Ron L'Esperance
Associate Consultant
rlesperance (at) cfncon.com
Ron L'Esperance retired from the Nova Scotia Public Service in December, 2003, after serving the province in a wide range of senior leadership positions for the past twenty six years.
At the time of his retirement, he was Deputy Minister of the Department of Environment and Labor, the province's regulatory affairs department. Responsible for a broad range of regulatory matters including environment, insurance, financial institutions, securities, workplace and public safety, he led a regulatory reform initiative in the Department and also worked nationally with the Prime Minister's Task Force on Smart Regulation.
Mr. L'Esperance previously served as the Deputy Minister of Economic Development for Nova Scotia. Spearheading a broad-ranging public and stakeholder consultation process, he was responsible for developing the province's current economic growth strategy, "Opportunities for Prosperity". He worked extensively with the aerospace and defence sector at the provincial, national and international levels and was a pivotal influence in the development and growth of the Aerospace and Defense Industries Association of Nova Scotia (ADIANS). In addition, he worked with other industry sectors and associations including those in the environment, boat building and information technology fields to promote the province internationally and to attract new investment.
Mr. L'Esperance also served as Deputy Minister of Community Services, the province's leading social policy department with an annual budget approaching $700 million. There, he gained extensive experience in managing organizational change and in leading the development of business improvement initiatives including the design and implementation of innovative information technology solutions to improve service delivery.
Over his career, Mr. L'Esperance has had a broad range of experience in intergovernmental initiatives in the Atlantic Region, in Canada and internationally. This includes, most recently, being Canada's spokesperson at the International Labor Organization in Geneva in June, 2003 in the negotiation on an international instrument to govern human resource development. He also has an extensive network of senior level contacts in the business community throughout Atlantic Canada, across Canada and overseas.
Ron L'Esperance has a strong community profile and in addition to other volunteer work has served on the Boards of Directors of the Greater Halifax Partnership, Innovacorp and the International Health Office at Dalhousie University.
He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Mary's University and a Masters of Arts (in Education) from St. Mary's University and Boston College.