William Gagnon

William Gagnon is a building engineer, climate advocate, and sustainability campaigner specializing in green buildings and decarbonization of the building sector. With a Bachelor of Engineering in Building from Concordia University and Sustainable Carbon Management Microprogram from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, he has worked with various organizations such as Ecology North, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and Conseil de Développement Économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest.

William has a passion for creating a greener future through climate advocacy, sustainability, research, and design engineering. He believes in a net-zero carbon future and aims to achieve carbon neutrality in the building sector by 2030. He is a LEED professional accredited engineer who has demonstrated that the decarbonization of the building sector in the Northwest Territories by 2030 would have a 9% return on investment from eliminated spending on heating oil. It would save northerners $20 million annually and create 87 direct jobs.

In 2018, William made it to the Corporate Knights magazine #top30 Sustainability Leaders list due to his efforts in making the world a better place. He is a strong advocate for eco-anxiety and has spoken about decarbonization of the building sector, climate change, and sustainable development at conferences across the globe, including places like Montreal, Yellowknife, and Whitehorse.

Aside from his professional live, William is very much interested in yoga, cross-country skiing, swimming, and hiking around the Northwest Territories. Due to his queer identity, he enjoys having a good supply of maple syrup in his kitchen at all times.