Conversations and Connections: Exploring Planning Through a Student’s Lens

This summer, I had the privilege of attending the 2025 Canadian Institute of Planners and the Ontario Professional Planners Institute (CIP-OPPI) National Planning conference, held at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto from July 8–10, as a recipient of a student CIP-PSTF bursary, alongside fellow planning students from undergraduate and graduate programs across the country. It was also a pleasure meeting them and forming new friendships throughout the conference.

Attending this conference was truly a great experience. As someone new to the world of planning, it was an eye-opening initiation into the professional landscape of the field. One of the standout moments was the gala held at the historic Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, a central venue known for its orchestral performances. There, I had the opportunity to meet and network with planners from across Canada and abroad. I had a particularly interesting conversation with an alumnus from a graduate planning program in BC who now works in New York, supporting a not-for-profit organization as an urban planner. This discussion, to me, sheds light on the growing demand for new planning professionals.

Academically, it was encouraging to see fellow rural planning and development students presenting posters and participating in professional development sessions. It was also a pleasure to see and talk to Dr. Wayne Caldwell at the conference, a former professor in the RPD program, whom I had heard many great things about during my first year of study here!
From a career development perspective, I attended several engaging sessions that broadened my understanding of key planning challenges and innovations. These included discussions on rural development and private service provision, the current state of urban resilience in Canadian planning practice, and lessons from two decades of waterfront revitalization. As someone from a town on Georgian Bay, I found this topic especially fascinating. I also explored how CMHC housing research is applied to urban planning and reflected on the ethical considerations of integrating artificial intelligence into smart city planning.

There were many student and academic sessions as well, giving me insight into the research being conducted by planning programs across the country. While I initially expected the conference to be primarily professional in focus, I was glad to see that academia had a strong presence and a platform to showcase the latest work in both urban and rural planning contexts.

I’m incredibly grateful to CIP, OPPI, and CIP-PSTF for the opportunity to participate and learn from this experience, and I encourage anyone interested in becoming a planner to attend CIP and OPPI conferences. They are a great entry point into the field for newcomers like myself. The next OPPI conference will be in The Blue Mountains (Collingwood), and the next CIP conference will be in Montreal.

Jayden Cote is a Master of Science (Planning) student at the University of Guelph.  Learn more about Jayden's research on the Rural Development website.