Paula Vieira is the Director General of Environmental Policy at Transport Canada, where she leads the development and implementation of policies and regulations to reduce emissions and decarbonize all modes of transportation domestically. She also leads efforts to reduce the impact of marine transportation activities on the marine environment, including at-risk whales; and supports teams across the department and broader transportation sector to adapt and strengthen resilience to climate change impacts.

Ms. Vieira is also responsible for advancing Canada’s policy and program expertise in international fora including, the BioFutures Platform, the Electric Vehicle Initiative and the Hydrogen Initiative under the Clean Energy Ministerial, where she facilitates international cooperation to decarbonize transportation, while promoting exports of Canadian clean technologies, services and expertise.

Prior to joining Transport Canada, Ms. Vieira spent 15 years at Natural Resources Canada where she was responsible for providing strategic policy direction, program design and delivery related to the production and use of clean fuels and the decarbonisation of on-road transportation. Focus areas included: developing and implementing the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada, fostering greater production and use of clean fuels including through creation and administration of the $1.5B Clean Fuels Fund; designing and delivering highly successful programming focused on ZEV infrastructure deployment and consumer awareness; and greening the freight sector by facilitating energy efficiency and fuel switching.

Ms. Vieira holds an Honours Bachelor of Public Administration from Carleton University, and is a recipient of the prestigious Head of the Public Service Award and of the United Nations’ Public Service Award of Excellence.