Canada 2025
Supported by the Association of Corporate Counsel
General Counsel + Head of Legal, Privacy, AI & Ethics | ModiFace
Directeur des Affaires juridiques / Secrétaire corporatif | Groupe Helios
General counsel and chief privacy officer | Bond Brand Loyalty
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Investment Management Corporation of Ontario (IMCO)
Vice President, Legal and Chief Governance Officer | Vancouver Airport Authority
Chief corporate services officer & general counsel | Ontario Energy Board
Chief legal and human resources officer | Pan American Silver
Chief legal officer and corporate services officer | Draganfly
Executive vice president, chief development officer and general counsel | Empire Company
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Computershare Trust Company of Canada
Senior vice president, general counsel, ESG & corporate secretary | RioCan REIT
Vice president of legal, Canada | Restaurant Brands International Inc
Associate Director of Education, Organizational Transformation, Accountability, and Legal | Toronto District School Board
VP, Head of Corporate Affairs, Legal and ED&I, ESG | ArcelorMittal Dofasco
Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary | Rogers Communications
SVP Legal, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary and Compliance Officer | Descartes Systems Group
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Doman Building Materials Group
Chief operating officer and general counsel | Insight Productions
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Badger Infrastructure Solutions Ltd.
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Spin Master
General counsel, executive vice president and corporate secretary | Coca-Cola Canada
Vice President, Commercial and Regulatory Affairs & General Counsel | Prince Rupert Port Authority
Chief legal officer & corporate secretary | Altus Group
EVP, Chief Legal and Public Affairs Officer | Oxford Properties Group
Vice President, Legal and Corporate Secretary | Teck Resources Limited
Executive vice-president, chief legal and governance officer | TELUS
Chief Administrative Officer, VP Legal, Corporate Affairs and HR | Kraft Heinz Company
Senior vice president, general counsel and secretary | Morguard Corporation
Chief Legal, ESG and Governance Officer | Ontario Power Generation
Vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary | CPKC
Premier vice-président à la direction, affaires juridiques | National Bank of Canada
Chief legal and governance officer | Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC)
Executive vice president and chief legal officer | George Weston Limited
Vice-president and general counsel | McDonald's Restaurants of Canada
Executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary | Just Energy
Senior Vice President Legal, north America infrastructure | Acciona Infrastructure Canada
Managing Partner, General Counsel, Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer | BGO
BGO
Senior Vice President, Legal Counsel & Corporate Secretary | Colliers International Group Inc.
EVP, Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary | Open Text Corporation
Executive Vice-President, Legal Affairs, Compliance and Secretariat | La Caisse
Premier vice-président et chef des affaires juridiques | Boralex
General Counsel and Group Head, Legal & Regulatory Compliance; Member of Executive Committee | BMO
Executive vice president and chief legal and regulatory officer | Shaw Communications
Senior vice president, deputy general counsel and corporate secretary | Toronto Dominion Bank (TD)
Executive vice president, law branch, and general counsel | Alberta Energy Regulator
SVP, Legal, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary | Cenovus Energy
On behalf of Legal 500, I am delighted to introduce the GC Powerlist: Canada 2025.
This edition recognises the general counsel and in-house legal teams who play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s corporate and legal landscape. Through our research, we met with professionals who not only provide expert legal guidance but also influence strategies, drive transformation and help their businesses thrive.
Across Canada, general counsel are stepping well beyond traditional roles. They are central to the navigation of complex regulations, enabling innovation, advancing sustainability and governance priorities, and supporting their organisations through rapid change. The GC Powerlist: Canada 2025 celebrates those who combine deep legal expertise with leadership, vision and purpose.
As Agostino Lucarelli, Head of Legal Affairs at Helios Group, puts it: ‘Our team works closely with the top management to ensure that legal strategies directly support our business objectives. I play an integral role in shaping the company’s direction.’
Many emphasise partnership as the foundation of success. Alexa Abiscott, Chief Legal Officer and Secretary at ApplyBoard, explains ‘We truly are an enabling function with our business and strategy teams across the organisation. We maintain extremely high trust relationships throughout the company and are included early in many new initiatives, not as an afterthought.’
Innovation and transformation are equally central. Fernando Garcia, Chief Legal and People Officer at Opta Group, reflects ‘Legal departments must evolve from being reactive to becoming proactive and integrated business partners, using technology to anticipate risks and accelerate outcomes.’
Joshua Kane, Vice President, Legal and General Counsel at STEP Energy Services, adds ‘Our philosophy is that it’s not about saying no to risk, it is about ensuring our business group understands the risk they take in exchange for the expected reward.’
The spirit of collaboration also runs deep across Canada’s legal community. Empowering people to lead and thrive is a strategic imperative: when individuals flourish, so do their organisations.
These insights reflect a broader shift within Canada’s legal community: from risk management to value creation, from technical advice to strategic influence, and from individual expertise to collective impact.
We are proud to present this year’s GC Powerlist: Canada, a celebration of legal professionals who are redefining the future of corporate law and connecting local insight with global impact.
On 9 June, Legal 500 hosted the launch of the GC Powerlist: Brazil 2026 at the Grand Hyatt in São Paulo, once again in exclusive partnership with Cescon Barrieu – marking the fourth consecutive year of collaboration with our longstanding key partner in the country. This flagship publication celebrates the most accomplished and influential in-house lawyers in Brazil, bringing together leading corporate legal professionals to recognise their outstanding achievements.
The evening opened with remarks from Francisco Castro, Research Editor at Legal 500 and editorial lead behind the publication. He highlighted the exceptional accomplishments of this year’s honourees and shared key insights drawn from the research and submissions process, including the prominence of certain industries, the continued expansion of in-house roles into executive and strategic functions, and the growing diversity, particularly the increasing presence of women in legal leadership positions.
This was followed by remarks from Alexandre Barreto, Managing Partner at Cescon Barrieu, who congratulated the featured general counsel and reflected on the ongoing evolution of Brazil’s legal and business sectors. He underscored the importance of recognising the in-house legal community and noted how the firm continues to adapt to the shifting demands of both clients and the wider business landscape.
With over 100 guests in attendance, including many of Brazil’s leading corporate legal professionals, the event once again demonstrated Legal 500 and Cescon Barrieu’s shared commitment to championing the country’s in-house legal talent.
Legal 500 extends its sincere thanks to Cescon Barrieu for their continued partnership, now in its fourth consecutive year. We are also pleased to announce our return to Brazil later this year with the GC Summit Premier, our new flagship platform for in-house counsel to exchange ideas, strengthen networks, and explore the key legal challenges shaping today’s business environment.
