MGAC Gail Borthwick

The path that has led me to where I am today has certainly followed a non-linear track—one that has brought me across continents, schools of study, and workforce industries. While non-traditional by several measures, each experience has been invaluable in informing and guiding the way I come to this work. I am a native of Scotland, and first moved to Canada to attend the University of Waterloo in Ontario. My career has taken me between Canada and the United States, having made my start in the finance industry before changing gears and returning to school to become an architect. My architecture experience is undeniably transferable to my work today, but, in some ways, I lean on my financial expertise even more regularly. At the end of the day, much of what we do hinges on data. Everything from budgeting modeling and timeline mapping to demographic—and even psychographic—surveying is an essential part of the process.

We all bring different—yet equal—ideas and perspectives to the table, and I strive to ensure that every team member has input. MGAC thrives on its diversity, and a city as diverse as Toronto requires a team that can borrow on different experiences and outlooks. Toronto is truly booming. There is so much work going on, so many innovative approaches to projects being taken. I’m able to learn something new every day just living and working here.

I am so lucky to call Toronto home, but I also enjoy and draw inspiration from traveling to new cities and seeing how people interact with the places in which they live. As someone with a city development background, I love seeing how people truly adopt and make use of spaces—often it is in ways my colleagues or I might have never imagined. Outside of work, I enjoy biking, enjoying the Toronto Islands, and mixing-up batches of homemade ice cream to bring to the office to mark birthdays and other special occasions.