Our People

Fraser Institute.   Following her studies at McMaster University (B.Comm.) and the University of Toronto (B.Ed.) she taught mathematics and business subjects in both public and private secondary schools.  She then completed her M.Ed. and Ph.D. in Education at The University of Western Ontario where she was awarded the Bishop Townshend Gold Medal Award for excellence in graduate studies.  From 2006 to 2014 she served at Redeemer University College, first as Assistant Professor and then as Associate Professor of Education. During this time she led several international research collaborations funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, taught a variety of courses including Systems of Education, and was Director of Teacher Education for four years.  Her research and publications in Canadian education policy include studies in home schooling, independent schooling and education funding.  She has presented numerous times over the last two decades in academic and practitioner conferences across North America. Recently a co-author of the Fraser Institute studies Education Spending in Canada: What’s Really Happening? and Financial Savings: Restructuring Education in Ontario Using the British Columbia Model, she continues to appear on TV and in radio talk shows across Canada.  Her work has been featured in many Canadian newspapers including the National Post and Globe and Mail and she has served as an expert witness.

has written a number of publications, the first in 1988. Born and raised in Montreal and educated at McGill and Yale, William Watson taught at McGill from 1977 to 2017. He was Chair of Economics from 2005 to 2010 and Acting Chair in 2016/17. He is best known for his twice-weekly columns in the Financial Post (where he has written since 1980 and where he also edits the FPComment page). From 1998 to 2002, he edited Policy Options politiques, the magazine of Montreal’s Institute for Research on Public Policy. While on a leave from McGill in 1997/8 he served as editorial pages editor of the Ottawa Citizen. He won the 1989 National Magazine Awards gold medal for humour for a piece in Saturday Night magazine about a trip to New York. His book, Globalization and the Meaning of Canadian Life, published by the University of Toronto Press, was runner-up for the Donner Prize for best book on Canadian public policy of 1998. His most recent book, The Inequality Trap: Fighting Capitalism instead of Poverty, also from UTPress, was shortlisted for the National Business Book Award 2016.

Education and Master of Education from the University of Manitoba and Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Liberty University in Virginia. He is the author of A Sage on the Stage: Common Sense Reflections on Teaching and Learning, and co-author of What’s Wrong with Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them. He is a frequent author of education policy research and newspaper columns across Canada. His research mainly focuses on curricula, teaching instruction and public education. Michael's research and commentary have been featured in radio, television and newspapers across the country. Michael lives with his wife and children in Steinbach, Manitoba. 

policy, Niels has authored six books and more than 50 peer-reviewed studies on a wide range of economic topics. In 2011, he was awarded (along with his co-authors) the prestigious Sir Antony Fisher International Memorial Award for the best-selling book, The Canadian Century.Highly regarded for his opinions and perspectives on major economic and social issues, Niels appears regularly in the media across Canada and the United States. He has written hundreds of commentaries that have appeared in over 50 newspapers, including the Globe and Mail, Wall Street Journal, National Post, and The Economist.Known for his ability to explain matters of economics and government policy in a down-to-earth and easily understood manner, Niels travels widely across North America. His speaking engagements extend to diverse audiences, including business groups, corporate gatherings, community organizations, and students.Niels has had the privilege of sharing the stage and moderating discussions with prominent business and political leaders from around the world. Notable individuals include Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and BC Premier Gordon Campbell. He has also moderated discussions with distinguished Canadian journalists such as Chantal Herbert, Andrew Coyne, and Rex Murphy, as well as diplomats such as Canada’s Ambassador to China and Israel’s Ambassador to Canada. Niels moderated a discussion between United States Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush in 2011 and has facilitated conversations with impactful authors like Mosab Hassan Yousef (author of "Son of Hamas") and Lord Conrad Black.Niels Veldhuis is an alumnus of Simon Fraser University, was one of Vancouver’s Top 40 under 40 by Business in Vancouver in 2010, and is a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO).

from the University of Guelph, and M.A. and B.S. degrees in Economics, both from the University of Tehran in Iran. She has studied public policy involving energy and the environment for nearly eight years. Prior to joining the Fraser Institute, Ms. Aliakbari was Director of Research, Energy, Ecology and Prosperity with the Frontier Center for Public Policy. She has presented her work at many academic conferences and has been published in the prestigious academic journal Energy Economics. Ms. Aliakbari’s research has been discussed in prominent media outlets including the Wall Street Journal, and her commentaries have appeared in major Canadian and American newspapers such as the Globe and Mail, Washington Times, National Post, and Financial Post.

at the University of Delhi (Ramjas College) and received an MA in Economics from Simon Fraser University. Mr. Barua has conducted research on a range of key health-care topics including hospital performance, access to new pharmaceuticals, the sustainability of health-care spending, the impact of aging on health-care expenditures, and international comparisons of health-care systems. He also designed the Provincial Healthcare Index (2013), co-led the creation of Comparing Performance of Universal Health Care Countries (2016) and co-authored the Fraser Institute’s annual survey of wait times, Waiting Your Turn, for over a decade (2010–2022). In 2022, Bacchus was invited to provide testimony as part of a panel of witnesses for the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (HESA). Mr. Barua is a frequent commentator on radio and television, and his articles have appeared in well-known news outlets including the National Post, Wall Street Journal, Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, and forbes.com.

Public Policy from the University of Calgary. Mr. Fuss has written commentaries appearing in major Canadian newspapers including the Globe and Mail, Toronto Sun, and National Post. His research covers a wide range of policy issues including government spending, debt, taxation, labour policy, and charitable giving.

Public Policy from the University of Calgary. Ms. Hill’s articles have appeared in major Canadian newspapers including the Globe and Mail, National Post, and Ottawa Citizen. She specializes in government spending, taxation, and debt.

University of Edinburgh, a Post Baccalaureate Diploma in Economics from Simon Fraser University, and an Honours B.A. from the University of Toronto. Mr. MacIntyre has published over 25 studies and has written over 80 original commentaries appearing in national and regional media outlets including the Globe & Mail and the National Post. His research covers a wide range of economic policy issues including taxation, government finances, government performance, public-private partnerships, labour policy, income mobility, poverty, and charitable giving.