Jamie Sawchuk

Jamie grew up in Winnipeg. Long summer camping trips deepened his connection to the prairies, while his parents instilled a sense of purpose.

“I was raised to think about the bigger picture: ‘How will you make an impact? How will you give back?’”

Continuing his childhood fascination with building things, Jamie chose a degree in electrical engineering, landing his first job in energy system modelling and forecasting.

However, he soon realized his education was incomplete.

“A global car company appointed a CEO with a finance background, not engineering which didn’t make sense to me for a manufacturing company. I realized I needed to learn the language of finance to accomplish bigger things.”

Jamie took the Ivey MBA, spending time in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

“The Dutch are incredibly innovative. I realized I had a Canada-US-centric view and discovered new ways of thinking.”

Keen to apply his MBA, Jamie pursued a consulting career, landing projects supporting Indigenous economic growth and optimizing Canada's grain supply chain. He expanded into the public sector, healthcare, energy, and transportation.

“I love consulting because you’re tackling conundrums. Solving business problems often needs fresh perspectives as much as experience. As an optimist and an engineer with an analytical approach, I know the value of looking at challenges from different angles. Artistic minds bring creative, unconventional solutions that I might miss. Working together these diverse perspectives create a more dynamic approach to problem-solving.”

Upon making partner, Jamie began working in Toronto, working with an ecosystem that included a large telco and a provincial government to transform digital services.

“On the deal side, we can accomplish anything by bringing together the best minds. Often, that means looking globally for innovation and adapting it for Canada.”

Jamie then moved his young family to Victoria and opened the office there where he focused on large, strategic programs. At that time, BC was a have not province, receiving transfer payments from the rest of Canada. In response, Jamie worked with a strategic partner and brought the global best to Victoria to work with the BC government to digitally transform revenue collection, improve customer service, and to do so in an outcome-oriented deal structure where payment was tied to improving BC’s financial situation.

“We brought in specialists from the US and Germany, and leveraged SAP’s revenue collection capabilities, boosting customer service by 84%, cutting complaints to below 1%, and recovering hundreds of millions in additional revenue for BC.” Harvard wrote a case study on the program and Gartner called it the largest program of its kind in the world.

Despite professional success, Jamie was unsure big city life was for him—a feeling that crystallized on a work trip to BC.

“I cycled on the Lochside Trail; it was stunning. I immediately phoned my wife to suggest moving to Victoria.”

Today, 22 years and two grown-up children later, Jamie couldn’t be happier.

“We love Victoria. It's a climate-progressive part of the world. Here, when people ask, ‘What do you do?’ they mean, ‘What makes you interesting?’ I’ve raised my children with this perspective beyond work.”

Jamie’s answer? Competing in triathlons.

“I’ve competed in 40, including two world championships. Recently, Triathlon Canada asked me to represent my age group in Australia.”

At Deloitte, Jamie focuses on three areas and their intersection.

1. Accelerating housing and infrastructure, and creating more liveable cities

“Canada has a housing problem. Driving density and transit-enabled housing will decarbonize our communities. Cities can use a digital twin and AI for urban planning to explore real-time scenarios to increase density and resiliency, while concurrently improving liveability and public safety, and accelerate permitting and approvals. Permits that used to take years, can be issued in minutes.”

2. Scaling affordable energy transition

“We’re working with BC clients to scale sustainable energy solutions. BC has the potential to become a sustainable energy superpower. In an age of global uncertainty, there is opportunity, if you know where to look. There is a great opportunity to invest in clean electricity and electricity infrastructure – created by Canadians, for Canadians and leveraging Canadian resources. As Canada’s gateway to global markets, BC can then tap into that clean energy to enable low-carbon natural gas to gain access tidewater and global markets.”

3. Working with Google to leverage AI to create value and climate resiliency

Jamie works with Google globally, to leverage their superpowers in AI and geospatial platforms and to apply these powers in an ethical way to help mitigate wildfire risks, flooding risks, to leverage renewable energy, and to help plan sustainable, liveable density in our urban centres. “Hey Google, help me plan out a community that is liveable, safe, affordable, and has great community spirit, access to green space and active transportation, and with a strong business case for development? OK, now show me what that looks like? Help me get the permits to develop?” That future is closer than we think.

“This is where the intersection between these three areas becomes interesting. Integrating AI with Google Earth’s vast geospatial datasets enables innovative, large-scale solutions across housing, energy, and resiliency against climate risks.”

“For example, AI combined with geospatial data, like LIDAR and satellite imagery, can detect wildfire risks and support energy infrastructure resilience. Once risks are identified, AI can guide maintenance teams to act proactively – cutting back trees or replacing assets before they fail.”

“Policymakers, cities, and individuals each play essential roles in driving change.”

“Policies can be adapted to suit the different needs of rural and urban communities. For example, EVs make a lot of sense in urban centres where trips are short and charging infrastructure is plentiful. However, they may be less realistic in remote northern communities where extreme cold affects battery performance amid limited charging options. In addition, we need to do a better job of focusing on affordability at the family level and assessing the impact of policies on the fiscally most vulnerable in our society.”

With cities accounting for 70% of CO2 emissions, AI-driven urban planning can make a tremendous difference towards increasing climate resiliency and decreasing operational and embedded carbon in our communities.

“I see a great opportunity to leverage AI geospatial data to help cities drive density, improve public safety, and decarbonize their communities. In my mind, cities will be ground zero for figuring this out.”

“I’m a strong believer that when faced with a challenge so immense that no one organization can solve for it, bring together the ecosystem, focus on the big rocks, figure out our collective north star—creating a better world for our kids—and disrupt the heck out of it. Make sure people enjoy the experience and feel the benefits of the change. If climate change is the challenge of our generation, then use ethical AI, which many call the technology of our generation, to improve it.”