Canada.

Nancy Southern joined the ATCO board of directors in 1989 prior to being elected Chair in 2012, and has served as ATCO’s CEO since 2003. Ms. Southern is also a founding director of AKITA Drilling, an Honorary Director of the BMO Financial Group, and serves on the Rideau Hall Foundation Board of Directors. She was awarded the British Empire Medal by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in 2020 and was inducted as a Companion into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2017. Ms. Southern is an Honorary Chief of the Kainai (Blood Tribe of Alberta) and was given the name Aksistoowa’paakii, or Brave Woman, in 2012.

Edward Sonshine is the Founder and Chairman of RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust, one of Canada’s largest REITs. He has also chaired organizations including Chesswood Group Ltd., and has served as director of the Royal Bank of Canada and Cineplex Inc. In 2011, Mr. Sonshine was invested into the Order of Ontario and in 2013, was named Canada’s Outstanding CEO of the Year. He is active in the community and is currently a Director of Sinai Health System.

Darren Entwistle joined TELUS in 2000 as President and CEO, and is the longest serving CEO in the telecommunication industry. He has achieved the highest shareholder return and best customer loyalty in the industry over the past two decades. In 2018, Darren launched the TELUS Friendly Future Foundation with a $120 million endowment to help youth realize their potential. He has led TELUS to contribute $1.4 billion in giving since 2000. He currently serves on the board of the Gairdner Foundation and is a founding member of the 30% Club Canada and Canadian Board Diversity Council. He received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal in 2003, and the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012. In 2018, he was appointed to the Order of Canada.

As Executive Chairman and Founder of Kingsdale Advisors, Wes Hall has been called one of Canada’s “most influential powerbrokers” by Globe and Mail, and was most recently ranked #16 on Maclean’s magazine’s “50 most powerful people in Canada” in 2021. He is a board member on a number of initiatives including SickKids Foundation, Toronto International Film Festival, and Pathways to Education. He is also Founder and Chairman of The Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Racism and the BlackNorth Initiative, committed to removing anti-Black systemic barriers affecting Black Canadians. Finally, Wes’ fans can watch him on CBC’s Dragons’ Den 16^th season as the first Black Dragon to enter the den, levelling the playing field for Black entrepreneurs across Canada

We look forward to celebrating these visionary business leaders at two reception and dinner events this fall:

Thursday, September 15, 2022
Fairmont Palliser, Calgary AB

Recipients:

• Darren Entwistle, Canadian Business Leader of the Year
• Nancy Southern, Canadian Business Leader Lifetime Achievement Award

Thursday, October 06, 2022
Ritz Carlton, Toronto ON

Recipients:

• Wes Hall, Canadian Business Leader of the Year Award
• Edward Sonshine, Canadian Business Leader Lifetime Achievement Award

For more information or to attend the award ceremony, please contact Lianne Cheng, Manager, Member Relations, at lcheng@chamber.ca or 416.417.0229.

About the Canadian Chamber of Commerce — The Future of Business Success

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is Canada’s largest and most activated business network — representing 450 chambers of commerce and boards of trade and more than 200,000 business of all sizes, from all sectors of the economy and from every part of the country — to create the conditions for our collective success. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is the undisputed champion and catalyst for the future of business success. From working with government on economy-friendly policy to providing services that inform commerce and enable trade, we give each of our members more of what they need to succeed: insight into markets, competitors and trends, influence over the decisions and policies that drive business success and impact on business and economic performance. 

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Contact

Emily Walsh
Officer, External Communications
Canadian Chamber of Commerce
ewalsh@chamber.ca