menu
News Release

Institute for Research on Public Policy names Jennifer Ditchburn President & CEO

May 21, 2021 Print

Montreal – The Board of Directors of the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) today announced the appointment of Jennifer Ditchburn as President & CEO, effective June 1, 2021.

A not-for-profit sector executive and seasoned communicator, Jennifer steps into the role with 25 years of experience working to make complex public policy issues and politics better understood by Canadians. As the Editor-in-Chief of the IRPP’s influential digital magazine, Policy Options, between 2016-21, she has helped to foster evidence-based policy debate and mobilize the knowledge of a diverse roster of researchers and Canadian thinkers.

Prior to joining the IRPP, Jennifer spent two decades covering national and parliamentary affairs for The Canadian Press and for CBC Television.

“Jennifer is the ideal leader to guide the IRPP into its next chapter,” said the Hon. A. Anne McLellan, Senior Advisor with Bennett Jones LLP and Chair of the IRPP board. “Her policy expertise, executive leadership and strong public profile will strengthen the IRPP’s position as the national resource on policy issues facing Canadians and their governments. High-quality, non-partisan research has never been more necessary than in the complex global context we currently face.”

Jennifer is a member of, and mentor in, several organizations including Informed Opinions, an organization working to ensure that diverse women’s perspectives and priorities are equitably integrated into Canadian society. She also serves as an external adviser to the Government of Canada Policy Community, and as an adjunct professor at Carleton University’s School of Journalism and Communication.

Aside from her prolific journalism writing, Jennifer’s work has also appeared in several books and journals, including the 2016 volume she co-edited with Graham Fox, The Harper Factor: Assessing a Prime Minister’s Policy Legacy (McGill-Queen’s University Press). She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Concordia University and a Master of Journalism from Carleton University.

About the Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP)

Founded in 1972, the Institute for Research on Public Policy is an independent, national, bilingual, not-for-profit organization. The IRPP seeks to improve public policy in Canada by generating research, providing insight and informing debate on current and emerging policy issues facing Canadians and their governments.

The institute’s independence is assured by an endowment fund, to which federal and provincial governments and the private sector contributed in the early 1970s.

For more information or to schedule an interview:

Cléa Desjardins, Director of Communications: cdesjardins@nullirpp.org

Media Contact

Cléa Desjardins
Communications Director
514-245-2139 • cdesjardins@irpp.org

EVENT: Resilient Institutions: Learning from Canada’s COVID-19 Pandemic
- Toronto - April 3, 2024 - 5:30 PM
Federal government should appoint expert panel to study what happened during COVID-19 pandemic, says major new report