AMO Hosting Canada’s Largest Conference for Government Leaders Since Pandemic Began

em>Toronto, Ontario, July 28, 2020 – The Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) will host its annual AMO Conference, August 17 to 19, offering its entire program online for the first time. More than 1,000 people are expected to participate. The 2020 AMO Conference will be Canada’s most comprehensive gathering of government leaders since the global pandemic began.
 
“For more than 120 years, AMO has provided a meeting place for governments to come together, to learn from one another, and to find solutions to pressing challenges,” said AMO President Jamie McGarvey, Mayor of Parry Sound. “COVID-19 has changed our world, and the AMO Conference is needed more than ever.”
 
This year AMO is partnering with TVO and the team at The Agenda with Steve Paikin, TVO’s flagship current affairs program, to deliver aspects of the conference and to expand its reach.
 
Keynote presenters include Ontario Premier Doug Ford and key ministers, NDP Leader Andrea Horwath (Leader of the Official Opposition), new Liberal Leader Steven Del Duca, Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, and AMO President Jamie McGarvey.
 
The conference program features more than 40 speakers, sessions and workshops, covering topics such as COVID-19, municipal services and economic recovery; long-term care; broadband internet quality and coverage across Ontario; diversity, equality and women in leadership; building strong relationships with Indigenous communities; economic perspectives on immigration and youth retention; climate change; waste management and the transition to full producer responsibility; disruption, data use, and digital governance; the future of 911 service; and much more. Program details are available at www.amo.on.ca.
 
Conference delegates will elect a new President and Board. Municipal staff and elected officials will take part in hundreds of online delegation meetings with provincial ministries. Provincial ministers will also take questions from municipal elected officials in three open forums.
 
Registered media will have access to the entire conference online. Reporters are encouraged to register well in advance by contacting Stef Lach at lach@redbrick.ca.
 
AMO is a non-profit organization representing almost all of Ontario’s 444 municipal governments. AMO supports and enhances strong and effective municipal government in Ontario and promotes the value of municipal government as a vital and essential component of Ontario and Canada’s political system.
 

 
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brian Lambie, AMO Media Contact, 416-729-5425, lambie@redbrick.ca
Follow AMO on Twitter, @AMOPolicy, and use the official conference hashtag #AMOConf20