Chris Ballard, one of the founders of the Consumers Council of Canada was elected president of the Council at the organization’s annual general meeting.

Ballard succeeds Don Mercer, who completed his second term as president and reached the seven-year term limit for members of the Council’s board.

In other board leadership positions, the Council named Michael Jenkin as vice-president, Trevor Shaw as treasurer and Ashish (AJ) Sharma as secretary.

Ballard, a former Ontario cabinet minister, served as Minister of Housing and the Poverty Reduction Strategy and Minster of Environment and Climate Change. He has a background in consumer advocacy and consumer affairs, is a past executive director of the Consumer’s Association Canada (Ontario) and managed that organization’s transition into the Consumers Council of Canada.

The Council’s board of directors for 2023-24 will consist of Ballard, Max Goodman-Coop, Jay Jackson, Jenkin, Tracy MacCharles, Agni Shah, Shaw, Sharma and Larry Swartz. Goodman Coop is new to the board. He has a Master’s degree in sustainability management, and works as a product analyst with a construction management software company.

Mercer and Vice-President Julie Caissie both ended their board service after reaching the seven-year term limit for Council directors. Mercer had two different seven-year terms as a board member, and twice served as Council president. Combined with a two-year period in between those terms, he served 16-years in leadership roles at the Council.

Mercer plans to remain involved with Council activities, and will continue to represent consumers as part of Payment Canada’s Stakeholder Advisory Council and chairing two of its working groups.