About

Wilbert Lai, MBA, CPA, CMA

黎宏俊

In addition to being the president of Wilbert Lai CPA Professional Corporation, Wilbert is an advisor to the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs (ACCE), a past president of the association, and a co-founder of the ACCE Awards, which recognize the contributions of Chinese Canadian entrepreneurs to Canada.

He holds an MBA from the University of Minnesota and a BCom (Hons) from the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

He is currently on the Advisory Councils of OMNI Television East, the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto (CCCGT), and the Support Enhance Access Service (SEAS) Centre, and he is a member of the Crosscurrents Committee at the Richard Charles Lee Canada–Hong Kong Library at the University of Toronto.

Wilbert is a frequent commentator on Canadian business issues in Chinese Canadian media and has written columns on business and social issues for the World Journal and Ming Pao Daily News, Eastern Canada editions.

Previously, Wilbert was a financial controller at Wonder Bread, Continental Can Canada, and Xerox Canada. He has also taught at Centennial College and the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto.

Past Councils

  • Vice president, Chinese Professionals Association of Canada (CPAC), 4 years
    • Education Foundation
  • Founding member, Asian Advisory Council, PepsiCo Canada, 2006–2008
    • advising senior management on marketing strategies for the Asian Canadian market
  • Citizen Committee on Council Remuneration, Town of Markham, 2005
  • Enterprise Toronto Advisory Group, 6 years
    • setting future directions, developing work plans, and monitoring program delivery to assist entrepreneurs in Toronto
  • Toronto East Tax Practitioners Consultation Group, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), 2001–2005
    • advising CRA on how to assist tax practitioners in the region and educate the general public on properly filing tax returns

Past Events and Seminars

  • In April 2017, Wilbert spoke at the Hong Kong Canada Crosscurrents Seminar about Chinese Canadian entrepreneurs’ contributions to and challenges in Canadian business.
  • In January 2011, Wilbert attended an economic consultation roundtable held by Canada’s Minister of National Revenue to advise the Minister of Finance on economic strategies. He was quoted in a news release from the Canada Revenue Agency:

    “This dialogue is timely and important because we are coming out of a recession and edging into the beginning of a yet-to-be-strengthened recovery. Members of the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs would like to see the competitiveness of Canadian business be maintained or improved at this unsettling time of rising value of the Canadian dollar and oil prices. Ensuring tax breaks for business is important, including any tax incentive for high-tech equipment investment for productivity improvement.”