S10:E03 Convention Keynotes: Leading, Listening, and Looking Ahead

Today, we are back recapping the most recent SUMA Convention 2026, which was under the theme ‘Foundation of Urban Strength”. And today we are sitting down with the keynote speakers from this year's Convention. Welcome to Season 10 of Muni-Cast. MuniCast is brought to you by SUMA, the voice of Saskatchewan’s urban municipalities. MuniCast discusses topics that are important to municipal leaders, like local governance, best practices, education, and so much more. This season, conversations will dive into how municipalities can get the most value from SUMA’s offerings—from building meaningful connections through networking, to strengthening capacity through education, advancing local priorities through advocacy, and gaining direct access to government officials. Whether you’re looking for practical insights, new perspectives, or opportunities to stay informed and connected, Season 10 of MuniCast will deliver conversations that support and strengthen your municipal leadership journey. Our first interview today is with Warren Macdonald. Macdonald’s inspirational survival story began in April 1997 with his accident on North Queensland’s (Australia) Hinchinbrook Island. Climbing to the Island’s tallest peak, he became trapped beneath a one-ton boulder in a freak rockfall. Two days later, he was rescued, only to undergo the amputation of both legs at mid-thigh. In 2003, he became the first double above-knee amputee to reach the summit of Africa’s tallest peak, Mt Kilimanjaro (19,222ft). Later that same year, in a spectacular effort requiring more than 2,800 pull-ups over 4 days, he climbed America's tallest cliff face, El Capitan. Warren is also the only above-knee amputee to make an ascent of Canada’s landmark frozen waterfall, the 600 ft “Weeping Wall” in Alberta. At the SUMA Convention in Regina, we caught up with Warren to discuss his speech to delegates and how being resilient is key for everyone, including Municipal Leaders. We also caught up with the second keynote speaker, Jack Lucas of the University of Calgary. Lucas co-leads the Canadian Municipal Barometer, which is a national research partnership funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council that seeks to understand and improve local democracy in Canada. Bringing together more than 40 researchers across 14 partner organizations, the CMB conducts annual surveys of mayors and councillors in over 1,000 Canadian municipalities, complemented by national public-opinion polling and in-depth qualitative studies on local representation and diversity, elections and voting, policymaking, and multilevel governance. Its goal is to build public trust by providing high-quality information about Canadian municipalities, thereby improving the connection between local politicians and the communities they represent. We sat down with Professor Lucas to discuss the key metrics of the Barometer and where municipal leaders go from here. ----- Learn More About SUMA: Website: Facebook: Twitter: Linkedin: Instagram: Youtube: ----- Listen to the Show: Spotify: Apple Podcast: Youtube: ----- Music: ‘One Foot On Main Street’ written and performed by Jeffery Straker, used with permission. ----- MuniCast is made in partnership with SUMA and the Cross Border Network ©2026

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S10:E03 Convention Keynotes: Leading, Listening, and Looking Ahead is an episode from MuniCast by SUMA.

This episode is 00:34:39 long.

This episode was published on Apr 29, 2026.

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