From April 13-16, over 1000 representatives from Saskatchewan’s cities, towns, villages, resort villages, and northern municipalities will come together for the 2025 SUMA Convention and Tradeshow at TCU Place in Saskatoon.
Through Convention 2025, delegates will reconnect with colleagues, focus on new ideas, network with SUMA and provincial decision makers, and reflect on municipal issues. This year, the Premier, Minister of Government Relations, Leader of the Official Opposition, and FCM’s President will all speak at the event. Delegates will also attend education sessions and browse over 200 booths in the Municipal Marketplace presented by Kinetic GPO.
This year, SUMA is pleased to present two incredible keynote addresses. Our first keynote address features Pamela Barnum, a nonverbal communication expert and trust strategist. With experience undercover in Drug Enforcement and a successful 20-year career as a federal prosecuting attorney, Pamela teaches negotiation and body language techniques—skills essential for building trust. Blending actionable strategies with memorable stories, Pamela will show delegates how to enhance communication within and between municipalities and their partners.
The second keynote will be with Dr. Gabor Maté, a physician who worked for over a decade in Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with patients challenged by drug addiction and mental illness. Dr. Maté will illuminate where and how addictions originate. Dr. Maté discusses addiction as a response to a distressing life history and life situation, and the purpose that addiction serves to the individual. Using cutting-edge science, this session will cover the sources of addiction, the development of the addicted mind, the social basis of addiction in economic, cultural and political dislocation and disempowerment, and more. Dr. Maté’s presentation is sure to build delegates’ understanding of the mental health and addictions crisis many urban municipalities are facing.