Dr. Janice MacKinnon is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, a member of the Order of Canada, and a former Saskatchewan Finance Minister, who also served as Minister of Economic Development and Social Services. During her tenure as Finance Minister, Saskatchewan became the first government in Canada to balance its budget in the 1990s.
She is a Professor of fiscal policy at the University of Saskatchewan and an Executive Fellow at the University of Calgary School of Public Policy and is the author of three books and many articles on public policy issues. She has also served as the Chair of the Board of the Institute for Research on Public Policy, as a board member of the Canada West Foundation, and is currently on the Advisory board of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute.
She served as Chair of Canada’s Economic Advisory Council from 2010 to 2015. She was also appointed to the federal advisory panel on NAFTA and the environment. She co-chaired the Manitoba Commission reviewing the province’s K-12 education system. In 2019, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney appointed her as Chair of Alberta’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Alberta’s Finances. She currently serves on the Board of Governors of the University of Alberta.
As Chair of the OLHI Board of Directors, Dr. MacKinnon brings considerable expertise in finance, public policy, government relations, strategic planning, and governance.