Labour’s new leadership: Unions and the future of work

With unions facing unprecedented pressure, a new wave of labour leaders are challenging the status quo – demanding fair wages, defending Charter rights and defying gender stereotypes. Bring your questions for three leaders of Canada’s biggest unions in the private and public sectors.

Hosted by the Dais, this free event is open to all students and the general public, with advance registration required.

Lana Payne has been President of Unifor since 2022, the first woman elected to lead Canada’s biggest private-sector union with 315,000 members. She previously served as national Secretary-Treasurer and Atlantic Regional Director. Payne was also President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour. A former journalist and newspaper columnist, she attended Memorial University in St. John’s.

Bea Bruske has been President of the Canadian Labour Congress, representing 3 million workers, since 2021. She was previously a national Vice-President at the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union, and a Secretary-Treasurer in Manitoba. A longtime union negotiator and community organizer, Burske graduated from the University of Manitoba’s Labour Studies program.

JP Hornick became President of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) in 2022. They previously chaired the union’s College Faculty Bargaining Team. A longtime professor at George Brown College’s School of Labour, Hornick majored in English and Women’s Studies for a B.A. and M.A. at Ohio State University and postgraduate studies at New York University.

Martin Regg Cohn is a political columnist at the Toronto Star. He is the founder of the Democracy Forum at Toronto Metropolitan University, and a Senior Fellow at the Dais. A foreign correspondent for 11 years in Asia and the Middle East, he was also Foreign Editor and a Parliamentary correspondent. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.

The Dais is Canada’s platform for bold policies and better leaders. The Dais is a public policy and leadership think tank at Toronto Metropolitan University, working at the intersection of technology, education and democracy to build shared prosperity and citizenship for Canada. Visit us at dais.ca.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Sears Atrium, George Vari Engineering and Computing Centre, 245 Church Street, 3rd Floor, Toronto, Canada