Irving Leblanc is the Director - Housing, Infrastructure, and Emergency Services at the Assembly of First Nations. His responsibility is to represent the AFN on the various initiatives and committees related to housing, infrastructure, water and sanitation, source water protection, community level and wide area emergency management issues affecting First Nations. Irving leads a team of dedicated staff whose goal is to improve the quality of life for our members. The Housing and Infrastructure, and Emergency Services Sector is supported by the AFN Chiefs Committee on Housing and Infrastructure, the Chiefs Committee on Emergency management, and the supporting regional technicians.

Irving’s background in projects involving First Nations has provided him with first-hand knowledge of conditions related to water, housing and infrastructure needs in these communities. His experience at the Assembly of First Nations and with Ontario First Nations Technical Services Corporation has created a large network of like-minded supporters and contacts.

Irvingis a Board member UBC’s Res’Eau Waternet, UBC’s IC – IMPACTS (the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability. He also participates in Queen’s University Engineering Department “Circle of Advisors” which supports indigenous students in engineering. He is also on several steering committees including Queens University
CREATE SERA (Sustainable Engineering in Remote Areas) program, University of Manitoba’s CREATE H2O program. Both programs support indigenous students entering and currently in water programs at these universities. He also represents AFN on the International Joint Commission – Great Lakes Water Quality Board. He also sits on the Canada’s Minister of Transport’s General Policy Advisory Council on the Transportation of Dangerous Goods. Recently he was also accepted to sit on the Board of Canadian Network of Asset Managers (CNAM) Irving received his civil engineering degree from the University of Waterloo in 1971 and is a member of Professional Engineers Ontario. Irving is an Odawa of the Three Fires
Confederacy and a member of Wiikwemikoong Unceded Indian Reserve located on Manitoulin Island in Northern Ontario, Canada. Irving is fluent in his Odawa language.