Commission for Environmental Cooperation

Minister of Environment and Climate Change
Location: North Vancouver

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson has served as the Member of Parliament for North Vancouver since 2015.

Raised in Saskatchewan, Minister Wilkinson spent more than 20 years in the private sector, holding leadership positions with a number of companies dedicated to the development of green technologies.

Minister Wilkinson’s work as CEO of both QuestAir Technologies and the former BioteQ Environmental Technologies (now BQE Water Inc.), in addition to his role as senior Vice-President of Business Development with Nexterra, provided him with extensive experience in the energy and environmental technology sectors. He also previously worked at Bain & Company, a leading global management consultancy.

A Rhodes Scholar, Minister Wilkinson made use of his educational background in public policy when he worked as a constitutional negotiator and a federal-provincial relations specialist for former Saskatchewan Premier Roy Romanow. He has served on several industry and charitable boards, including the United Way of the Lower Mainland and the B.C. Technology Industry Association. He also served as a board member and treasurer of the Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation.

Minister Wilkinson has deep roots in North Vancouver, where he is raising his family alongside his wife, Tara.

An agricultural engineer by training, María Luisa Albores González is a graduate of Chapingo Autonomous University (UACH) specializing in tropical regions with a focus on sustainable coffee cultivation.

She also did graduate studies in pedagogy of the subject and educational practice at the Center for Studies on Rural Development (CESDR).

Her further education includes studies in entrepreneurship at Mondragón University in Spain and at the Andalusian School of Social Economy.

Her career has been devoted to community service with extensive experience in the social and solidarity-based economy.

For over 10 years, Albores González has worked with cooperatives in Mexico and with Indigenous organizations, particularly in the State of Puebla’s Sierra Norte.

Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency

Michael S. Regan is the first Black man and second person of color to lead the U.S Environmental Protection Agency.

Raised in North Carolina where he developed a passion for the environment, Mr. Regan most recently served as the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
As Secretary, Mr. Regan spearheaded North Carolina’s initiatives to address climate change, transition the state to a clean energy economy, secured the largest coal ash clean-up in United States history, in addition to establishing North Carolina’s first-of-its-kind Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory board to better align social inequities, environmental protection, and community empowerment.

Previously, Administrator Regan served as Associate Vice President of U.S. Climate and Energy, and as Southeast Regional Director of the Environmental Defense Fund where he convened energy companies, business leaders, environmental and industry groups, and elected officials across the country to achieve pragmatic solutions to the climate crisis.

Mr. Regan began his career with the U.S. EPA, eventually becoming a national program manager responsible for designing strategic solutions with industry and corporate stakeholders to reduce air pollution, improve energy efficiency and address climate change.

Administrator Regan is a graduate of the North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and he earned a master’s degree in Public Administration from The George Washington University.

Mr. Regan and his wife, Melvina, are proud parents to their son, Matthew.