Rick Smith has been President of the Canadian Climate Institute since 2021. Under his leadership, the Institute has grown into the country’s most respected climate policy research organization. Rick is also the elected co-chair and co-founder of the International Climate Councils Network, a global organization that fosters co-operation and collaborative work between national climate change advisory bodies in more than 20 countries.

Over his 25-year career, Rick has been central to the creation of many important policy advances at a provincial and federal level, including the establishment of Ontario’s Greenbelt, and Canada’s Species at Risk Act, Chemicals Management Plan, and Consumer Product Safety Act. Rick has a PhD in biology and is an expert on the human health effects of pollution. He has co-authored two books on the topic, including the international best-seller Slow Death by Rubber Duck, which the Washington Post said was “hard-hitting in a way that turns your stomach and yet also instills hope.” Rick was a key figure in the documentary Toxic Beauty, which focused on damaging chemicals in personal care products and was nominated for an International Emmy award in 2021. He was also the executive producer of the award-winning 2024 documentary Plastic People: the Hidden Crisis of Microplastics. He is based in Toronto.