David Barrick

Early life

Long before David Barrick joined the ranks of high-level administrators in Ontario, he already desired to make a positive impact on the world. That’s because Barrick grew up in a family that “always valued public service as well as the entrepreneurial spirit,” he said in an interview with Ideamensch

From a young age, Barrick had a desire to help those around him. He also always liked big ideas and innovations, he said in the interview.

“[I wanted] to bring innovation to the forefront; to facilitate real and sustainable change in the ways businesses and the public sector operate.”

Ultimately, Barrick earned a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Political Science with a concentration in Public Law from Brock University. Barrick then decided to spend some time working abroad and seeing the world.

So he moved to Tokyo, Japan, where he worked as a TOEIC/TOEFL instructor. He focused on teaching business English, and the experience provided him with a worldly perspective that would inform decisions for the rest of his life in both business creation and public administration.

Career

When he took charge of multiple Chief Administrative Officer positions for municipalities in Ontario, Canada, his responsibilities included a range of duties. David Barrick had to smoothly represent local communities with budgetary management that they could rely on.

He worked to improve social programs and local infrastructure for many local governments throughout southern Ontario.

That ultimately included positions as City Councillor for the City of Port Colborne. While serving as a City Councillor and eventually Deputy Mayor in Port Colborne, Barrick created the City’s Environmental Advisory Committee — a body that continues to positively impact the community.

Later, he became Regional Councillor for The Regional Municipality of Niagara, where he served from 2010 and 2018. Barrick also served as the Interim Chief Administrative Officer for the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority.

David took office as Interim Chief Administrative Officer and Senior Director of Corporate Resources in the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority between 2015 and 2019. David balanced both positions while transforming the operating deficit of the latter into a surplus.

David was also previously the CAO of the City of Brampton from 2019 to 2022.

He led Canada’s ninth-largest city through a difficult time, including the many challenges of the pandemic. He not only managed the city’s budgets, but also increased the City’s reserves and maintained its AAA credit rating. That occurred without raising property taxes for four years.

Also during his time at Brampton, David Barrick partnered with Toronto Metropolitan University and Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst in Brampton City Hall for a National Centre for Innovation and Collaboration in Cybersecurity. David Barrick also launched Brampton’s BHive Business Incubator, and created an Online Building and Planning Permit Application Process.

Outside of his work in government, Barrick has also worked to establish himself in the private sector. He has now founded several businesses, including retail and property management services.

While Barrick has repeatedly found ways to improve local governments in Ontario, he’s also keen to help the environment. That has included several relationships with organizations focused on services and/or products that improve sustainability.

For example, Barrick established LookGreenFirst.com. This national online directory aims to foster public-private partnerships with “green,” or environmentally sustainable, companies. But Barrick also wanted to ensure his own knowledge and ability to understand the principles of sustainable development. So he earned a certification from the Safe Drinking Water Program, which was by Conservation Ontario University’s Executive Development Program and Standard of Care.

After many years balancing budgets and shepherding large teams of administrators and business people, Barrick has learned effective threat mitigation for large-scale organizations in both the public and private sectors.

Net Worth

Unknown