The History of Meet the North

2003 Meet the North: Makin' It Work
Conference and Exposition

Click here to view the 2003 website PRE-event
Click here to view the 2003 website POST-event

"Meet the North - Makin' it Work" 2003 (held May 12 - 14) was the third in a series of bi-annual Meet the North conference events envisioned by his Worship, Edmonton Mayor Bill Smith.

From its beginning in 1999, Meet the North (MTN) was designed to bring together the commercial and cultural entities of the industrial south with those of resource-rich northern Alberta and the three northern territories: the Yukon, N.W.T and Nunavut.
While each previous conference has successfully aided in establishing productive north-south relationships, none has done so quite as dramatically as Meet the North 2003.
Held at Edmonton's Mayfield Inn & Suites, this event demonstrated new life and depth-of-purpose by enthusiastically selling-out both the conference and a 50,000 square foot trade-show theatre.

Over 500 registered delegates from across southern Canada and the three northern territories participated in a series of 16 moderated panel discussions designed to identify and share "best practices" associated with four broad-scope disciplines: Aboriginal Relations, Transportation, Education & Workforce, and Economic Development.
In addition to a roster of elected Alberta provincial and Edmonton civic officials, the event attracted personal appearances by the premiers and First Nations executives of all three northern territories.

Corporate and business representatives included such notables as Eric Newell of Syncrude, Ian Reed of Finning (Canada) and Carmen Loberg of Norterra Inc. and Canadian North Airlines, among many others too numerous to mention here.

While the break-out sessions filled to capacity, the trade-show featured 170 display booths representing some 150 different companies, organizations and governments. Visitor attendance reached well over 2,000 as casual and select clientele took advantage of hundreds of purchasing opportunities.

Live local television coverage daily, plus national media attention, both broadcast and print, brought Meet the North 2003 to the furthest reaches of the Arctic North and coast-to-coast to all Canadians.

Considerable anecdotal evidence suggests Meet the North 2003 was, far and away, the finest organized and most rewarding event of its kind to date. With this dedicated website reflecting the key highlights, comments and personalities of each conference break-out session and speakers' address, plus de-briefing sessions with MTN Task Force Chair, Dr. Paul Byrne, and former Whitehorse Mayor Kathy Watson, the legacy of Meet the North 2003 continues.

The event itself was indeed a rewarding re-confirmation of the bonding between North and South. We salute the determination, hard work and incredible spirit so essential to the realization of the vision, the inspiring relationships, and the mutual processes of building for the future, that were the indisputable cornerstones of Meet the North 2003.