May Luncheon: Outlook and Update from Ontario's Deputy Minister

Susanna Laaksonen-Craig became Deputy Minister of Mines on October 23, 2023. Susanna is a seasoned executive leader with over 25 years’ experience in government, research, and development across Canada and abroad, as well as deep professional experience in energy, natural resources, change management and executive leadership.

Prior to joining the Ontario Public Service, Susanna served as Deputy Minister of Energy and Resources with the Government of Saskatchewan from March 2021, and before that as Director General for the National Research Council of Canada’s (NRC) Energy, Mining and Environment Research Centre.

Before joining the NRC in 2018, Susanna held several executive positions within the Government of British Columbia at the Assistant Deputy Minister and Executive Director level.

On an academic front, she worked as an assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Forestry, and as the Assistant Director of the University of California Forest Products Laboratory. Since 2007 she has been an Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto’s Daniels Faculty’s Forestry.

Susanna holds a master’s degree in forestry from the University of Helsinki and a PhD in Wildland Resource Science from the University of California at Berkeley.

During the talk, Ontario’s Deputy Minister will be providing an outlook from the Ministry of Mines and an overview of their current initiatives.