Bruce Ander, P.Eng.
When Bruce took the helm at Markham District Energy in 2002, the utility had a single customer: IBM Canada. Today, thanks to his steady leadership, MDE provides energy to more than 240 buildings – 15 million square feet across two systems and four plants – making it Canada’s fastest-growing municipally owned thermal energy utility. Along the way, he’s deployed technologies from combined heat and power to biomass, slashing emissions by an estimated 50% compared to business-as-usual.
Recognition followed: in 2013, MDE won the International System of the Year Award, judged against 2,500 global members for reliability (99.999%), service, and carbon performance.
Beyond Markham, Bruce has mentored municipalities from Halifax to Vancouver in launching district systems and chaired associations ranging from Association of Power Producers of Ontario to the International District Energy Association, shaping energy policy across continents.
After four decades, his proudest metric may be this: Under his watch, MDE recorded only one minor lost-time safety-incident, proving innovation and resilience thrive when people are put first.
