Christopher Ragan, PhD, is the founding director of McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy. An economics professor at McGill since 1989, he has been a special advisor to the governor of the Bank of Canada, a Clifford Clark Visiting Economist at Finance Canada, the president of the Ottawa Economics Association, a member of the C.D. Howe Institute’s Monetary Policy Council, the chair of Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission and a member of the federal finance minister’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth.

Shaimaa Yassin is a senior research director at the Institute for Research on Public Policy. She leads the Toward a More Equitable Canada research program, which has published studies on affordability, including housing and other basic needs that intersect with climate and energy policy, food insecurity and income supports for lower income Canadians, and proposed dental care and pharmacare programs. She leads the IRPP’s role as a research and knowledge mobilization partner of the Affordability Action Council and also serves as a member.  She also supports the IRPP’s Community Transformation Project. Shaimaa manages the IRPP’s postdoctoral fellowship program in support of Indigenous, Black and other racialized scholars.

She is a policy-oriented economist with over 15 years of experience in translating challenging academic research into strategic advice for a broad audience. A labour economist by training, her work focuses on identifying ways that governments can help lower costs of living, improve access to basic needs, enhance economic participation, increase income, and address barriers people face in capturing opportunities—particularly where labour market dynamics and skills intersect with issues of equity.

Previously, Shaimaa served as senior director at the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC) in Montreal. Shaimaa has consulted for several governments and organizations such as the World Bank, Chaire “Sécurisation des Parcours Professionnels” in France, and the Economic Research Forum in Egypt. She was a research fellow in the economics department of several academic institutions, namely McGill University (Swiss National Science Foundation Fellow), the University of Lausanne and the University of Neuchâtel. She has an extensive record of publications, including peer-reviewed journal articles, the Les Accidents de Carrière book (Presses de Sciences Po, 2017) and chapters in edited volumes on labour markets in the Middle East and North Africa (Oxford University Press, 2014 and 2015). Shaimaa holds a PhD in economics from the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne and a MSc in empirical and theoretical economics from the Paris School of Economics.

Recent Publications and Projects by Shaimaa:

• Slaying myths about income support
• Expanding the GST/HST Credit: How the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Helps Canadians and Why Design Choices Matter
• International Approaches in Place-Based Skills Development

Dena Abtahi is a policy researcher with a Master of Public Policy from the University of Toronto, specializing in public health and energy transitions. At the IRPP, she supports the Community Transformations project, with a focus on rural post-secondary access, workforce resilience and regional fairness. Her previous work includes research on youth justice, Indigenous engagement and health equity. She has also published on long-term care, opioid policy and cystic fibrosis care models.

Nicolas Côté is a research associate at the IRPP, where he focuses on trade diversification and Canada’s economic resiliency. Before joining the Institute, he spent three years as a policy analyst at ECCC and NRCan, working on clean tech adoption, industrial policy, and behavioural science for climate action.

Prior to that, he held research roles on projects looking into new forms of climate communications and sociology of energy transitions. Most recently, his project Municipal Matters: Building Capacity for Local Climate Misinformation, examined how local governments across Canada can better communicate on climate issues in a frayed information environment.

Nicolas holds a Master of Public Policy from UBC, and a Master in Anthropology and Bachelor in Physics from the University of Toronto.

Georges Rigas is a research associate at the IRPP, where he focuses on trade diversification and economic resilience. Prior to joining the IRPP, he worked as a policy analyst in the federal public service, most recently at Global Affairs Canada, where he contributed to advancing Canada’s trade priorities in multilateral organizations. He holds a master’s degree in public and international affairs from the University of Ottawa, with a specialization in data analysis for public policy, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from McGill University. His research interests include international trade, economic policy and the application of quantitative methods to public policy analysis.

Stuart Bergman joined Export Development Canada (EDC) in 2003 and has held various leadership positions, including vice-president of environmental, social and governance (ESG); deputy chief economist; director of the Economic and Political Intelligence Centre; director of corporate strategy; and director of the Research and Analysis Division. Stuart is responsible for overseeing EDC’s economic analysis and forecasting, global markets intelligence, and corporate research groups. In addition to advising EDC’s senior management and Board of Directors, Stuart is a featured speaker at conferences, international roundtables and policy forums. He regularly appears in television, radio and print media commenting on the world economy and Canadian international trade issues. He produces a widely circulated digital international trade commentary covering a range of global economic and business issues.

Laurent Carbonneau is the Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at the Council of Canadian Innovators (CCI), where he leads the organization’s national policy agenda on behalf of Canada’s high-growth, Canadian-headquartered companies. At CCI, Laurent works directly with founders, CEOs, and policymakers to advance reforms that strengthen Canada’s innovation economy — including modernizing procurement, improving access to growth capital, strengthening intellectual property and data strategies, and ensuring government policies support the scale and global competitiveness of domestic firms. His work focuses on building the conditions for Canadian companies to grow, anchor their operations at home, and contribute to the country’s long-term economic resilience and sovereignty. 

Prior to joining CCI, Laurent worked in federal politics in legislative, policy, and issues management roles for a senior Member of Parliament, in the NDP leaders office, and on a national campaign. He later led government relations in the post-secondary sector, advancing national policy priorities related to talent, research, and innovation. 

Laurent holds a master’s degree in Political Management from Carleton University and a master’s degree in History from the University of St Andrews. He earned his BA from Mount Allison University and is based in Ottawa. 

Matthew Foss is a member of the Metis Nation of Alberta. He brings over 25 years of public policy experience, specializing in energy economics along with research and public policy development. Mr. Foss currently serves as the Vice President of Research & Public Policy for the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business, is a Member of the Board for the Canada Energy Regulator, serves on the Indigenous Advisory Circle for Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and is an Executive Fellow at the University of Calgary School of Public Policy. 

Matthew’s focus at the CCIB is on advancing Indigenous business through research and advocacy related to procurement, international trade, celebrating Indigenous entrepreneurs and natural resource development. Matthew has frequently provided seminars and presentations to domestic and international audiences and has taught university-level economics courses. Prior to joining CCIB, he ran his own energy economics and public policy consulting business for several years and served as the Chief Energy Economist for the Alberta Government. 

Patricia Goff is a professor in the Department of Political Science at Wilfrid Laurier University and at the Balsillie School of International Affairs. She has held visiting positions at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva and the University of Southern California’s School of International Relations. She has published widely on the politics of trade, with a special focus on the intersection of trade and culture. Recent publications include Trade and Culture: The Ongoing Debate (Routledge Press) and The Multilevel Politics of Trade (with Jörg Broschek, University of Toronto Press).

Ruhee Ismail-Teja is an executive leader in public affairs and economic policy, with cross-sector experience spanning private, public and non-profit sectors. Ruhee currently serves as Vice President, Policy and External Affairs at the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, where she leads the Chamber’s public affairs portfolio, including government relations and advocacy, public policy and thought leadership, media and external relations, Indigenous reconciliation, and inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility initiatives. Prior to this role, Ruhee has worked in the upstream energy industry, post-secondary sector, and contracted with government. 

She currently serves on the Werklund Centre (formerly Arts Commons) Board of Directors, Run Calgary Board of Directors and McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy Advisory Board. She has previously served on the YMCA Canada Board of Directors, ParticipACTION Board of Directors, the SAIT Board of Governors and the Queen’s University AMS Board of Directors. 

She holds a Master of Public Policy from McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy, a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Queen’s University and a Governance Essentials Certificate from the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Meredith Lilly, Ph.D., is a full Professor and Simon Reisman Chair in International Economic Policy at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Her research focuses on North American trade relations, Canada’s trade diversification strategy, economic sanctions, and the use of research evidence in policy making. Prior to her appointment at Carleton, she served as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. She was previously appointed at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and has worked in policy roles in several Canadian government departments. She engages regularly with foreign governments and diplomats, and is a frequent media commentator on North American trade issues. 

She is a member of CD Howe Institute’s International Economic Policy Council, a non-resident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy in Texas, an Advisory Board member for the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Statecraft, and serves as the Academic Partner for Canada’s delegation to the North American Forum.

Stephen Tapp is the CEO and chief economist at the Centre for the Study of Living Standards. He previously served as the chief economist and senior vice-president of research, data and analytics at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, where he launched and managed the Business Data Lab. 

Stephen is the president of the Canadian Association for Business Economics and a member of the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council. He has 25 years of diverse experience at many of Canada’s top economic organizations, including Export Development Canada, where he served as deputy chief economist; the Bank of Canada; the Parliamentary Budget Office; and Finance Canada. He has also worked with academia and think tanks, such as the Institute for Research on Public Policy and the C.D. Howe Institute.