Almeida-Côté worked for Rights and Democracy until April 2006. She often promoted the concept of universal human rights, saying on one occasion, "It's not just ourselves, it's also Asian NGOs who are saying that you can't talk about economic rights today and political rights sometime in the future. The social, cultural, political and economic all go together." In 2004, she argued that human rights should be accorded at least as much importance as trade in Canada's relations with China. Almeida-Côté was president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Pensions and Benefits Institute from May 2006 to May 2009 and subsequently held the same positions for Canada World Youth from June 2009 to March 2012. She also served on the board of directors of the Canadian Society of Association Executives in 2010–11. In 2012, she has led the organization Innova Connect. She was also appointed to a term as chief executive officer of the Royal Society of Canada in 2015. She was an advisor for the "Conseil interculturel de Montréal" from 2006 to 2011, and in 2012 she was selected in the first cohort of the "Diversity 50," an initiative of the Canadian Board Diversity Council to increase diversity on corporate boards. In one interview, Almeida-Côté noted that women board members in Canada tend to come from fields such as accounting and financial management; citing the economist Raghuram Rajan, she identified a need for more representation from academia, public-interest organizations, and related fields. Almeida-Côté has been included in the Women's Executive Network's list of the Top 100 most powerful women in Canada on two occasions, in 2008 and 2011. She was also awarded the "Prix femmes d'affaires du Québec" in October 2008, and in 2014 she was one of seven UQAM graduates selected to receive the university's "Prix Reconnaissance". The university recognized her for commitment to democracy, human rights, and the protection of the young and of the world's poor, as well as for her skills in management and negotiation. Almeida-Côté stood as a candidate for Montreal City Council in the 2017 Montreal municipal election, running for Équipe Denis Coderre pour Montréal in the division of Mile-End in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal. This was not a seat targeted by Coderre's party, and she was defeated by Projet Montréal incumbent Richard Ryan.