About Us
Established in 2025, the Canadian Tax Observatory is an independent non-profit devoted to helping people and policymakers understand the tax system. Through research, public education and collaboration, our goal is to advance a tax system that promotes economic growth, shared prosperity and tax fairness. The founding board of directors includes Chair Matthew Mendelsohn, CEO of Social Capital Partners, Niamh Leonard, Executive Director of Euphrosine Foundation and Jennifer Robson, Professor of Political Management at Carleton University.
Our Mission
To drive an informed public dialogue in pursuit of practical taxation that benefits all Canadians. Through solid, independent research and non-partisan public engagement, we aim to encourage fresh thinking that leads to practical solutions on tax policy.
Heather Scoffield
Chief Executive Officer
Heather Scoffield is the first CEO of the Canadian Tax Observatory. She has devoted her career to writing and public engagement around economic policy. Over the course of her 30-year career in journalism, she covered monetary and fiscal policy, economics, trade, environment and energy. She was the Ottawa bureau chief and economics columnist for the Toronto Star, where her writing focused on political economy and its effect on people.
Heather was also the Ottawa bureau chief for The Canadian Press, leading an award-winning team of political journalists. Before joining CP in 2009, she spent 12 years at the Globe and Mail covering policy and economics. More recently, she was senior vice-president of strategy at the Business Council of Canada, collaborating with business leaders and policymakers to find practical solutions to the economic challenges of our time. Heather has a master’s degree in journalism from Western University and a BA in international relations from York University.
Board Members
Chair of The Board
Matthew Mendelsohn
CEO, Social Capital Partners
For over 25 years, Matthew has advised governments, organizations and elected leaders on public-policy solutions that work in practice. A former federal and provincial deputy minister, he was founding director of University of Toronto’s public-policy think tank the Mowat Centre. Most recently he was a visiting professor at Toronto Metropolitan University and a senior advisor at Boston Consulting Group. Matthew holds a PhD in Political Science from l’Université de Montréal and an ICD.D from the Rotman School of Management.
Director of The Board
Jennifer Robson
Associate Professor and Program Director of the Graduate Program in Political Management, Carleton University
Jennifer Robson is the Program Director of the Political Management program at Carleton. Prior to academia Jennifer held numerous senior policy roles at Policy Horizons Canada and the Department of Finance. She was also director of policy for the non-profit SEDI (now Prosper Canada). Jennifer holds a PhD in Public Policy from Carleton University.
Director of The Board
Niamh Leonard
Executive Director, Euphrosine Foundation
Niamh Leonard is the Executive Director of the Euphrosine Foundation, which is focused on supporting charities that protect and expand the spaces where people deliberate and hold power to account. Niamh is a lawyer with a decade of experience in the philanthropy sector. She has also served on numerous boards of charities and non-profits in Montreal. Niamh holds a Bachelor of Civil Law and a Juris Doctor from McGill University and a Bachelor of Arts from McGill.
Advisory Committee
David Duff
Professor of Law and Director of the Tax LLM program at the Peter A. Allard School of Law at the University of British Columbia.
Antoine Genest-Gregoire
Assistant Professor of the Department of Taxation at the University of Sherbrooke and a researcher under its Research Chair in Taxation and Public Finance
Anish Makim
Partner at ExCap Advisors and a senior business advisor in Canada’s telecommunications sector
Kevin Milligan
Professor and Director of the Vancouver School of Economics at the University of British Columbia and Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research
Carman McNary
Tax and corporate lawyer at Dentons Canada LLP, providing strategic advice to companies and their boards, First Nations and FN business groups, non-profit and charitable organizations
Elena Patel
Co-Director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, the Pozen Director’s Chair, and a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution
Sandra Rosier
Tax advisor and, lawyer; and Founder and principal at Rosier Tax Advisory, which provides tax counsel to pension funds, global asset managers and financial institutions
Charles St-Arnaud
Chief Economist at Servus Credit Union
Shirley Tillotson
Professor of History at Dalhousie University and author of award-winning Give and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Canadian Democracy
Support
The Observatory is funded through philanthropic donors, including major contributions from:
Social Capital Partners believes working people deserve a fighting chance to build economic security and wealth. A Canadian nonprofit organization founded in 2001, they undertake public policy research, invest in initiatives and advocate for ideas that push back against inequality and broaden access to wealth, ownership and economic security.
The Euphrosine Foundation supports charities that protect and expand the spaces where people deliberate and hold power to account.