Bill Stainton will launch the summit by showing how to uncover game-changing ideas simply by making unexpected connections between challenges, trends, observations, and overlooked opportunities. Participants will leave knowing how to tap into creative problem-solving skills and spot the patterns, possibilities, and ideas that others miss.

Brenda Herchmer invites delegates to move beyond siloed efforts and strengthen their work within a living economic ecosystem. Municipal administrators and elected officials, Indigenous governments, economic developers, parks and recreation providers, community builders, innovation networks, funders, and private-sector partners each play a critical role in the strategies required to grow local and provincial economic, social, cultural, and environmental well-being and prosperity.

Canada’s food system is missing a critical middle: small and medium processors that connect farms to markets, reduce supply-chain risk, and drive local economic growth. Dr. Charlebois examines why this gap exists in Saskatchewan, where opportunities are emerging, and how communities can play a strategic role in closing it. The session will highlight investment trends and practical community-level actions that support processing innovation and long-term resilience.

Empowering people with purpose underlines the work of David Hughes, who leads a national organization that brings together problem-solvers to collaboratively generate, test, and scale solutions to the most complex challenges of our time. Learn about Generate Canada’s ‘Solution Spaces’ that move ideas through small experiments and nudges that build momentum over time.

Centred on unity and interdependence, Saskatchewan’s Jada Yee explores how stronger connections between communities, sectors, and people unlock greater impact. The session highlights how trust, relationships, and shared purpose drive long-term prosperity — and how every participant plays a role in strengthening those ties.