Dr. Michael J. MacDonald was the Senior Fellow at AIMS from September, 2001 to December 2002.
He has enjoyed great variety in his career as a university professor, a senior federal public servant, the President of a Canadian consulting group, and as the founder of a highly innovative private-pubic sector partnership for economic growth.
Born in New Waterford, Nova Scotia, Dr. MacDonald attended the University of Toronto, Harvard and the Warburg Institute, University of London, graduating from Toronto with a PH.D. During his early career he was a University Professor and he held appointments in Canada, the United States, and Scotland.
In 1986, he was one of the founding members of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. During this time he served as the Agency’s Vice President and the Executive Director of Trade and Investment. In this office, he was part of the Canadian negotiating team on the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement as an expert on Subsidies and Regional Development.
In 1990-91 Dr. MacDonald was invited to co-chair the Federal Canadian Task Force on Business Immigration. He contributed significantly to the writing of Canada’s new Immigration Act and to a series of innovative approaches to business immigration.
From 1991 to 1995 he was the President of the Halifax-based Aird Associates Ltd., a Canadian consulting firm specializing in trade development, investment recruitment, and innovative strategies in economic development and public-private sector partnerships.
In 1995 he founded the highly successful Greater Halifax Partnership, and from 1995 to 2001 he was its President and CEO. The Partnership is a private-public sector partnership, and in 1998 it was recognized as the leading model for economic development in Canada.
Dr. MacDonald regularly contributes to national and international publications and symposia, and he maintains an extensive schedule of speaking engagements. Currently he is a member of the Task Force planning Canada’s first national Urban Summit in Toronto in November 2001.
Dr. MacDonald is a Woodrow Wilson Scholar, and he has received a number of awards including the British Commonwealth Fellowship and the O’Brien Fellowship in the Humanities. He is married to M. Camilla Farrell and they have three adult children.
Canada’s Cities Look to the Future