Daniel Dufort is a seasoned public policy professional. He holds a Bachelor of Laws from Laval University, and has worked in federal politics in the office of the 22^nd Prime Minister of Canada as a speechwriter, issues manager, and stakeholder relations and strategic planification advisor. He has also been the Director of Issues Management and a policy advisor to the Minister of Infrastructure and the Prime Minister’s political lieutenant for Quebec. He has worked for major Canadian public relations firms, where he focused on government relations, crisis management, and the public positioning of corporations. He joined the MEI first as Senior Director of External Relations, Communications and Development, from June 2018 to October 2020, and then served as Vice President of Operations from July 2022 to April 2023.

Passionate about public policy and proudly dedicated to advancing the cause of freedom in Quebec and across Canada, his writings have appeared in publications such as The Globe and Mail, the Financial Post, La Presse+, and Le Journal de Montréal.

Alexandre Bernier holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the Université de Montréal, with a minor in political science. At university, he developed a strong interest in free-market ideas and the study of political decision-making processes. Among public policy issues, Alexandre is particularly interested in renewable energy support programs. He worked with the MEI from March 2017 to March 2020. 

Kevin Brookes holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Political Science from the Grenoble Institute of Political Studies. He has collaborated with a number of think tanks, and has taught at several universities in France (including the Lyon and Grenoble Institutes of Political Studies). He is a PhD candidate at the University of Grenoble Alpes and has published articles and book reviews on the history of political thought in academic journals such as Raisons politiques, the Revue française de science politique and The Journal of the History of Ideas. He specializes in the analysis of public choice and of political institutions. He was a Public Policy Analyst at the MEI from November 2017 to December 2018.

Peter J. Boettke is a University Professor of Economics and Philosophy at George Mason University and Director of the F.A. Hayek Program for Advanced Study in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at the Mercatus Center − a university-based research centre in the Washington, DC region. He is the current President of the Mont Pelerin Society and the Southern Economics Association.

For the past 25 years, Mr. Meunier has been the President and CEO of Groupe Formatrad Inc., a firm specializing in customized on-the-job training. He studied law at the Université de Sherbrooke and economics at Bishop’s University. After his studies, Mr. Meunier prepared a course on the economic analysis of law, to be jointly taught at Université de Sherbrooke with Professor Michael Krauss, now at the George Mason University School of Law. Mr. Meunier was called to the Quebec Bar in 1985. He was Director of Legal Services at the Quebec Chamber of Commerce, and practised law at Byers Casgrain, which has since become Dentons. It is around this time, in 1987, that he joined a group of businessmen in order to co-found the Montreal Economic Institute. He translated into French for the Paris publisher Les Belles Lettres some of the core texts of Ayn Rand’s moral philosophy, a work which appeared in 1993 and was reissued in 2008. Mr. Meunier also holds a master’s degree in music from the Vincent d’Indy School of Music and the Juilliard School of Music in New York, and has taught music at the college level.

Patrick Déry holds a bachelor of law degree and a certificate in journalism from Laval University. He developed his own retail business for nine years before selling it to devote himself to journalism for another ten years. He notably managed the opinion pages of La Presse from 2013 to 2015. Patrick has a particular interest in health care and education public policy, and in small businesses. He worked with the MEI team from January 2017 to June 2019.

Francis Pouliot is the CEO of Satoshi Portal, a blockchain-based fintech start-up specializing in digital currency exchange and payments. Director at the Bitcoin Embassy and the Bitcoin Foundation, Francis is one of Canada’s leading advocates for blockchain technology and a passionate researcher in the fields of crypto-economics and financial technology. He advises numerous companies and public institutions and is an internationally recognized Bitcoin educator and thought leader. Francis is a former public policy analyst at the Montreal Economic Institute. He holds a master’s degree with distinction in public policy from King’s College London and a bachelor’s degree in international studies from the Université de Montréal.

The Honourable Baljit Singh Chadha is a highly respected and successful entrepreneur, philanthropist and engaged citizen. Born in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1951, Mr. Chadha obtained his undergraduate science degree (B.Sc.) at the University of Bombay before immigrating to Canada. He obtained a Diploma in Business Administration (DBA) at the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Concordia University in Montreal. He also holds corporate director certification (ICD.D) from the Institute of Corporate Directors. Beginning with just a rented desk and 100% borrowed capital, Mr. Chadha founded his own business, Balcorp Limited, in Montreal in 1976, later opening offices in Bombay and New Delhi. Balcorp is now an international marketer of a broad range of products and services. Mr. Chadha is known for his depth of knowledge and expertise in international trade and strategic planning, both within his own company and across the breadth of his growing global business interests. In 2003, the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada, named Mr. Chadha to the Security Intelligence Review Committee, as well as to the Queen’s Privy Council of Canada.

Mark Milke, Ph.D. is a political scientist, policy analyst, author and columnist with six books and dozens of studies. His newest book is The Victim Cult: How the culture of blame hurts everyone and wrecks civilizations. His work has been published by policy institutes in Canada, the United States and Europe. Mark’s policy work has touched on everything from taxes, civil rights, and private property to airline competition, insurance, aboriginal policy, government monopolies and the folly of corporate welfare. In 2018 and 2019, he was the principal policy advisor to then Alberta opposition leader Jason Kenney, and lead “architect” of the 2019 platform for the United Conservative party.

Mark’s columns appear in the Globe and Mail, National Post, Maclean’s, Ottawa Citizen, Montreal Gazette, Vancouver Sun and Winnipeg Free Press, among others. He has a Ph.D. in International Relations and Political Philosophy from University of Calgary. Mark is President of the Sir Winston Churchill Society of Calgary, the past-president of Civitas—a Society for Ideas, a past chairman of the editorial board of Canada’s Journal of Ideas C2C Journal, and a past lecturer in Political Science at the University of Calgary.

Mr. Oliver has extensive leadership experience in government, capital markets, securities regulation and industry representation. Joe Oliver is the former Minister of Finance, Minister of Natural Resources, Minister Responsible for the GTA and Member of Parliament for Eglinton-Lawrence. While Finance Minister, he served as Vice-Chair of the Priorities and Planning Committee of cabinet under the Prime Minister's chairmanship. Mr. Oliver represented Canada at G7, G20, IMF and World Bank meetings of Finance Ministers and Governors of Central Banks. He traveled extensively, advocating for Canada's interests with his government counterparts, officials and senior business executives, especially in Asia, Europe and the United States. Mr. Oliver continues to write articles for publication and appear on television for interviews. More…