Cyber Threats to Canadian Democracy

Diane McLeod, Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta

Diane McLeod was appointed Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta on August 1, 2022. She is Alberta’s fourth Information and Privacy Commissioner.

For more than 25 years, Diane has been committed to helping governments, health care providers and businesses protect the access to information and privacy rights of citizens, patients and customers. Most recently, she served as Yukon’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, along with the roles of Ombudsman and Public Interest Disclosure Commissioner. In these roles, she helped to grow the offices, supported a culture of compliance across government and healthcare, and upheld individuals’ rights.

Prior to her experience in the Yukon, Diane worked at the OIPC including as the Director of PIPA. She also worked in private practice in British Columbia supporting clients in complying with access and privacy laws, and for the former Calgary Health Region where she was responsible for the administration of FOIP and HIA. Diane has also been a member of a clinical medical research ethics board evaluating privacy risks in research proposals.

Diane obtained her law degree from the University of Victoria in 2009 and has been called to the bars of British Columbia, Alberta and Yukon.

As Information and Privacy Commissioner, one of Diane’s priorities is to ensure access and privacy rights are prioritized in Alberta’s efforts to diversify the economy through data-driven innovations. This includes advocating for modernized access to information and privacy laws that enable digitization across Alberta’s public, health and private sectors while safeguarding the rights of Albertans.

Jody Thomas, Deputy Minister of National Defence (Ret'd)

Deputy Minister of National Defence (ret’d) Jody Thomas was among the first women to serve aboard a Canadian military vessel after joining the naval reserves at 17, and her 1988 entry into the public service launched a career that saw her becoming Chief Operating Officer at Passport Canada, Deputy Commissioner of Operations of the CCG, and Commissioner of the CCG. She then joined DND, serving as Senior Associate Deputy Minister and ultimately Deputy Minister of National Defence from 2017-22, at which point she became National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister.

Hon. Erin O'Toole, P.C., C.D.

Erin O’Toole is the President and Managing Director of ADIT North America and serves on the executive committee of ADIT Group. ADIT Group is a Paris-based business intelligence firm that provides global investment due diligence, operational support 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.

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 around the world. He was also responsible for corporate social responsibility efforts for the resource sector and regulatory cooperation with the United States. 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 he served as Shadow Minister of Foreign Affairs before becoming Leader of the Opposition.

Erin is one of Canada's most respected thought leaders on economic and foreign policy issues because of his public service, his private sector experience and his service in uniform. A graduate of the Royal Military College, Erin served as an officer in the Royal Canadian Air Force flying on the Sea King helicopter in support of naval operations. A graduate of 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. In 2025, Erin was appointed a Distinguished Fellow at the Hudson Institute, a respected Washington, D.C.-based think tank dedicated to advancing innovative public policy solutions.

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.