Angie Poirier’s career came to a screeching halt when her son was diagnosed with cancer in 2024. But now, with her family healthy and thriving, Poirier is ready to take on a new challenge.
Last month, Poirier announced that she has joined the Ottawa Cancer Foundation full-time as director of communications and public relations.
“I’ll be a point of contact, setting up press releases and supporting our major events,” she told OBJ on Friday. “But I’ll also be able to go out into the community myself and speak on behalf of the foundation, to continue to connect with other families that have been through the cancer journey.”
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Poirier spent 26 years in the media, including eight years as CTV Morning Live TV host and 12 years as host of Bell Media’s MOVE 100 Morning Show.
In 2024, when her radio show was discontinued, she decided to take a break in hopes of pivoting to other things. But just two months later, her family received devastating news.
“My little eight-year-old son was diagnosed with cancer,” she said. “That put the brakes on everything that I thought was important at the time and completely changed my focus, my perspective.”
Through appointments and scans and treatments, Poirier said she took on a new job as a full-time caregiver to her son.
In February, her son officially completed his treatments. When that happened, the question then became: what’s next?
“It became, what am I going to do now?” said Poirier. “I had already been in an ambassador role with the cancer foundation throughout my son’s battle because I wanted to help out where I could. I spoke at a few of their events, talking about my story and the importance of support for families. Then that led to conversations with the team there and that has now led to a position.”
While there are still follow-up appointments for her son, Poirier said she’s excited to take on a role that allows her to help others going through the same experience.
“I really had the sense of the importance of that work,” she said. “The more I learned about it, the more I thought, this is just what is needed in the cancer communities. I know full well the amount of support that needs to happen inside the walls of the hospital, but everything else that happens outside of the hospital needs to be supported as well. Mental health is key.”
While the work is a bit different from what she’s done in the past, Poirier said media and communications come back to the importance of storytelling, something she said she’s always loved.
“It’s a learning curve, jumping from media to the non-profit space,” she said. “There’s a lot of terminology and programs and services that I’m immersing myself in, just learning everything. But the team is incredible. The foundation is only 25 employees but they work like a well-oiled machine. They’ve been very welcoming and I just feel really comfortable that I’ve found my place.”
Other people on the move
Burson Canada announced last month that it has brought Cynthia Jenkins on board to serve as vice-president of public affairs in its Ottawa office. With two decades of political and policy experience at the provincial and federal levels, the firm said Jenkins will play a key role in bolstering its federal practice in the city. According to a press release, Jenkins has worked with two prime ministers, two premiers and five federal ministers across six portfolios. She has overseen policy and legislative initiatives, including the Pension for Life benefit regime and pharmacare legislation at Health Canada. Burson Canada said her policy-making experience in health, immigration and other highly regulated areas will be an asset to its clients.
Shelley McLean has taken on a new role at The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, she announced earlier this week on LinkedIn. McLean first joined the organization as a communications officer in 2016 and has since held various positions in marketing and media relations. Now she has taken on a new role as development officer on the philanthropy team. In her LinkedIn post, she said the opportunity was unexpected and marks the beginning of her “next career chapter.” Prior to joining the foundation, McLean spent more than two decades in radio, including 20 years with Bell Media’s 580 CFRA.
Four local leaders will be joining Invest Ottawa’s board of directors. As the organization prepares to launch a new five-year plan, the organization said its new members will provide a depth of expertise that will help drive economic impacts in the city. The new members are Andrew Waitman, executive chair and co-founder of Assent, as well as managing partner of Blackswan Ventures; Susan Rohac, former corporate director of the climate-tech fund at BDC; Benoît Rousseau, vice-president of GaN Automotive and managing director of Infineon Technologies Canada Inc.; and Sean Webster, principal of GT & Company and managing director of Chelsea Strategy Group. They replace outgoing members Rob Cameron, Jennifer Francis, Jacques Frémont and Jerry Tomberlin.
Hats off!
Ottawa insurance broker Gifford Carr announced last month that it has acquired Florida-based Omni One Insurance Agency, marking its first expansion outside of Canada. Founded in Cape Coral, Fla., Omni One serves individuals and families across the state. Gifford Carr said in a news release that the firm will continue operating under its original name with its existing team while providing clients with additional support from Gifford Carr’s expanded resources and industry tools.
Invest Ottawa generated $635 million in GDP for Ottawa and Canada last year, an 11.5 per cent increase year-over-year, according to its 2024 Economic Impact Report. The report, which was released in September, found that through its work with founders, companies and partners, the organization supported the creation of 4,055 jobs and contributed $100 million to government revenues. Since 2018, the report said, the agency has delivered $3.7 billion in GDP impact, 29,343 jobs and $622 million to government revenues. In a press release, Invest Ottawa said the continued growth provides a strong foundation for its upcoming five-year strategic plan, which will be released early next year.
Michelle Younes, director of venture programs for Invest Ottawa, has been recognized by Canadian tech recruitment firm Toast as one of this year’s Top 25 Women in Tech. The program spotlights women leaders making significant contributions to the technology sector across Canada. In a press release, Invest Ottawa said that Younes has been a “transformational leader” for the city. Her work has included designing and launching the IO Venture Path, which has helped more than 1,300 startups and scaleups through various stages of growth. It said she has also played a key role in driving gender parity among advisers, introducing customer success metric tracking and designing services such as peer groups and leadership training for underrepresented founders.
Local chef Jason Sawision won gold at the Ottawa-Gatineau regional culinary competition, qualifying him and his team to compete at the 2026 Canadian Culinary Championship in January. Five chefs faced off to represent the region on the national stage, including Simon Beaudry (Les Fougères), Michael Hauschild (InHaus Cooking), Mitch Lacombe (Gitanes) and Simon Laroche (Restaurant Caméline). Sawision, who also won the people’s choice award for the night, is the owner and chef of Stofa Restaurant on Wellington Street West.
Other news
International Business University announced earlier this month that its new graduate campus has opened in Ottawa at 979 Bank St. The organization, which is Ontario’s first independent not-for-profit university to exclusively provide business education, said in a press release that the new campus will offer two master of business administration programs: one in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship; and the other in global business management. Both programs are designed to address the needs of employers and the future workforce.
