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Canadian cities take centre stage at Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona

26.10.2026 Press and information team of the Delegation to CANADA

OTTAWA – Delegates from eight Canadian cities are joining fellow European Union and American municipal representatives to form a 32-city strong transatlantic delegation at the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC). 

The congress is one of the world’s largest gatherings on urban innovation and it will be held in Barcelona from 3 to 5 November 2026. Their participation is possible thanks to EU Cities Gateway, an EU-funded program that promotes sustainable, inclusive and innovative urban development. It brings cities on both sides of the Atlantic together to tackle shared challenges in four areas: circular economy, nature-based solutions, affordable and attainable housing, and digitalization and urban innovation.

Canadian cities represented in Barcelona: Edmonton, Guelph, Halifax, Laval, Nanaimo, St. John’s, Terrebonne and Toronto (all eight Canadian cities in the program)

Panel speakers: Carl Miguel Maldonado, City Councillor for Terrebonne, chair of the city’s Commission on Ecological Transition and the Environment, and Terrebonne’s first delegate to the Federation of Canadian Municipalities; Carlos Flores, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Fort Worth (Texas); Aline Moser, Personal Advisor to the Mayor, City of Heidelberg (Germany); and Samantha Sengel, Chief Administrative Officer, City of Albuquerque (New Mexico)

High-level session: Hugo Sobral, Deputy Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), will open the stage session “Urban AI: Sharing Municipal Solutions to Urban Challenges” with a video keynote. Kris Andreychuk of the City of Edmonton will then moderate a panel of elected officials and senior municipal leaders from Canada, the United States and Europe. They will discuss how cities are using artificial intelligence to solve everyday municipal challenges, and how city-to-city cooperation across the Atlantic can help local governments build greener, more resilient and more inclusive communities.

Date: EU Cities Gateway program in Barcelona, 2–4 November 2026. High-level session on Wednesday, 4 November, from 9:30 to 10:15 AM local time (3:30 to 4:15 AM ET)

Location: Smart City Expo World Congress, Fira Barcelona Gran Via, Barcelona, Spain. High-level session on the Urban Systems stage
 

Notes for the media:

  • Interviews with representatives of Canadian cities, EU officials and program experts can be arranged in Barcelona or remotely, in English and French.
  • Media wishing to attend in person must obtain accreditation from the Smart City Expo World Congress: https://www.smartcityexpo.com/press-registration/.

 

Background notes:

About EU Cities Gateway
EU Cities Gateway is a European Union-funded program (2025–2028) that fosters sustainable, inclusive and innovative urban development through cooperation between cities in the European Union, the United States and Canada. Its 32 participating cities work together in four thematic clusters – circular economy, nature-based solutions, affordable and attainable housing, and digitalization and urban innovation – to exchange knowledge, develop joint solutions and build lasting partnerships. The program is implemented in partnership with the EU Delegations to Canada and the United States and builds on the legacy of the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) program. More information: https://eucg.iurc.eu/

About the Delegation of the European Union to Canada
Established in 1976, the Delegation of the European Union to Canada is a fully-fledged diplomatic mission and, as such, the natural contact point in Canada between the EU and the Canadian authorities. It also has a strong public diplomacy mandate designed to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the European Union as well as EU-Canada relations.