Bringing Supplier Diversity to British Columbia & Nova Scotia

This July WBE Canada visited two provinces – Nova Scotia and British Columbia. All three events – Supplier Diversity Day: Halifax, Supplier Diversity Information Session: Valley Region in Wolfville and Supplier Diversity Day: Vancouver – had 3 primary objectives:

• To connect our WBE community-based in these provinces
• To share best practices in supplier diversity with those in both the private and public sector
• To facilitate networking between women-owned businesses and buyers/supplier diversity leaders from large organizations

The three events (Halifax, Wolfville and Vancouver) were organized in partnership with SDAC and local partners. Each event was divided into 2 sections – buyers only and open event.

The Buyer events provided a learning opportunity to help participants with the first steps of implementing supplier diversity strategy into procurement operations.

The Open events featured conversations involving both supplier diversity and small business professionals, around the latest developments in supplier diversity in Canada as well as networking opportunities to connect buyers and diverse suppliers.

Huge thank you to our speakers and presenters for their contribution to the success of these events –

• David Hunt, Canada Post
• Florence Chapman, Sobeys
• Jessica Grey, RBC
• John Castelhano, BGIS
• Maddy Baker, TELUS
• Meghan McNamara, TELUS
• Shannon Walker, Whistleblower Security
• Taura Lee, B’Spoke Apparel

Each event provided unique networking opportunities in the two provinces as corporations and governments seek to diversify their supply chains and engage more diverse suppliers in their procurement opportunities.

WBE Canada’s Supplier Advisory Committee (SAC) supported events, hosting Meetups to provide opportunities for casual conversations. Marte Belisle, President of SommEvents hosted both events in Halifax and Vancouver.

Participating partner organizations:

CAMSC
CGLCC
CWB Nova Scotia
GroYourBiz
IWSCC
NSBI
The Forum
WE-BC

These events would not have been possible without the generous support of our sponsors and supporters – ACOA, NSBI, RBC, TELUS – Thank you!

To all who joined us in person – it was great to meet you and help you build your network – thank you for joining us and we hope to see you in Toronto this November!

If you missed these events, consider joining us in Toronto this November – WBE Canada’s 2022 National Conference: “Roadmap To Success – It Starts with Us” is happening in-person on November 9-10th. Early bird registration is now open. Get your ticket now!