IPSA Partner of the 2026 United Nations Day Event in Montréal, Canada

Photo: IPSA Executive Director Kim Fontaine-Skronski addresses guests at the UN Day event in Montréal.

IPSA was a proud partner of the United Nations Day in Montréal on 23 October, organized by the United Nations offices in Montréal and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Hosted by UN-Habitat’s Montréal office, the event brought together representatives of UN organizations based in Montréal, the Government of Canada, the Government of Québec, the City of Montréal, the international organizations community, and the diplomatic corps.

The morning program opened with welcome remarks, including a keynote address by Alexandra Mackenzie, Director General of International Organizations and Human Rights at Global Affairs Canada, on the United Nations system and its current challenges. IPSA Executive Director Kim Fontaine-Skronski was among the speakers and highlighted IPSA’s mission and activities, as well as its first open-access book, Does the UN Model Still Work? Challenges and Prospects for the Future of Multilateralism. The morning program concluded with a UN Day cake-cutting ceremony and a breakfast reception, providing guests with an opportunity to network.

Photo (back row): Svein Oesttveit (Interim Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics), Jean Therrien (Director, Government Relations, International Relations and Protocol, City of Montréal), Aki Temiseva (President and CEO, United Nations Association in Canada), Tina Birmpili (Chief Officer, Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol) and Jean-Philippe Renaut (Director General, Maison du Développement Durable.

Front row: Kim Fontaine-Skronski (IPSA Executive Director), Tracey Maulfair (Representative of UNHCR in Canada), Arun Mishra (Director, Administration Bureau, International Civil Aviation Organization), Sandra Melançon (Director, International Organizations, International Forums and European Institutions, Ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie du Québec), Alexandra Mackenzie (Director General, International Organizations and Human Rights, Global Affairs Canada), and Omar Siddique (Head of Office, UN-Habitat Canada).

Multi-Agency Roundtable - The UN in Montreal, Canada: Delivering Global Agendas Locally
In the afternoon, a multi-agency rountable was held titled The UN in Montréal, Canada: Delivering Global Agendas Locally. Moderated by Arnaud Dion (Vice-President, International Organizations, Business Insights and Communications, Montréal International), the rountable gathered senior leadership from UN agencies based in Montréal as well as representatives from the public to discuss the state of multilateralism within the context of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Speakers

• Michael Gill (Director, Legal Affairs and External Relations Bureau, ICAO)   
• Omar Siddique (Head of Office, UN-Habitat Canada)   
• Tina Birmpili (Chief Officer, Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montréal Protocol)   
• Ulrika Nilsson (Associate Information Officer, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity)  
• Svein Østtveit (Interim Director, UNESCO Institute for Statistics)   
• Aki Temiseva (President and CEO, United Nations Association in Canada)
• Tracey Maulfair (Representative of UNHCR in Canada)