ITS Canada 2026 Conference Program

Draft Agenda

(adjustments to the program will be made leading up to the conference - last updated March 22, 2026)

12:30 PM – 4:45 PM

Technical Tours 

5:30 PM – 8:30 PM

VIP Reception (invite only)
Sponsored by ATS Traffic

8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Grand Prairie

Prayer Room
The prayer room is open daily and delegates are welcome to use it during the conference.

7:00 AM – 8:00 AM

Global Leadership Breakfast hosted by Shawna Boakes, CEO ITS Canada
Sponsored by Peracchio & Associates

8:00 AM – 8:45 PM
Jasper/Lake Louise

Registration and light snack International Forum (by invite only)

8:30 AM – 3:30 PM
Empire and Crystal Gallery

Exhibitor Setup

8:45 AM – 11:45 AM
Jasper/Lake Louise

International Forum (by invite only)

Co-moderators: Brian Mofford, Fleetworthy & Usha Elyatamby, Arcadis

Sponsored by Fleetworthy

10:00 AM – 4:30 PM

Registration

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Royal/Imperial

Lunch/Opening Plenary/Keynote
Plenary & Catering

1:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Royal/Imperial

Academic Session 1 moderated by Prof. David Michelson, University of British Columbia

  1. Cascading Failure of Transportation Systems under Flood Hazards: A Review by Xinru Yang, University of Alberta
  2. A Network-Level Thermal Resilience Assessment Framework for Transit Assets by Xinru Yang, University of Alberta
  3. 3D Spatiotemporal Modelling of Pedestrians’ Multi-Hazards Exposure by Xinru Yang, University of Alberta
  4. A CubeSat Testbed for LoRa-based Intelligent Transportation Systems in Remote Areas by Prof. David Michelson, University of British-Columbia
  5. Sidewalk Machine Vision Modeling from a Dynamic Shading Perspective: Spatiotemporal Quantification of Building and Tree Shades Coverage by Huiying (Fizzy) Fan, University of Alberta

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Jasper/Lake Louise

W10 PANEL: Smart Moves at Scale: Montreal’s Blueprint for Future-Ready Digital Infrastructure with North America’s Largest City-Wide Safety and Mobility Analysis System

Organized by Meghan Holcomb, Derq

As cities across Canada and North America seek practical, scalable, and inclusive ITS solutions, Montreal’s approach illustrates how to make smart moves in lean times through strategic investment, cross-sector collaboration, and forward-thinking innovation that delivers real-world impact.

Moderated by Tacel, this session brings together representatives from the City of Montreal, FNX-Innov, and Derq to share the story of Montreal’s city wide (over 100 intersection) Safety and Mobility Analysis System (SASMI) project. Panelists will explore the approach taken, technologies evaluated and selected, and the city’s overarching goals: to proactively monitor and analyze road safety and traffic performance in real time, identify near-miss patterns, and improve VRU safety across a dense, multimodal network.

Attendees will receive actionable takeaways on:

  • Building a connected, future-ready, large-scale intelligent transportation system.
  • Integrating AI and digital infrastructure with new and existing camera networks to create smart intersections that generate real-time safety insights into near-misses, crashes, illegal crossings, and more.
  • Establishing cross-sector partnerships and collaboration strategies across public and private organizations.
  • Prioritizing intersections and defining phase I deployment criteria.
  • Future-proofing investments to support V2X, V2N, connected vehicles, and other emerging technologies.
  • Lessons learned on what worked, what didn’t, and how the team adapted in response.
  • Planning, testing, and identifying critical needs and capabilities such as near-miss detection, AI model accuracy, dashboard and reporting requirements, Edge processing performance, and more.

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Calgary

W11 PANEL: Connected by Design: Advancing Cross-Border V2N Innovation for Smarter Corridors.

Organized by Michele Mueller, Project Manager for Connected, Automated Vehicles, and Electrification, Michigan Department of Transportation

As connected mobility evolves, vehicle-to-network (V2N) communication is emerging as a foundational layer for next-generation transportation systems. Through advancements in cellular technology, cloud integration, and real-time data exchange, V2N enables vehicles and infrastructure to operate in sync—enhancing safety, reliability, and efficiency across multimodal networks.

This executive session examines how transportation agencies, network providers, and technology partners are expanding the V2N ecosystem, from policy frameworks and data architecture to operational use cases. Discussion will focus on how network-based connectivity is transforming traffic management, freight operations, and incident response while setting the stage for automated and cooperative mobility.

Panelists will share strategies for integrating V2N within existing ITS frameworks, addressing cybersecurity and interoperability challenges, and building sustainable, scalable models for deployment across diverse geographies and corridors.

Key Topics

  • The evolution of vehicle-to-network connectivity and its role in intelligent transportation systems
  • Leveraging cellular and cloud-based architectures for real-time mobility insights
  • Data governance, interoperability, and cybersecurity considerations in the V2N ecosystem
  • Practical V2N use cases: freight coordination, traffic optimization, and safety applications
  • Policy and investment frameworks supporting scalable network-driven infrastructure
  • Pathways toward cooperative, automated, and connected corridor operations

2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Edmonton

W12 PANEL: Rethinking ITS Procurement

Panel Organizers:
Shawna Boakes, Infrastructure Lead Eastern Canada, PBX Engineering
Yeatland Wong, Director of Smart Mobility, Transnomis Solutions Inc.

Moderator: Shawna Boakes, PBX Engineering

Panelists:

  • Michelle McCarthy, Director of Supplier Engagement, Kinetic GPO
  • Sunny Petrujkic, Senior Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives, City of Toronto
  • Karamjeet Deogan, Deputy Director, Transportation Systems and Road Safety Engineering, BC Ministry of Transport and Transit
  • Sameer Patil, TMC Leader, Traffic Services, City of Calgary

Procuring ITS technology is rarely straightforward. Rapidly evolving products, complex integrations, proprietary systems, long implementation timelines, and the need for ongoing support all create challenges for agencies trying to get the best value while meeting operational needs. Meanwhile, vendors often face unclear requirements, rigid procurement structures, and evaluation criteria that don’t always reward innovation.
This panel brings together public sector officials who have different experiences, challenges, successes and lessons learned, from across Canada, as well as procurement professionals who can discuss alternative procurement models.

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Jasper/Lake Louise

W20 PANEL: Weathering the Storm with ITS

Panel Organizers:
Roger Browne, Director, Congestion and Network Management, City of Toronto
Yeatland Wong, Director of Smart Mobility, Transnomis Solutions Inc.

Moderators: Roger Browne, City of Toronto, and Yeatland Wong, Transnomis Solutions

Panelists:

  • Dave Greenfield, Chief Information Officer, Halifax Harbour Bridges
  • Linda Lee, Senior Engineer, City of Toronto
  • Ahmed Ali, Transportation Engineering Manager, City of Lethbridge
  • Alexander Godfrey, National Sales Manager, GGI Road & Traffic
    • Elizabeth Loder, Associate PM, Weather Consulting Lead, WSP

From floods and icy snowstorms, severe weather preparedness is a challenging feat for municipalities across Canada. This panel of municipal and transportation leaders will walk through how they plan for, respond to, and manage traffic during snowstorms, flooding, high winds, freezing rain, and low-visibility events. Hear how they gather data, prioritize critical routes and structures, push travel information to the public, and use data and intelligent traffic systems to make faster, safer decisions.
Exploring solutions such as Variable Speed Limits, RWIS data technology, VMS message automation, and Advanced Traveler Information Systems, you’ll see how better situational awareness, cross-department coordination, and proactive communication with travelers can keep people and goods moving—even when the weather doesn’t cooperate.

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Calgary

W21 PANEL: Data Doesn’t Speak for Itself: The Myths and Realities of AI-Driven Decision-Making in Transportation

Organized by Ali Mortazavi, CEO, Davteq

Artificial Intelligence has become the new frontier in transportation innovation — but also one of its biggest misconceptions. Agencies are collecting unprecedented volumes of data, yet decision-makers often face the same challenge: too much information, too little insight.

This session cuts through the noise to examine the myths and realities of applying AI in real transportation environments. It challenges assumptions like “more data equals better insight,” “AI will replace everything,” and “dashboards tell the full story.” Through real examples from field operations, data integration programs, and predictive mobility studies, the panel will reveal what it actually takes to make AI outputs meaningful, explainable, and trusted.

Structured as an interactive “Reality Lab”, the discussion blends rapid myth-busting, scenario challenges, and candid dialogue across public, private, and research perspectives. Participants will explore how to balance AI innovation with human expertise, bridge fragmented data silos, and build decision systems that are transparent, context-aware, and ethically grounded. The session goes beyond hype to envision a future where transportation AI systems don’t just automate — they reason, collaborate, and learn alongside the people who manage them.

By the end of this session, participants will:

  • Identify the most common misconceptions about AI and data in transportation decision-making.
  • Understand the technical and organizational realities of deploying AI for real-world mobility applications.
  • Explore practical frameworks for building hybrid human-AI decision systems that are transparent and trustworthy.
  • Recognize data quality, governance, and explainability as essential foundations for AI success.

Envision how reasoning-based AI could shape the next decade of intelligent mobility.

3:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Edmonton

W22 PANEL: Innovative Traffic Monitoring: From Sensors to Insights

Panel Organizers:
Janis Chow, General Supervisor of Signals & Street Lighting, City of Edmonton
Yeatland Wong, Director of Smart Mobility, Transnomis Solutions Inc.

Moderators: Yeatland Wong, Transnomis Solutions, and Janis Chow, City of Edmonton

Panelists:

  • Linda Lee, Senior Engineer, City of Toronto
    • Jonathan Hamel-Nunes, Division Manager, Innovation and Travel Management, City of Montreal
  • Sharath Mysore Narasimhamurthy, Postdoctoral Associate, University of Calgary
  • Michael Vaudan, Sr. Operations Engineer, City of Edmonton
  • Peter Short, Sales and Operations Manager, Velociti Innovations

Traffic monitoring has evolved well beyond traditional loop detectors and tube counts. Today, agencies have access to radar and lidar sensors, AI-powered video analytics, connected vehicle data, probe data from navigation apps, and crowdsourced information—each offering different strengths, coverage, and costs.
This panel takes a practical look at emerging traffic monitoring technologies and how Canadian agencies are putting them to work. Panelists from public, academic, and private sectors will discuss the need for traffic monitoring, the challenges, solutions, and real-world deployments, comparing the accuracy, reliability, and cost-effectiveness of different approaches. They’ll explore how agencies integrate multiple data sources to build a more complete picture of network conditions—and the challenges of managing, fusing, and making sense of all that data.

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

AI Workshop – organized by Janneke van der Zee, ITS Canada, Tamara Djukic, MLsquared, Daniel Kligerman, Esri Canada and Rajeev Roy, York Region

Session 1: Foundations of AI in ITS: What is AI and are we ready?

This workshop focuses on the definition of AI and its foundational requirements for deploying and scaling AI in ITS. Participants will gain clear overview of AI models, and examine data readiness, system integration, and governance frameworks needed for their deployment. It will contribute to understand potential of AI and integrational gaps for AI in Canada, supporting dialogue on the common and shared principles for data governance and system integration.

Workshop agenda

5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Empire and Crystal Gallery

Welcome reception:

Join us for the official opening and ribbon cutting of the ITS Canada 2026 Expo

7:00 PM – 8:30 PM

Wild West Women (WWW) of ITS: An inclusive evening of networking and frontier fun

7:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Registration

8:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Grande Prairie

Prayer Room

The prayer room is open daily and delegates are welcome to use it during the conference.

8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Empire and Crystal Gallery

Expo Show Hours

7:30 AM-9:00 AM
Royal/Imperial

Breakfast & Keynotes

Plenary & Catering

Keynotes starting at 8.20 am:

  1. Solving Real Problems: Driving Innovation and Systems Thinking in Michigan’s Transportation Future, Director Brad Wieferich, Michigan Department of Transportation

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM

AI Workshop – organized by Janneke van der Zee, ITS Canada, Tamara Djukic, MLsquared, Daniel Kligerman, Esri Canada and Rajeev Roy, York Region

Workshop 2: AI in Intelligent Transport Systems: From Vision to Strategic Priorities

This workshop explores where AI can deliver the greatest value in Canadian ITS. Participants will examine global and Canadian trends, assess high-impact use cases, and align on strategic priorities for AI adoption in transport. They will gain shared understanding of AI opportunities in Canadian ITS and identified priority use cases for further development.

Workshop agenda

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
Edmonton

TO2 PANEL: Workzone Safety: Keeping them Connected and Safe

Panel Organizers:
Roger Browne, Director, Congestion and Network Management, City of Toronto
Yeatland Wong, Director of Smart Mobility, Transnomis Solutions Inc.

Moderators: Roger Browne, City of Toronto, and Yeatland Wong, Transnomis Solutions

Panelists:

  • Dave Greenfield, Chief Information Officer, Halifax Harbour Bridges
  • Ali Alou, Senior Engineer, Traffic Operations, City of Edmonton
  • Asad Lesani, VP Smart Infrastructure Product, Ouster
  • Sunny Petrujkic, Senior Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives, City of Toronto
  • Daniel Kligerman, Director, Intelligent Transportation Solutions, Esri Canada
  • Ben Pisch, Vice President of Clients and Markets, Sensen AI

Keeping workers safe is as important as keeping drivers safe. Construction and maintenance workers are particularly vulnerable—especially during harsh weather, peak traffic, and day-to-day field work.
In this panel, we will be exploring the use of technology and improvements to processes to enhance safety in workzones. Our panelists will explore this topic from several different aspects including the risks and considerations, the newest technologies in workzone safety, the technology gaps, the projects that show the leading edge of workzone safety, and what’s in store for the future.
The panel will approach this from multiple perspectives, featuring case studies from bridge authorities, urban municipalities, and technology providers.
Traffic and operations experts will discuss how their agencies protect travellers, as well as the people who keep roads open and traffic moving. We’ll discuss topics including Halifax Harbour Bridges’ challenges with staff and public safety on bridges, Toronto’s challenges with construction workzones and accessibility for pedestrians with disabilities, and Esri Canada’s Transit Safety pilot project in Edmonton. Panelists will share how they design and plan safer work zones, optimize safety with technology, and adapt operations during severe weather so workers can do their jobs without critical risk.

10:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Empire and Crystal Gallery

AM Health Break & Networking

Sponsored by Econolite Canada

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Jasper/Lake Louise

T20 AI General

  1. Understanding AI in the Transportation Sector by Chris Teolis, Mott MacDonald
  2. From Detection to Understanding: VLMs in Intelligent Traffic Systems by Don Maxey, Keenfinity Inc
  3. A Case Study of Vision–Language Models for Temporal Scan-Path Description in Driver Monitoring by Ghazal Farhani, Shabnam Shabani, Taufiq Rahman, National Research Council of Canada
  4. ITS at the Intersection of AI and Cyber Security by Keenan Kitasaka & Elena Abu Khuzam, AECOM

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Calgary

T21 Connected and Automated Vehicles

  1. Central Signal Priority Using Existing Infrastructure: High-Impact TSP & EVP with Minimal Capital Investment by Ehsan Bagheri, Parsons
  2. QEW Innovation Corridor – Piloting Underway by Mara Bullock, WSP
  3. Integrating C-ITS V2I Technologies to Enhance Emergency Vehicle Signal Priority by Masoud Nader Nezhad, KTC Qatar
  4. Smart, Connected, and Reliable Transit Operations: Calgary Transit’s CAD/AVL/APIS Technology Transformation by Muhammad Arslan Asim, City of Calgary
  5. Practical Automated Vehicle readiness – are your roads ready? by Josh Gilman, TomTom

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM
Edmonton

T22 Operations

  1. UPS and Custom Alarm Integration in ATMS: City of Calgary’s Integration by Jerry Yang , City of Calgary
  2. A Collaborative Approach to Traffic Management in Calgary by Sameer Patil, City of Calgary
  3. N.EX.T.: A Streamlined Solution for Resource & Inventory Management by Tasneem Naheyan, Parsons
  4. Traffic Management Centre Video Wall Replacement Study by Tim Murphy, Parsons

12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Royal/Imperial

Lunch/Keynote
Plenary & Catering

1:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Royal/Imperial

Academic Session 2

  1. A Multi-Objective Optimization Framework for Electric Vehicle Charging Station Expansion and Siting under Uncertainty by Fei Chen, University of Alberta
  2. Research on the Quality of Driverless Taxi Services and Usage Intentions: A Case Study of “Baidu Apollo Go” in Wuhan, Daobin Wang, University of Alberta
  3. A Robust Framework for Similar-Day Selection in Electric Vehicle Charging Load Forecasting by Xu Wang, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Qilu Transportation, Shandong University
  4. Citywide Traffic Volumes Mapping using Satellite Imagery and Roadway Attributes: A Deep Learning Framework for Edmonton by Abhinav Parbhakar, Nancy Huynh and Dr. Tae J. Kwon PhD, University of Alberta
  5. Uncertainty-Aware Traffic Count Station Optimization using Spatiotemporal Kriging and Simulated Annealing by Huiyi Chu, B.Eng. and Dr. Tae J. Kwon, Ph.D., P.Eng, University of Alberta
  6. Extending the Value of Sparse Traffic Counts Through Network-Based Propagation and Confidence Scoring: City of Edmonton Case Study by Juan Esteban Lamilla Cuellar, M.Sc. and Dr. Tae J. Kwon, Ph.D., P.Eng., University of Alberta

2.00 PM – 3:30 PM
Jasper/Lake Louise

T40 PANEL: Accessibility: Pedestrian Detours & Sidewalk Facilities

Panel Organizers:
Roger Browne, Director, Congestion and Network Management, City of Toronto
Yeatland Wong, Director of Smart Mobility, Transnomis Solutions Inc.

Moderators: Roger Browne, City of Toronto, and Yeatland Wong, Transnomis Solutions

Panelists:

  • Mary Ann Bent, Manager, Accessible Navigation & Wayfinding Solutions, CNIB Access Labs
  • Sunny Petrujkic, Senior Project Manager, Strategic Initiatives, City of Toronto
  • James Barker, Smart Mobility Lead, WSP
  • Michael Vaudan, Sr. Operations Engineer, City of Edmonton

Across Canada, sidewalk closures, detours, and work zones can quickly turn into barriers for people with disabilities, older adults, and others who rely on clear and accessible information or direction to travel safely.
This panel brings together municipalities, transportation agencies, accessibility advocacy representatives, and technology experts to discuss how they can remove barriers through the use of technology and devices, and what’s still needed in the future to make sidewalks and sidewalk detours accessible to support safer, more independent travel for all. We’ll explore challenges, policies, and solutions.

2.00 PM – 3:30 PM
Calgary

T41 Data

  1. The Star Rating Framework: Ensuring Data Integrity in Challenging Canadian Environments by Jason Deglint, Miovision
  2. From Silos to Synergy: Managing and Harmonizing Location for Disparate Datasets in a Multi Stakeholder Ecosystem by Craig Smith, TomTom
  3. Casting the IEEE Digital Privacy Model as a Tool and Technique for Intelligent Transportation Systems Project Management by Prof. David Michelson, University of British Columbia
  4. Breaking Down Data Silos: How GIS-Based Transportation Data Exchange Enables Affordable, Scalable ITS Solutions for Communities of All Sizes by Daniel Kligerman, Esri Canada

2.00 PM – 3:30 PM
Edmonton

T42 AI Asset Management & Ops

  1. How Physical AI and 3D data is transforming urban mobility and community safety by Dr Asad Lesani, Ouster
  2. Affordable AI-Driven Road Asset Detection: Building Robust Models with Limited Training Data by Dr. Suliman Gargoum, Reflektar
  3. Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors AI-Based Animal Detection System by Ian Steele, PBX Engineering
  4. Modernizing Bus Stop Asset Management Through AI and Geospatial Systems by Igor Zaslavsky, York Region

From SOPs to Smart Operations: Applying Agentic AI to Reduce Workload and Improve Reliability in Traffic Operations Centers by Khaled Belhedi, GFT Inc.

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
Empire and Crystal Gallery

PM Health Break & Networking
Sponsored by Econolite Canada

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Jasper/Lake Louise

T50 Standards Development in North America – Preparing for the Future with CAVs

Organized by Brian Zupancic, Program Manager, CSA Group and Omar Choudhry, Sr. Specialist ITS, City of Ottawa & CSA CAV Technical Committee Chair

This session will provide insights into work conducted by CSA Group in the standards development landscape related to CAVs,and seek input on upcoming work on the CAV Code and future areas of focus to support the development of guidelines and standards for industry and government organization to use in support of ushering in a world with CAVs. This interactive and engaging session will also discuss a recent workshop by SAE in the United States regarding data standardization and seek initial input from a Canadian context.

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Calgary

T51 AI & Signals

  1. Traffic Signal Forensics with AI by Nader Ayoub, Iteris
  2. Supercharge your team with an AI-powered Virtual Traffic Operations Agent by Brent Rogerson, Miovision
  3. Scalable Signal Operations Optimization with AI and Floating Car Data: Experience from a Toronto OVIN project by Amir Ghods, SMATS Traffic Solutions

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Edmonton

T52 Planning

  1. Fleet Cost Allocation: A modeling approach to asset management by Kirk Schuller, York Region
  2. From Vision to Execution: How a Digital Twin Transformed Hilversum’s Mobility Strategy into a €35M Implementation Program by Marco Maréchal, Connected
  3. Addressing Complex Community Challenges with Solution Suite by Guang Lu, Telus

6:00 PM-9:30 PM
Royal/Imperial

Banquet Dinner and Entertainment

  • Cocktails from 6 to 6:30 sponsored by Miovision
  • Seating at 6:30 for dinner service
  • Entertainment is musical guest Arlo Maverick

7:30 AM – 12 PM

Registration

8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Grande Prairie

Prayer Room 
The prayer room is open daily and delegates are welcome to use it during the conference.

8:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Empire and Crystal Gallery

Expo Show Hours

7:15 AM-8:30 AM
Royal/Imperial

Breakfast & Awards
Awards show starts at 8:00 AM and is sponsored by Mott MacDonald

8:30 AM – 9:30 AM
Jasper/Lake Louise

AI Workshop – organized by Janneke van der Zee, ITS Canada, Tamara Djukic, MLsquared, Daniel Kligerman, Esri Canada and Rajeev Roy, York Region

Workshop 3: From Pilot to Impact: Scaling AI in Canadian ITS

This workshop addresses how to move AI solutions from pilot projects to scaled, operational deployments across Canadian transport systems. It focuses on implementation models, institutional capacity, and collaboration mechanisms. Participants will learn on practical pathways to scale AI in ITS and identified next steps for collaboration through ITS Canada.

Workshop agenda

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Jasper/Lake Louise

F10 PANEL: Crowdsourced probe vehicle data – more than just travel time

Organized by Phil Masters, Vice President, Masters & Associates

Crowdsourced probe vehicle data is traffic data collected without roadside equipment from car and cell phone location data. This data has been available for many years and has typically been used to provide travel time-based traffic condition information on map systems. However, this data has continued to improve in availability, coverage and accuracy. Currently, systems use location information from navigation apps which collect location fixes at a much higher rate that a phone that is on but not running location apps. This high-definition data can provide more accurate data that can be used for a range of functions such as real time modal splits, incident detection and border delays. This panel will explore the current capabilities of crowdsourced probe data and its readiness for use in more real time operations.
The panel will take the format of a fireside chat, starting with brief statements from each of the panel members but will focus on discussion based on questions from the audience and moderator.

Discussion Points

  • What are some examples of new real time applications of probe data?
  • What impacts the accuracy of probe data for given roadways/locations?
  • What are the criteria for acceptability of probe data for specific traffic management strategies?
  • What are the advantages of probe data over hardware-based approaches?

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Calgary

F11 PANEL: Operationalizing digital infrastructure: The Roadmap from Pilot to City-Wide Deployment

Organized by Dr. Asad Lesani, CEO, Ouster

This session moves beyond theoretical digital infrastructure to examine the successful operationalization of Physical AI within key Canadian cities, highlighting how AI-driven lidar digital twins can be used as real-time detection for the next generation of traffic management. Featuring expert panelists from the City of Montreal, City of Toronto, Toronto Transit Commission and Ouster, this panel will detail the critical, pragmatic steps required to successfully deploy lidar-powered Physical AI solutions on roadways and intersections at scale. The panelists will focus on the proven strategies necessary to integrate this technology into existing municipal systems, processes and budgets, with operational lessons learned so far.

Key discussion points will focus on the challenges and solutions for scaling intelligent systems:

  • Data governance & validation: Defining and validating digital multi-modal data for actuation and safety analytics, including spec development necessary for successful large-scale adoption across a city-wide digital program.
  • Integration & training: Practical steps for operationalizing Physical AI from sensor, connectivity, and edge computing assets to virtual loops and traffic controller integration.
  • Metrics & resiliency: Analyzing metrics for operational efficiencies in high-traffic corridors to optimize infrastructure investment and factors to consider when selecting AI models for resiliency and reliability.

This is a valuable session for agencies ready to take the first step with a pilot or to understand how to scale from a small pilot to integrated, city-wide digital infrastructure programs.

9:30 AM – 10:30 AM
Edmonton

F12 PANEL: The Full Picture: Improving Situational Awareness and Traffic Operations with Connected Data and Visual Verification

Organized by Keith Anderson, Vizzion

The Full Picture: Improving Situational Awareness and Traffic Operations with Connected Data and Visual Verification.

Panelists:

  • Cole Gawenda, Vizzion
  • Josh Gilman, TomTom
  • Brenda Colombus, Fleetworthy
  • Todd Hartnett, Ver-Mac

Bigger cities, more vehicles, new mobility types, more impactful natural disasters, higher expectations from travelers, and rising labour costs are leading to complex traffic operations challenges. Thankfully, there are also more sensors, connectivity, and new datasets providing more insight than ever before. But with so many different providers, technologies, and unproven sources, it can be challenging to cut through the noise and determine what is truly impactful. This session will explore connected vehicle, signage, dashcam, and roadside infrastructure, and how agencies, data providers, and researchers are working now to use and combine the connected sources for effective and efficient situational awareness, more confident decision-making, and better response and resilience.

Vizzion will discuss the deployment of Vizzion’s Drives service (connected real-time and historical dashcam imagery) with North Carolina DOT through Iteris’ ClearGuide platform since early 2025. We will review results from this initial deployment and earlier pilots, showing how dashcam imagery has helped with verification of other datasets and more understanding/context around road conditions which allows better prepared agency response.

Vizzion will be joined by representatives from TomTom, Fleetworthy, and Ver-Mac to discuss connected data from vehicles and smart signage, and the role they play for traffic operations in real-time situational awareness, decision-making, response, and informing of the public about:

  • Traffic (volume, slowdowns, queues)
  • Incidents (crashes, emergency events)
  • Work zones (location/timing, monitoring compliance and flagging, impact on traffic)

The session will involve a mix of speaking, slides/visual examples, and discussion.

Expected Takeaways

  • Insights from real-world deployment of Vizzion dashcam imagery with NCDOT
  • Understand the comparative strengths, limitations, cost and coverage trade-offs of mobile, fixed, and temporary roadside connected sensor data
  • Learn practical methods for integrating diverse data sources for monitoring compliance, flagging, and impact of work zones on traffic.

10:30 AM.-11:00 AM
Empire and Crystal Gallery

AM Health Break & Networking
Sponsored by Econolite Canada

Young Professionals Meet & Greet in the Crystal Gallery
Sponsored by Black & McDonald

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Jasper/Lake Louise

PANEL F20: The Evolving Landscape of Automated Traffic Enforcement

Organized by Ed Stubbing, AECOM

This panel session will bring together a selection of leaders/key players in the development of advanced automated traffic enforcement programs across Canada. Panel members to be confirmed based on receiving approval to travel.

With road safety and congestion management being key focusses for many agencies across the country, automated traffic enforcement has become a more accessible, cheaper and often more effective approach to enforcement than traditional practices. The rapid development of technology has resulted in a range of new solutions that can provide ATE approaches to address common challenges and regulation infractions. The panel will discuss some of the new opportunities that ATE systems have provided to address challenges such as:

  • Failure to stop for school buses and streetcars when boarding/alighting
  • Distracted Driving
  • Stop controlled intersection noncompliance
  • Work Zone safety
  • Blocking the box
  • Dangerous Driving and Street Racing

The panelists will discuss topics such as legislation, concept of operations, challenges with deployment, operations and maintenance and public acceptance. The panel session will also discuss examples of where deployments have occurred, what is planned in the future and how these programs will provide benefits for today’s challenges while also being forward looking.

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Calgary

F21 PANEL: Exploring the Transition to Automated Vehicles

Panel Organizers:
Roger Browne, Director, Congestion and Network Management, City of Toronto
Yeatland Wong, Director of Smart Mobility, Transnomis Solutions Inc.

Moderator: Roger Browne, City of Toronto, and Yeatland Wong, Transnomis Solutions

Panelists:

  • Dr. Tony Qiu, NSERC Industrial Research Chair in ITS, University of Alber
  • Yun Ping Huang, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Calgary
  • Omar Choudhry, Senior Specialist – Intelligent Transportation Systems, City of Ottawa
  • Karamjeet Deogan, Deputy Director, Transportation Systems and Road Safety Engineering, BC Ministry of Transport and Transit

Connected and automated vehicles are no longer a distant future—pilot projects are underway, and partial automation features are already on our roads. Yet for the foreseeable future, human-driven and automated vehicles will share the same lanes, intersections, and highways. Managing this transition period presents unique challenges for transportation agencies, policymakers, and the ITS community.
This panel examines the research, telecommunications infrastructure, policies, infrastructure investments, and operational strategies needed to support the gradual integration of automated vehicles into the Canadian transportation network. Panelists will discuss how agencies are preparing—from updating signal infrastructure for V2I communication, to adapting traffic management strategies, to addressing liability and regulatory questions that arise when humans and machines share the road. We’ll explore academic research that predicts the efficiencies and challenges of a mixed environment with human drivers, driver-assist modes, and driverless vehicles.
Expect a candid discussion about what we know, what we don’t, and how ITS professionals can help ensure this transition is safe, equitable, and effective for all road users.

11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Edmonton

PANEL F22: Doing More with Less: Intelligent Solutions for Modern Mobility

Organized by ITS Canada Tech Hub Leadership: Jonathan Parent, Transport Canada, Bernard Tung, City of Coquitlam and Nelson Melendez, City of Toronto

Transportation agencies and cities are facing mounting pressure to deliver reliable, field-proven, sustainable, and cost-effective mobility services – often while operating under significant resource constraints. At the same time, rapid technological advancement creates new opportunities to rethink how transportation systems are planned, operated, and optimized. This panel will explore how agencies, municipalities, and technology providers can collaboratively unlock smarter mobility solutions by leveraging existing ITS assets, embracing new partnerships, and using data in more strategic ways. Through a discussion grounded in practical experience and emerging innovation, panelists will examine three core themes: 

  • Leveraging existing infrastructure to extend asset life and functionality, enhance performance, and integrate intelligent technologies without requiring large capital investments or costly reoccurring costs. 
  • Collaboration and partnerships between public agencies, private-sector innovators, and research organizations to accelerate deployment, share risk, and scale new mobility solutions 
  • Data-driven optimization as a pathway to improve system efficiency, allow inter-regional collaboration, inform investment decisions, and support real-time operations and on-demand decision making. 

Together, these perspectives will highlight actionable strategies for delivering smarter, field-proven, cost effective and more resilient mobility systems – even when budgets are tight. Attendees will gain insight into replicable approaches, emerging best practices, lessons learned and collaborative models that can help shape the next generation of transportation services. 

12:00 PM – 1:45 PM
Royal/Imperial

Lunch and Keynote
Plenary & Catering

Keynote by Alona Fyshe, University of Alberta

What Wasps Can Teach Us About Artificial Intelligence

Wasps work together in teams to build nests, but surprisingly, they do so without any central organization. How can a group of wasps or bees work together to build such a complex structure? Which wasp decides how big the nest should be? Or the shape of the walls? The answers to questions like these don’t just teach us about the intelligence of insects. They also give us new ways to think about artificial intelligence and human intelligence.

1:45 PM – 2:15 PM
Royal/Imperial

Academic Session 3 moderated by Prof. David Michelson, University of British-Columbia

  1. A Bi-Layer Dynamic Optimization Framework for Real-Time Snowplow Routing under Severe Winter Conditions by Fei Chen, University of Alberta
  2. A Review of Optimization Algorithms for Snowplow Operations in Winter Road Maintenance by Fei Chen, University of Alberta
  3. Physics-Informed Hybrid Forecasting of Road Surface Temperature for Proactive Winter Operations by Jiehao Bi, M.Sc., Zihao Dong, B.Sc. and Dr. Tae J. Kwon, Ph.D., P.Eng., University of Alberta
  4. City-Scale Winter Road Conditions Intelligence from Mobile Patrol Sensing and AI Enabled Mapping by Mahmoud Abdelaty, B.Sc., Michael Urbiztondo, M.Sc., Nahyeon Park, B.Sc. and Dr. Tae J. Kwon, Ph.D., P.Eng., University of Alberta
  5. Turning RWIS Cameras into Continuous Grip Estimates for Winter Road Maintenance Decision Support by Michael Urbiztondo, M.Sc., Dr. Tae J. Kwon, Ph.D., P.Eng., University of Alberta and Colby Fortier-Brown, B.Sc., Maine Department of Transportation

2:15 PM – 3:15 PM
Jasper/Lake Louise

F40 Safety

  1. From Reactive to Proactive: Transforming Safety with Kinetic Energy Analytics and V2X Technology by Brent Rogerson, Miovision
  2. Machine Vision Meets Smart Intersections: Enhancing Pedestrian Safety via Future Trajectory Prediction by Md Atiqur Rahman, National Research Council of Canada
  3. Elevating Workzone Gate Safety in Urban Environments with ITS: Using AI Cameras and Multi-Modal focused Warning Systems to enhance safety at Urban Construction Zones by Michael McGuire , Ramudden Digital
  4. Data Driven Connected Work Zones and the Connected Worker by Todd Hartnett, Ver-Mac, Inc

2:15 PM – 3:15 PM
Calgary

F41 Adaptive Signal Control

  1. Beyond the Loop: Next-Generation Detection for Queue Warning and Adaptive Signals by Farah El-Moghrabi, GFT Inc.
  2. Deployment Of Adaptive Signal Control Technology In Mississauga – Outcomes And Next Steps by Mark Conrad, Parsons
  3. Data-driven safety improvements for adaptive traffic signal control networks by Masoud Nader Nezhad, KTC Qatar

2:15 PM – 3:15 PM
Edmonton

F42 Truck, Trains & Transit

  1. Evaluating the Efficacy of In-cab Safety Alerts for Commercial Motor Vehicles by Brenda Colombus, Fleetworthy
  2. ITS as an Essential Ingredient for Effective Transit Fleet Electrification Transition by Doug Parker, Mott MacDonald
  3. End-to-End FRMCS Validation in Operational Railway Environments: Results from the MoySEST Project by Ignacio Callen, PowerTrunk
  4. Automated inspection of railway turnouts using laser triangulation and artificial intelligence by Samy Metari, National Research Council of Canada

3:15 PM – 3:45 PM

PM Health Break & Networking
Sponsored by Econolite Canada

3:45 PM

Teardown exhibits