The Women in Insurance Summit Canada returns on June 2, 2026, at Universal Eventspace in Vaughan – and, in its ninth year, the one-day summit arrives with its most ambitious program yet.
Carrying the theme “Navigating Change. Shaping the Market. Elevating Women.,” the summit’s 2026 edition assembles more than 500 insurance professionals nationwide – brokers, underwriters, executives, and specialists alike – to address the challenges of a changing market.
The most significant structural addition to this year’s summit is the introduction of interactive discussion tables – a format designed to replace passive listening with active participation.
Attendees are placed in small, focused groups to examine issues directly relevant to their day-to-day roles, with each table anchored to a specific theme. Participants are expected to leave each session with concrete strategies and peer connections they can act on immediately.
The broader program carries the same intent: practical, real-world insight over general discussion. Sessions span four key tracks – wellbeing, resilience, and change; talent, careers, and next-generation leaders; economics, risk, and decision-making; and fraud, technology, and trust.
The wellbeing track draws on science-backed approaches to managing stress and avoiding burnout during periods of consolidation. Economics-focused conversations address how macroeconomic forces, social inflation, and emerging risks affect performance and client expectations, while the fraud and technology track examines how artificial intelligence is reshaping the insurance value chain and where traditional defences are falling short.
Anchoring the speaker program are four industry leaders whose careers span cyber risk, entrepreneurship, mutual insurance leadership, and talent recruitment.
Stephanie Banning, AVP of Cyber Practice at HSB Canada, brings expertise in one of the sector’s fastest-growing risk areas. Rose Freeman, founder and CEO of Willow Insurance Corp., and Brenda Gibson, president and CEO of Red River Mutual, each represent distinct paths to executive leadership in Canada’s insurance market. Lisa Kack, founder and CEO of Royal City Recruitment Inc., rounds out the roster with a focused lens on talent strategy and career navigation.
Brokers attending the summit can claim four hours of continuing education credits approved by the Registered Insurance Brokers of Ontario, fulfilling part of their annual requirements at one of Canada’s leading gatherings for women and allies in insurance.
You can register for the event here.
