Erin O’Toole is the President and Managing Director of ADIT North America and serves on the executive committee of ADIT Group in Paris. ADIT Group is a leading business intelligence firm that provides global investment due diligence and economic diplomacy services around the world. He assumed this role after having served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and a Member of Parliament for a decade.  In 2021, Erin ran to be the Prime Minister of Canada in the general election held amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenging circumstances of the election, Mr. O’Toole won the popular vote and advanced a series of policies that continue to resonate in Canadian politics today. This included a climate change policy that was praised by experts as innovative and intended to depoliticize the pricing of carbon for consumers.

 

First elected in a 2012 by-election. Mr. O’Toole was quickly promoted to Parliamentary Secretary for International Trade, where he helped the Canadian government finalize trade agreements with the European Union, South Korea, Honduras and the countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In this role he was also given carriage of social responsibility and sustainability engagement with the extractives sector. Promoted to cabinet a year later, Erin modernized the Veterans Affairs department and was a leading voice for the Conservative government on defence and national security issues. In opposition, Erin served as Shadow Minister for Public Safety and Foreign Affairs before becoming Leader of the Opposition.

 

A graduate of the Royal Military College, Erin served as an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force before attending Dalhousie Law School, Mr. O’Toole practiced law at Stikeman Elliott and Heenan Blaikie in Toronto and spent five years as in-house counsel for Procter & Gamble. Erin and his wife Rebecca live in Toronto and are the proud parents of Mollie and Jack. He continues to comment on geopolitical and economic competitiveness issues in Canada and hosts the popular Blue Skies podcast exploring these issues.