As a planner in Northern Canada for over 30 years, Lesley Cabott has demonstrated exceptional professional achievement in Planning. Lesley leads Stantec’s planning practice in the North and has worked in communities in the Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northern Ontario, Northern Quebec, Northern British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. She has completed projects with the federal, provincial and territorial governments, First Nations, Inuit and Metis, municipalities, private industry, and countless community groups. She has an intimate understanding of the specific challenges faced by remote Northern communities and works to support decisions focused on long-term sustainability and resiliency.
 
Lesley’s work in Northern Canada and across the country has focused on communities, climate change, place-making, and energy planning. Lesley brings together multidisciplinary teams to plan for sustainable futures across Canada and has led award-winning public and stakeholder engagement and planning processes. Her range of planning experience includes strategic planning, land use plans, transportation work, neighbourhood design, official community plans, asset management, capital plans, energy, climate, and sustainability initiatives. She has received several professional awards and recognition including Governor General’s Leadership, Consulting Engineers of British Columbia, Canadian Electricity Association’s Award for Social Responsibility and Sustainability, Planning Excellence from PIBC for the new sustainable community of Whistle Bend, and from the City of Whitehorse for her leadership and vision for the planning and redevelopment of the downtown riverfront.
 
Lesley is an engagement specialist and an experienced facilitator. She has held public meetings in small and remote communities across the country and leads respectful conversations often tackling difficult subjects. She provides thoughtful guidance to help communities work through complex and controversial decisions. Hosting conferences in Northern Canada, Lesley understands how important it is for planners to work together, share successes, and highlight the challenging planning work undertaken in these communities. She was instrumental in bringing three different planning conferences to the Yukon, including the PIBC Annual Conference, which was hosted in Whitehorse in 1999. This conference was a first introduction to Northern Planning for many PIBC members.
 
Lesley has demonstrated consistent professional leadership, and in particular through her work with Indigenous people. She was a long-term Chair of the Yukon Land Use Planning Council and understands the importance of regional planning for the implementation of Yukon’s Final Land Claim Agreements. Through her planning work, she has built lifelong relationships with Indigenous leaders. Over the course of her career, Lesley has provided formal and informal mentorship to many of the Yukon’s planners. As manager at the City of Whitehorse, she hired and trained young planners who are still in the territory and are now mentors themselves. She has been involved for many years in the Yukon Chapter of the Planning Institute of BC (PIBC) and served as the organization’s President from 2019 to 2021. She is a thoughtful, supportive, and inspiring leader, who encourages people to grow.