Virtual Event
Women in Manufacturing
May 13, 2021 at
1:00pm ET
On DEMAND
Untapped Potential: A road map to changing the workforce
Speaker: Mathew Wilson, Senior Vice-President, Policy & Government Relations & Ontario Division Lead, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters
In 2017, Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters Association put together Untapped Potential, an action plan for increasing the number of women in manufacturing, and has since launched several initiatives to help manufacturers on their journey to gender diversity and inclusion. This presentation provides an update on what's been accomplished so far, and where the sector can go from here.
Mathew is the Senior Vice-President, Policy & Government Relations and Ontario Division Lead at Canadian Manufacturer & Exporters (CME), the largest and most influential industry and trade association in Canada. The association represents over 2,500 companies across Canada with a third of its members in Ontario.
In this role, Mathew is constantly meeting with senior executives from a wide range of industrial sectors to discuss the challenges and opportunities for their companies and how the association can support the growth of their business in Canada. Mathew uses this intelligence and advice to work with federal, provincial and municipal government officials to shape public policy to ensure the business environment is supportive of CME’s members’ interests.
Mathew has chaired and been an active participant on several senior government advisory committees including on international trade, customs, skills development and immigration. He has authored research papers on a variety of issues including technology adoption in manufacturing, business opportunities in Alberta’s oil sands, business competitive taxation, North American manufacturing competitiveness, border simplification and skills shortages in Canada’s manufacturing sector. Most recently, he led CME’s national and Ontario Industrie 2030 initiative which aims to create a long term strategy to double Canada’s manufacturing output and exports by 2030.
Over the past year, in addition to playing a leading role in ensuring business continuity through COVID-19 by providing effective resources to companies in their management of COVID-19. Mathew led many of the industrial advocacy efforts that led to government support programs, including wage subsidy and tax and regulatory relief measures. Mathew also lead the design, development, and creation of the Ontario Made program that celebrates and promotes local manufacturers and their products.
Before rejoining CME in 2011, Mathew worked for the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association (CVMA). Mathew began his career as a policy analyst and director at CME after completing his Masters of Arts (MA) and Honors Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees from McMaster University.
