Energy Disruptors: UNITE has announced the first featured speakers for its 2026 summit, with Margaret Atwood, Lord David Cameron, and Tyler Cowen set to take the stage in Calgary this fall.
Taking place September 28–29, 2026, Energy Disruptors: UNITE will bring together 3,000 founders, investors, policymakers, executives, entrepreneurs, and innovators to examine how the world can build energy systems that are resilient, competitive, secure, and ready for the demands of a rapidly changing global economy.
The Calgary-based summit has built an international reputation for convening leaders and thinkers whose ideas do not always align, but whose perspectives help frame the forces reshaping economies, industries, and societies.
“At a moment when public discourse is increasingly polarized, we believe leaders need exposure to a wider range of perspectives,” said Co-Founder and CEO Graeme Edge. “Margaret Atwood, David Cameron, and Tyler Cowen each bring distinct and fundamentally different lenses on the future. Together, they represent exactly the kind of intellectual diversity and constructive tension that EDU was built to create.”
Atwood, one of Canada’s most celebrated authors and public intellectuals, will bring a distinctly Canadian perspective to the summit. Across more than 50 books published in over 40 languages, Atwood has explored technology, power, democracy, environmental stewardship, human behaviour, and societal change.
Her landmark novel The Handmaid’s Tale remains one of the most influential works of contemporary literature, while her broader body of work has challenged audiences to think critically about the future being built and the values that shape it.
Lord David Cameron, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, will bring experience from one of the most consequential periods in modern British political history.
Cameron led the U.K. through economic recovery following the global financial crisis, the Scottish independence referendum, and major debates over national identity, regional autonomy, energy security, and Britain’s place in the world. His appearance at Energy Disruptors comes as countries around the world grapple with questions of competitiveness, public trust, political fragmentation, and economic resilience.
Cowen, meanwhile, is widely regarded as one of the world’s most influential economists and public intellectuals. A leading voice on innovation, artificial intelligence, productivity, economic growth, and the future of work, Cowen has become a prominent commentator on how societies create prosperity and adapt to technological change.
Through his books, essays, and the widely read Marginal Revolution platform, Cowen has argued that the future of artificial intelligence will depend not only on advances in computing, but also on access to abundant, reliable, and affordable power.
That connection between energy and innovation is expected to be a central theme at the 2026 summit, as nations and regions compete to secure advantage in an AI-driven economy.
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