Joël Blit

Joël Blit is an associate professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Waterloo, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and a member of the NRC Council. Before joining the University of Waterloo, he was an assistant professor of economics and international affairs at George Washington University.

His research focuses on the economics of innovation and innovation policy. His most recent work on artificial intelligence (AI), automation and the future of work has featured in numerous national and international media outlets, including The Globe and Mail, the CBC and The Economist.

Joël regularly advises policy makers and industry leaders on AI and the future of work. He has briefed the G7 representatives and has been an invited speaker at numerous venues, including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Global Forum on Productivity. His framework for thinking about the AI revolution has been influential among government and business leaders and was adopted by a multi-billion dollar financial firm as the foundation of its AI strategy.

Joël has extensive experience in the private sector where, as a consultant, he worked in the Canadian, Australian and Asian banking industries, providing high-level strategic advice on various operational, sales and change management projects. He has formulated the strategy for a US$100 million start-up, and has provided expert testimony and advisory services to the online music industry. Joël was also on the advisory board of the Creative Destruction Lab, a pre-eminent accelerator for high-tech ventures.

Joël holds a Ph.D. in international economics from the University of Toronto, an M.A. in economics from the University of Western Ontario, an M.B.A. from INSEAD, an M.Sc. in computer engineering from the University of Waterloo and a B.Sc. in engineering science from the University of Toronto.

Danielle Goldfarb

Danielle Goldfarb is an advisor and expert on the digital economy, real-time data, trade and public policy. She is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and a distinguished fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She has written more than 75 policy papers for Canadian and US think tanks. Her most recent work is on Canada’s digital and AI trade opportunities and the use of digital data and advances in AI for better policy making.

Danielle was part of the writing group for the 2025 International AI Safety Report. Her TEDx talk, “The Smartest Way to Predict the Future,” is on using new technologies to expand data coverage and improve prediction. She teaches about the use of real-time data and advances in AI for global intelligence at the Munk School of Global Affairs and hosts the New Tools of the Economists’ Trade series for the Canadian Association of Business Economics and the Toronto Association for Business and Economics.

Danielle was previously strategic advisor on public policy to Mila – Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, a global fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Canada Institute and the vice president and research director at Real-Time Interactive Worldwide Intelligence, where she created real-time economic and geopolitical data feeds. She also led frontier and highly regarded research programs on Canada-US and digital trade at the C. D. Howe Institute and the Conference Board of Canada. Danielle holds a master of philosophy in international relations from the University of Cambridge and a bachelor of commerce in honours economics from McGill University.

Paul Samson

Paul Samson is president of CIGI and has more than 30 years of experience across a range of global policy issues, working with international partners from around the world.

During 24 years with the Government of Canada, Paul’s positions included director general of strategic policy at the former Canadian International Development Agency and assistant deputy minister-level roles with Global Affairs Canada and with International Trade and Finance, Finance Canada. At the Privy Council Office, he held several positions. Previously, he worked at Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada. His last position was as associate deputy minister with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Paul served as director for Canada, Egypt and Ethiopia at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Canada’s deputy for finance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. He was co-chair of the G20 Framework Working Group on the global economy from 2015 to 2019. During 2018–2019, Paul served as co-manager of the Canada-UK Policy Forum on the Modern Economy, which focused on the emerging digital economy. Earlier in his career, he worked at several think tanks and universities in Geneva; Washington, DC; Oslo; and Boston.

Paul completed a doctorate and an M.A. in international relations at the Graduate Institute, University of Geneva, and a B.A. at the University of British Columbia.

Stephen Tapp

Stephen Tapp is the CEO and chief economist at the Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS). Established in 1995, CSLS is a national, independent, non-profit research organization focused on enhancing understanding of productivity, living standards and economic well-being.

Stephen is currently the president of the Canadian Association for Business Economics and a member of the Canadian Statistics Advisory Council.

Stephen was previously the chief economist and SVP of research, data and analytics at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. In that role, he successfully launched and managed the Business Data Lab as well as economic analysis and research, and was a key member of the executive leadership team.

He has 25 years of diverse experience at many of Canada’s top economic organizations, including Export Development Canada as the deputy chief economist, the Bank of Canada, the Parliamentary Budget Office, Finance Canada and academia as well as think tanks such as the Institute for Research on Public Policy and the C. D. Howe Institute.

Stephen’s research was awarded the Purvis prize for Canadian economic policy and has been published in academic journals, including the Canadian Journal of Economics and Canadian Public Policy.

He has a Ph.D. and M.A. in economics from Queen’s University and an honours B.A. in economics with distinction from the University of Western Ontario.