Dr. Janice MacKinnon
Professor of Public Policy, University of Saskatchewan

Saskatoon, SK

Janice MacKinnon is a professor of fiscal policy at the University of Saskatchewan, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and member of the Order of Canada.

She has an honours B.A. from the University of Western Ontario and a M.A. and PhD from Queen’s. She is the author of three books, The Liberty We Seek published by Harvard University Press, While the Women Only Wept and Minding the Public Purse.

Between 1991 and 2001, Ms. MacKinnon was a cabinet minister in Saskatchewan and held various portfolios including Minister of Finance, Minister of Social Services, Minister of Economic Development, and Government House leader. During her tenure as Finance Minister Saskatchewan became the first government in Canada to balance its budget in the 1990s.

She is Chair of the Board of Directors of the OmubudService for Life and Health Insurance and she is on the Board of Directors of the Canada West Foundation. In 2009, Ms. MacKinnon was appointed to the National Task Force on Financial Literacy. She served as Chair of Canada’s Economic Advisory Council from 2010 to 2015.