Canadian Chamber of Commerce has a new president and CEO. Who is Candace Laing?
Global News
Laing has served as chair of the chamber's board of directors since 2022 after joining the board in 2019, serving as its vice-chair from 2021 to 2022.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has named Candace Laing its new president and CEO, effective Sept. 1.
Laing has served as chair of the chamber’s board of directors since 2022 after joining the board in 2019, serving as its vice-chair from 2021 to 2022. The chamber said she has resigned from that role as she prepares to take on her new job, which will be based in Ottawa.
She succeeds Perrin Beatty, who will end his 17-year run at the helm on Aug. 30.
“My vision is so closely connected to what the vision of the organization is and that’s that thriving business and a strong economy leads to a better life for all Canadians,” Laing said in an interview.
She said red tape and supply chain obstacles are among the challenges facing Canadian businesses that she hopes to tackle, noting, “We can reduce that burden instead of piling on to it.”
Laing said she also feels it should be more “attractive” for people to start new businesses in Canada or move existing ones there.
“We need a stable regulatory environment in order for that to happen,” she said.
Born in Saskatchewan, Laing spent 10 years at Nutrien Ltd. and its predecessor company, PotashCorp., serving as senior vice-president and chief human resources officer, and as vice-president of sustainability and stakeholder relations.
