PHOTO GALLERY: GroceryConnex 2025

More than 700 industry leaders gathered at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York on Nov. 24 for GroceryConnex 2025.

The annual conference, the premier event for Canadian grocery execs, was jam-packed with expert keynotes, retailer panel discussions and awards ceremonies that celebrated both the industry's rising stars as well as some of grocery’s most accomplished leaders. There was also plenty of opportunity for networking.

Douglas Porter, chief economist and managing director at BMO Financial Group kicked off the morning with his “Just Traffic” presentation that provided insights on the state of Canada’s economy and an outlook for 2026.

What followed was a dynamic panel moderated by Longo’s Anthony Longo and featuring 2025 Golden Pencil honourees Shaun McKenna of The Grocery Foundation and Empire’s Michael Medline, who both shared stories about mistakes made and lessons learned over their successful careers. 

READ: Solid gold - meet the 2025 Golden Pencil winners

A highlight of the afternoon was a retail leadership panel featuring Venessa Yates of Walmart Canada, Jamie Nelson of Pattison Food Group, Metro’s Marc Giroux, Longo’s Deb Craven and moderated by RCC’s Kim Furlong.

Other speakers rounding out the day included NielsenIQ’s Carman Allison, dunnhumby’s Jim Prins and Erich Kahner, Kevin Lacey of Environics Analytics and Arterra Wines Canada’s John Boynton. 

Canadian Grocer’s 2025 Generation Next winners were also revealed at a special award ceremony and the day was capped off with the Golden Pencil Awards celebrating the careers and contributions to the industry of McKenna, Medline and Unilever Canada’s Gary Wade.

Swipe through the gallery below to see some highlights from the day. All photos by Goldmedia.ca.