Atlantic Executive Briefing 2025: Driving Digital Transformation, Resilience & Responsible AI
On October 2, TECHNATION convened government leaders, industry partners, and technology experts in Halifax and online for the Atlantic Executive Briefing. With support from our sponsors, Fortinet, CrowdStrike, Foci Solutions, KPMG Canada, Tanium, and Workday, the event highlighted how digital innovation, cybersecurity, and responsible adoption of AI are shaping the future of the region.
Deputy Minister Jennifer LaPlante, Cybersecurity and Digital Solutions (CSDS), Government of Nova Scotia, opened the session with a candid discussion on the challenges and opportunities of modernizing government. She underscored the need to balance limited resources with growing demands from healthcare to education to cybersecurity, while building in-house capacity to reduce vendor dependency.
Deputy LaPlante moderated a panel with senior leaders including Tracy Fiander Trask, ADM and CTO, CSDS, Sandra McKenzie, Deputy Minister, Emergency Management, Government of Nova Scotia, Arlene Williams, ADM and Chief Digital Officer, CSDS, and Clay Bates, Executive Director, Digital Practices and Technology. Together, they discussed the province’s journey from small IT units to a full department of Cybersecurity and Digital Solutions, its response to recent wildfires and floods, and the importance of building resilient infrastructure in partnership with emergency management.
One highlight was Nova Scotia Guard, a unique volunteer program that now supports emergency response, including form-filling assistance and critical care support for communities during crises. McKenzie shared how new digital payment platforms allowed displaced families and forestry contractors to receive funds within 24-48 hours, a transformation from past delays of weeks or months.
Responsible AI adoption
AI remained a central theme throughout the day. Speakers emphasized that AI is not a silver bullet, but requires strong foundations in digital literacy, secure data, and human oversight. Nova Scotia leaders outlined efforts to modernize legacy systems, adopt secure AI tools like Copilot responsibly, and build internal “bench strength” for sustainable innovation.
Following this discussion, Valerie Kelly, Director of Innovation & Transformation at New Brunswick’s Department of Social Development, shared how her province is re-engineering operations through client-centred design. By modernizing legacy systems and introducing new digital tools, New Brunswick is reducing administrative burden and improving services for vulnerable populations, while preparing for evolving community needs.
The session concluded with insights from Olesia Kazantseva, Senior Technical Advisor with the Artificial Intelligence Program and AI Centre of Excellence at Shared Services Canada, presented the Government of Canada’s GC AI Program, highlighting the federal AI hub, new governance models, and guiding principles for trustworthy AI: accountability, transparency, fairness, privacy, security, societal well-being, and human-centred design.
Looking ahead
Discussions repeatedly returned to the importance of partnerships: across departments, with industry vendors, with academia, and with other provinces. From wildfire resilience to AI adoption, leaders across the Atlantic region are working together to adapt proven approaches while fostering homegrown innovation.
Thank you to all of the speakers, participants and sponsors for making this dialogue possible. Together, we are advancing digital transformation, cybersecurity, and responsible AI across Atlantic Canada, strengthening both government capacity and community resilience.
