Tim Sargent

Expert Overview

Dr. Tim Sargent is a Senior Fellow and Director of the Domestic Policy Program at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Waterloo-based think tank that addresses significant global issues at the intersection of technology and international governance, where he has published work on global macroeconomic scenarios.

Until recently Tim was Deputy Executive Director at the Centre for the Study of Living Standards, an Ottawa-based research centre that focuses on productivity, living standards and overall well-being. He published work on Indigenous labour force participation, productivity growth in Canada and the US, and family structure.

Tim spent 28 years in the Federal government, where he held Deputy Minister and Associate Deputy Minister positions at Fisheries and Oceans, International Trade, Finance, and Agriculture and AgriFood, as well as senior positions at the Privy Council Office.

At Fisheries and Oceans he oversaw passing and implementation of major overhauls of the Fisheries Act and the Oceans Act, and the Canadian Coastguard’s multibillion dollar fleet renewal plan. At International Trade, he oversaw successful negotiations for the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Partnership for Trans-Pacific Trade (CPTPP). As Associate Deputy Minister of Finance and G7/G20 and FSB Deputy, he was responsible for providing advice to the Minister of Finance on economic and fiscal policy, financial sector policy, and international trade, finance and development. He also supported two different Ministers for meetings of G7 finance ministers, G20 leaders and finance ministers, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, and annual International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings.

Tim has a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of British Columbia, an M.A. in Economics from Western University and a B.A. (Econ) from the University of Manchester. Tim grew up in the UK, and lives in Ottawa.