Mark Wafer

Mark Wafer is a former Tim Hortons restaurant owner from Toronto. During his 25 years as a business owner, Mark and his wife Valarie hired almost 200 workers with disabilities in meaningful and competitively paid positions. On average, the Wafers employed 45 workers with disabilities from a workforce of 250 or 17% of their workforce.

Mr. Wafer believes there is a clear and compelling business case for real inclusion.

As a member of the Federal government’s panel on labour market initiatives for Canadians with disabilities, he helped to create Canada's national strategy on disability employment. He is the co-founder of Canadian Business SenseAbility and was a member of Ontario's Economic Development partnership council. Mark is an advisor to many levels of government both nationally and around the world and is a sought-after keynote speaker.

Mr. Wafer is a recipient of Canada's Meritorious Service Cross, and the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship, and was inducted into the Canadian Disability Hall of Fame in 2014.

A prolific connector of people, Mr. Wafer has raised over $45 million in the non-profit sector. In his spare time, he is a Motorsports enthusiast, race car driver, and former amateur sports car champion.