Keynote Address

During his long career in Jewish advocacy, Shimon Fogel introduced the Shared Values strategy, now adopted by much of the international pro-Israel advocacy community. The Hill Times recognized Fogel as one of the 100 most influential actors within the political sector, and Embassy Magazine ranked him among the 50 most important people influencing Canadian foreign policy.

Gail Adelson-Marcovitz is Chair of CIJA’s National Board. Her long community experience includes work for B'nai Brith Youth Organization, Ometz, and Meals on Wheels. At Federation CJA, she served as campaign chair for the Young Adult Division, co-chair of Pro-Montreal, and president of Women's Philanthropy before co-chairing the first Montreal Mega Mission in 2014, later serving as Federation president, focused on programs and initiatives that engage, inspire, and educate. An avid volunteer working for many organizations in the health sector, she was the inaugural chair of the Faculty Advisory Board for the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. 

Irwin Cotler is the International Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, an Emeritus Professor of Law at McGill University, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and longtime Member of Parliament, constitutional and international human rights lawyer and counsel to Prisoners of Conscience. Feature articles refer to him as “Counsel for the Oppressed”, while the Oslo Freedom Forum characterized him as “Freedom’s Counsel.”

He is a member of the Organization of American States (OAS); Independent Panel of Legal Experts on Venezuela; member of the High Level Panel of Legal Experts on Media Freedom; Canada’s first Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism; and Special Envoy of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Community of Democracies on the case and cause of imprisoned Russian democratic leader, Vladimir KaraMurza, who in 2023 was named Canada’s newest honorary citizen.

As parliamentarian from 1999 to 2015, Professor Cotler was at the forefront of the struggle for justice and human rights, both domestically and internationally. He served as chair of the firstever Parliamentary Assembly for the International Criminal Court; chair of the Parliamentarians for Global Action (Canada); chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Group for Human Rights in Iran; chair of the Inter-Parliamentary Group of Justice for Sergei Magnitsky; chair of the All-Party Save Darfur Parliamentary Coalition; co-chair from Canada of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance for China; and co-chair of the International Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism. He was elected 2014 Canadian Parliamentarian of the Year by his colleagues.

As Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada from 2003 to 2006, Irwin Cotler launched Canada’s first National Justice Initiative Against Racism and Hate; initiated the first-ever prosecution for the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act; initiated the first-ever law on human trafficking; crafted the Civil Marriage Act, the first-ever legislation to grant marriage equality to gays and lesbians; quashed more wrongful convictions in a single year than any prior Minister; initiated the first-ever comprehensive reform of the Supreme Court appointment process and helped make it the most gender-representative Supreme Court in the world; appointed the first-ever Indigenous and visible minority justices the Ontario Court of Appeal; and made the pursuit of international justice a government priority.

An international human rights lawyer, Professor Cotler has served as counsel to high profile Prisoners of Conscience including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov and leading human rights dissident, Nathan Sharansky (former Soviet Union); Nelson Mandela (South Africa); Jacobo Timmerman (Argentina); Professor Saad Eddin Ibrahim (Egypt); and was a Member of the International Legal Team of Chinese Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo. More recently he has served as international legal counsel to imprisoned Saudi blogger Raif Badawi; Venezuelan political prisoner Leopoldo López; imprisoned Iranian human rights lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh; and Swedish-Eritrean Dawit Isaak, the longest-imprisoned journalist in the world.

A constitutional and comparative law scholar, Professor Cotler is the author of numerous publications and seminal legal articles and has written upon and intervened in landmark Charter of Rights cases in the areas of free speech, freedom of religion, minority rights, peace law and
war crimes justice.

He is the recipient of seventeen honorary doctorates, where he has been recognized as “a scholar and advocate of international stature” (as cited in his various honorary doctorates). He is a Privy Councillor, an Officer of the Order of Canada, an Officer of the National Order of Quebec, and is the recipient also of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal. He has been awarded the Canadian Bar Association’s President’s Award; was the first Canadian recipient of the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation’s Centennial Medal; the first recipient of the Romeo Dallaire Award for Human Rights Leadership; the recipient of the Sir Zafrullah Khan Award for Distinguished Public Service; the recipient of the Dalhousie University 2015 Ethical Leadership Award; and was the first recipient of the 2015 Sergei Magnitsky Global Human Rights Award.

In 2015, Professor Cotler received the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Inaugural Human Rights Award. In its citation, the Law Society recognized “The Honourable Irwin Cotler’s tireless efforts to ensure peace and justice for all. In his varied roles as law professor, constitutional and comparative law scholar, international human rights lawyer, counsel to prisoners of conscience, public intellectual, peace activist, Member of Parliament, and Minster of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, Mr. Cotler has been a leader and role model. Through his advocacy work both in Canada and internationally, he has transformed the lives of many."

In 2022, Professor Cotler was honored by the Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy when they bestowed upon him their Award for Excellence. In the summer of 2023, The Lantos Foundation for Human Rights & Justice recognized him as one of the world’s foremost human rights lawyers, and will award him their highest honor, the Lantos Human Rights Prize in October in Washington DC. In September of 2023, Israeli President Isaac Herzog conferred upon Professor Cotler the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honor in a ceremony in Jerusalem, characterizing him as “a world-renowned human rights advocate who has made a special contribution in the field of the struggle for human rights, and in the fight against antisemitism, hate crimes, and racism.”

Pierre Poilievre is a life-long conservative, champion of a free market, and fighter for people taking ownership of and responsibility for their own futures.

Pierre served as a trusted, senior cabinet minister in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government and has served as a Member of Parliament for seven terms.

Pierre is running to be the Prime Minister of Canada. He believes in a country where the state is servant, not master. Where smaller government makes room for bigger citizens. Where people have the freedom to build a business without red tape and heavy tax.

To make room for personal freedom and responsibility, he believes in limiting government. He has been one of the loudest voices in the past several years fighting out-of-control deficit spending and tax increases, as Liberal addiction to debt became a crisis.

Pierre was one of the first voices to highlight the inflation crisis that this country faces, pointing out that the sharp increases represent an “inflation tax”, a sneaky way for governments to raise money by raising prices for the people. Today, more than half of families in Canada say they struggle just to feed themselves.

He also was one of the first voices to speak up against unscientific mandates and unacceptable limits on the freedoms of Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pierre believes that freedom is critical for this country and has pressed the government to commit to ending its politicized and divisive response.

Pierre lives in the Eastern Ontario village of Greely with his wife Anaida and their children Valentina and Cruz. He grew up in Calgary and graduated from the University of Calgary with a degree in International Relations.

Jagmeet Singh is the leader of the New Democratic Party and Member of Parliament for the riding of Burnaby South. Born in Scarborough, Ontario, he moved to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, and later to Windsor, Ontario. He studied law at Osgoode Hall in Toronto, Ontario, and practiced as a criminal defence lawyer in Brampton, Ontario. He was elected to the Ontario legislature as an MPP in 2011 and became the Ontario NDP deputy leader in 2015. He was elected leader of the federal NDP in 2017. Singh divides his time between Burnaby, British Columbia and Ottawa, Ontario.

Justin Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is Canada’s 23rd Prime Minister and the proud father of Xavier, Ella-Grace, and Hadrien.

Justin’s vision of Canada is a country where everyone has a real and fair chance to succeed. His experiences as a teacher, father, leader, and advocate for youth have shaped his dedication to Canadians – and his commitment to make Canada a place where everyone has the opportunities they need to thrive.

The oldest of three boys, Justin grew up with the profound influence of his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, and his mother, Margaret Trudeau. He was raised speaking both French and English and has family roots in both Eastern and Western Canada. This background helped spark his passion for public service and shaped his conviction that diversity is Canada’s strength.

Justin studied literature at McGill University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in 1994. He went on to complete the University of British Columbia’s education program, and spent several years teaching French, math, and other subjects in Vancouver. Teaching allowed him to make a positive impact in the lives of young people. He remains committed to hearing the voices of young Canadians, from the classroom to Parliament Hill.

Before entering politics, Justin served as the Chair of Katimavik, on the board of the Canadian Avalanche Foundation, and as an advocate for young people and the environment. As a speaker at events and conferences around the country, he encouraged young people to engage with the issues important to them and participate as active citizens. These experiences made it increasingly clear to him that the issues young Canadians care about – education, the environment, and their generation’s economic prospects – needed a stronger voice.

Justin entered politics to make change that would better serve all Canadians. In 2007, he built a community-based, grassroots campaign to win the Liberal Party nomination in the Montréal riding of Papineau. He was elected in 2008, and re-elected in 2011, 2015, 2019, and 2021.

Justin was elected Leader of the Liberal Party in April 2013. His leadership campaign focused on building a new, truly national movement of progressive Canadians, bringing hundreds of thousands of Canadians into politics, most for the first time. He worked closely with his team to build a plan to create jobs, grow the economy, protect the environment, and strengthen the middle class. With Justin’s leadership, the Liberal plan emphasized fair economic opportunity for everyone, respect for and promotion of freedom and diversity, and a more democratic government that truly represents Canadians.

On October 19, 2015, Justin led his party to victory, winning a majority government with seats in every province and territory across the country. He was sworn in on November 4, 2015. On October 21, 2019, he led the Liberal Party to re-election, earning a second mandate from Canadians. On September 20, 2021, Justin once again led the party to re-election, earning a third mandate to govern from Canadians.

As Prime Minister, Justin leads a government that works hard every day to continue moving Canada forward. His team is focused on creating good middle-class jobs, making life more affordable, keeping Canada’s communities safe, fighting climate change, and moving forward on reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. A proud feminist, Justin appointed Canada’s first gender-balanced Cabinet.