— Staff —
Peter Holle
President
Peter Holle is the founding President of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, an award-winning western Canadian based public policy think tank. Since its founding in 1997, Frontier has brought a distinctive and influential Prairie voice to regional and national debates over public policy in areas such as core public sector reform, housing, poverty, aboriginals, consumer-focused health care performance, equalization, rural policy and much more. Of the nearly 100 recognized think tanks in Canada, Frontier is one of only 5 to make the 2008 global “Go-To Think Tanks” list published by the Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program of the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia.
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David Leis
VP Development and Engagement
David is a long time supporter of the Centre’s mission. He is passionate in his role about inviting and engaging a strong national community in support of the mission of the Frontier. He believes strongly in the importance of good Public Policy for the benefit of the lives of all Canadians.
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Rodney Clifton
Editor/Senior Fellow
Rodney Clifton is responsible for directing the Frontier Centre’s research program. He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba.
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Ian Madsen
Senior Policy Analyst
Ian Madsen, as an investment and financial analyst based in Surrey, BC, has extensive experience in portfolio and financial analysis.
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— Senior Fellows —
Senior Fellow
Brian Dale Giesbrecht received his education at United College and The University of Manitoba, where he obtained his LLB in 1972. He worked with Walsh, Micay and Co., and then joined Legal Aid Manitoba in 1975 to become Senior Attorney and the first Area Director for western Manitoba in Brandon.
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Philip Carl Salzman
Senior Fellow
Philip Carl Salzman received his B.A from Antioch College, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and he served as Professor of Anthropology at McGill University from 1968 to 2018.
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Wendell Cox
Senior Fellow
Wendell Cox is a Senior Fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy with expertise in housing affordability and municipal policy.
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Marco Navarro-Génie
Senior Fellow
Dr. Marco Navarro-Génie received his education at the CEGEP de Saint-Laurent and Concordia University in Montreal, and at the University of Calgary, where he earned his doctorate. He taught at Mount Royal University, Saint Mary’s University, the University of Calgary, SAIT and Concordia University between 1993 and 2013. He is a senior fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and the President of the Haultain Research Institute, a prairie-focused public policy institute.
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Leighton Grey
Senior Fellow
From 1985-89, Leighton attended Augustana University in Camrose before transferring to the University of Alberta to complete his B.A. (Distinction) with dual majors in English Literature & History. He was awarded an essay prize in Ethics in 1988 and received the Louise McKinney Scholarship, awarded to Alberta students with the top 2% of GPA in the Province. Leighton was awarded the prestigious Legal Studies For Aboriginal People Scholarship from 1989-92, which is a national prize presented to only 10 students each year. He received early acceptance to the University of Alberta Faculty of Law in 1988 and graduated in 1992. Leighton also pursued post graduate degrees in Business Administration (2017) and his PhD (Philosophy).
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Leighton began his legal career with the Federal Department of Justice, where he completed his Articles of Clerkship in 1993 before taking a hiatus to play minor league pro hockey with The Daytona Beach Sun Devils. In 1995, Leighton resumed the full -time practice of law. In 2005, Leighton founded his current practice. Leighton was admitted to the Law Society of Saskatchewan in 2004 and to the Law Society of British Columbia in 2014. Leighton has conducted hundreds of trials before Alberta Courts, and has for many years been considered one of the top criminal trial lawyers in Alberta. he has served as mentor or principal to eight articling students, two of whom went on to become Partners in GWSLLP. Leighton is also a Qualified Mediator and Arbitrator, and is a member of the ADR Institute of Canada. He served as an Adjudicator in Law Society Disciplinary Hearings from 2015-2020. Leighton was made Queen’s Counsel in 2010, and was then the youngest lawyer in Alberta to hold that prestigious designation. He was the recipient of the 2013 Stars of Alberta Volunteer Award, the 2015 Legal Aid Society Access to Justice Award, and the 2019 Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Gary J. Bigg Justice & Humanitarian Award.
Leighton was born in Regina Saskatchewan and grew up in the Kensington community of north Edmonton. Leighton is a status Indian whose Great Grandfather was once the Hereditary Chief of the Carry The Kettle or Jack Band at Sintaluta, SK. Leighton’s grandmother and great aunt were both survivors of the notorious Brandon Indian Residential School. Leighton’s father is a Treaty Indian who spent over two decades helping indigenous youth transition out of urban gangs, and was the founder of The Spiritkeeper Youth Society. Leighton excelled in sports and academics, graduating with honours from Queen Elizabeth Composite High School in 1985, where he scored the highest mark in the Province on the Social Studies departmental final examination and was awarded the Alexander Rutherford Scholarship. He also played Bantam and Midget AAA hockey with the Canadian Athletic Club.
Leighton was heavily involved in the original IRS Class Action from 2004-2016, and represented hundreds of claimants in the ADR process that was part of the settlement which culminated in the Truth & Reconciliation Commission Report. He and his wife, Jennifer, are the proud parents of two sons who attend Rink Hockey Academy in Kelowna, B.C. Their family is also a proud owner and supporter of the Drayton Valley Thunder Junior A Hockey Club.
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Senior Fellow
Gerry Bowler grew up in Saskatoon and earned his first two academic degrees from the University of Saskatchewan.
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David MacKinnon
Senior Fellow
David MacKinnon, a native of Prince Edward Island, was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree (honours economics) from Dalhousie University and an MBA from York University.
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Frances Widdowson
Senior Fellow
Frances Widdowson is a Senior Fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy and former Associate Professor in the Department in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University. Frances Widdowson received an Honours B.A. and M.A. in political science at the University of Victoria, and a Ph.D. in political science from York University.
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Tom Adams
Senior Fellow
Tom Adams is an independent energy and environmental advisor.
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Frank Atkins
Senior Fellow
Frank Atkins recently retired as Associate Professor of Economics from the University of Calgary.
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Patrick Moore
Senior Fellow
Dr. Patrick Moore is a Senior Fellow with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy with expertise in energy, ecology and prosperity.
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Roland Renner
Senior Fellow
Roland Renner, Telecom Policy and Regulation, has worked in telecommunications, broadcasting and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS).
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Michael Zwaagstra
Senior Fellow
Michael Zwaagstra is a public high school teacher and senior fellow of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. He received his Bachelor of Education and Master of Education from the University of Manitoba and Master of Arts in Theological Studies from Liberty University in Virginia.
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William Brooks
Senior Fellow
William Brooks is currently an opinion columnist for The Epoch Times and a Senior Fellow at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. Bill earned an Honours BA in History at Loyola College, University of Montreal, as well as a B.Ed and M.Ed in the Teaching of History from McGill University. He taught in Quebec public high schools before joining Lower Canada College where he spent 25 years teaching history, economics and political science. At LCC, he was Head of the Social Sciences Department and Director of the school’s Pre-university Program.
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Susan Martinuk
Senior Fellow
Susan Martinuk is a Vancouver-based Research and Communications Specialist who has been a featured columnist in Canadian newspapers for over 20 years. She has published over 1500 OpEd columns, articles and reports on topics related to healthcare, medical technology, bioethics and public policy. As a medical researcher, she and her colleagues achieved a world-first medical breakthrough when they were the first to visualize and record human ovulation.
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Jim Dueck
Senior Fellow
Jim Dueck is a Senior Fellow for Frontier Centre for Public Policy. He received undergraduate education degrees from the Univerity of Calgary and worked for the Calgary Board of Education as teacher and principal. He then answered a call from Abbotsford to serve as assistant superintendent and superintendent, where he also completed a doctorate degree from Brigham Young University. A term as Nanaimo’s superintendent opened the door for a return to Alberta as assistant deputy minister in education. During these years in Alberta, he lead the development of world-renowned Alberta’s Accountability Pillar, Canada’s School Achievement Indicators Program (SAIP), and performance pay for government bureaucrats. He was identified by more than 50 countries as the world’s leader in education accountability leading directly to United State’s rewriting their “Every Student Succeeds Act” specifying system report cards. During his retirement, he published 11 books focused on accountability within the education sector education including how educators can be rewarded for superior service to students.
— Research Associates —
Research Associate
Joseph Quesnel is a research associate at the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. He received a BA honours in political science and history from McGill University and completed a Master of Journalism degree at Carleton University. Quesnel has over 15 years of experience in print journalism including over three years as lead staff writer at the Drum/First Perspective, a national Aboriginal publication.
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For almost 10 years, Quesnel was a policy analyst at the Frontier Centre where he wrote widely on Indigenous, property rights, and water market issues. He was lead researcher for the Frontier Centre’s flagship Aboriginal Governance Index and he completed an extensive study of the B.C. Nisga’a Nation. Quesnel’s work has been featured in numerous Canadian radio and newspapers outlets. He has been called to provide expert testimony before the Standing Senate Committee on Aboriginal Peoples and the House’s Standing Committee on Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development. Joseph also served as a program manager at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, overseeing their Indigenous resource economy project.
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Research Associate
Randy Boldt is an experienced immigration practitioner and licensed immigration consultant.
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Research Associate
Ray McGinnis is a writer, and author of Unanswered Questions and Writing the Sacred. Earlier in his career, Ray was a program staff in education for the United Church of Canada, serving in several congregations, as well as at the denominations national office (1986-95). He lives in Vancouver, Canada.
— Expert Advisory Panel —
David Beito
David Beito is an associate professor of history at the University of Alabama. Much of his research has focused on the history of the non-governmental provision of public services.
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Sir Roger Douglas
Sir Roger Douglas was Finance Minister in New Zealand’s Labour Government from 1984 to 1988.
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Johan Hjertqvist
Johan Hjertqvist is the founder and former president of the Health Consumer Powerhouse based in Stockholm, the European do-tank for better healthcare by consumer information and knowledge.
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E.S. Savas
E.S. Savas is Presidential Professor at Baruch College, City University of New York.
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He has B.A. and B.S. degrees from the University of Chicago, M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Columbia University, and honorary doctorate degrees from two European universities
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Graham Lane
Graham Lane is a retired CA and has had a multifaceted career spanning almost 50 years in the public and private sectors of seven provinces as a Senior Executive and Consultant.
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— Board of Directors —
Wayne Anderson
Chair
Wayne Anderson was born in Winnipeg and graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1963 with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, an appropriate degree: after he earned his MBA from York University in 1968 he became actively involved in his family’s cattle operation.
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Peter Holle
President
Peter Holle is the founding President of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy, an award-winning western Canadian based public policy think tank.
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Cheryl Simpson
Treasurer
Cheryl Simpson is a Chartered Professional Accountant with a Bachelor of Applied Business Administration.
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Ivan Holloway
Secretary
Ivan is a partner at the Winnipeg law firm of Holloway Thliveris LLP and specializes in construction law, construction litigation and commercial litigation.
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John Heimbecker
Director
John Heimbecker has been a Vice President at Parrish & Heimbecker since 1999. He graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Commerce Degree (Finance) in 1987.
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Russell Kalmacoff
Director
Mr Kalmacoff is President and CEO of Rockmount Financial Corporation, a Calgary based company that manages investments, develops real estate and has interests in downstream cleantech. Its subsidiary, Rockmount Trust Company has a business plan directed at mortgage banking services for builders and developers.
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Clay Dowling
Director
Clay Dowling is President and Chief Executive Officer of Ghost Transportation Services. Prior to forming Ghost Transportation Services in 1987, Mr. Dowling spent 14 years in the transportation industry in a variety of roles from Professional Transport Operator to Regional Management.
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Mr. Dowling’s past involvements in business community groups include: Past President of the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, Board member of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce for 4 years, Past President of the Saskatoon Transportation Club, AHRDC committee member, Member to ACRE (Action Committee on the Rural Economy) on both the Monitoring Committee and the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, committee member to the Prairie-2 Ports Gateway and Inland Port undertaking. President of the North Saskatoon Business Association; twice, Board member of Saskatoon Regional Economic Development authority, charter member of TEC Group 246(The Executive Committee), Public Appointee to the Board of Governors of the Certified General Accountants Association of Saskatchewan, Public Appointee to the Board of the Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants of Saskatchewan, Committee member of HR & Nominating Committee of CPA Saskatchewan.
Mr. Dowling was awarded the 2000 Transportation Award of Achievement, for Initiative and Innovation, recognized as a Saskatchewan Man of Influence in 2006 and 2010 by “Sask Business Magazine”, and inducted into the “Saskatchewan Transportation Hall of Fame in 2008 and recognized as “Saskatchewan Business Leader of the Year” at the 2009 Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce ABEX Awards and in 2013 presented the Shirley Ryan Lifetime Achievement Award by the NSBA.
Mr. Dowling earned his Professional Logistician, (P.Log.) designation in 2011.
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Kenneth J. Muys
Director
Mr. Muys is a partner with the firm and has been with D’Arcy & Deacon since 2002. He practices in a broad range of civil litigation cases and has significant experience in creditors and debtor law, bankruptcy and insolvency law, construction law, insurance law and employment law. He has appeared in all levels of court in Manitoba and the Federal Court of Canada as well as before various boards and tribunals. Mr. Muys also has an active real estate practice and achieved the highest standing in Real Estate Transactions at the University of Manitoba Law School.
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Mr. Muys was also a lecturer for seven years at the University of Manitoba Law School in the first year clinical course of
Legal Methods which emphasizes oral advocacy skills. Mr. Muys has also been a lecturer in the second year clinical course
of Introduction to Advocacy at the University of Manitoba Law School.
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Chris Bloomer
Director
Chris is Director and co-founder of Enhanced Optimization Solutions Inc. (“EOSinc”) a private energy technology company with proven proprietary production enhancement and emission reduction processes. From 2015 to 2021 he was the President, CEO and Director of the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association a leading and respected advocate for the oil and gas industry.
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As CEO and director of Connacher oil and Gas Ltd from 2013 to 2015, he headed a $1.5 billion restructuring of the oil sands company while growing production. From 2001 to 2013 Chris was a key executive of Petrobank Energy and Resources fulfilling key roles in his tenure as Senior Vice President and COO and CFO from 2004 to 2007. Petrobank operated conventional oil and gas business units in Canada and Colombia as well as Canadian oil sands and became a leading energy company on the TSX.
Other positions include Senior Client Partner with Korn Ferry where he conducted senior executive retain search in domestic and international oil and gas, technology and financial sectors; Co-Founder, President and COO Of Talon Resources an Ecuadorian and Colombia mid-stream project development operation in conjunction with PacAlta Resources; Senior Vice President and COO of Castle Energy Corporation’s Canadian crude marketing and US exploration, natural gas production and pipelines.
Chris began his career, after graduating from the University of Toronto in earth sciences with Shell Canada Ltd. from 1978 to 1993. He moved with increasing responsibility from exploration, economics, corporate planning, oil sands development and operations and natural gas marketing, culminating in the role of Director Liquids Business Center. In this role he was responsible for crude oil and liquid natural gas marketing and business development.
Chris has extensive board of director experience having served on 13 public and private boards in various capacities including Chairman.
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Nick Beyak
Director
Nick Beyak is a Canadian entrepreneur and president of the Beyak Automotive Group. After attaining his Bachelor of Business Administration, he began working alongside his father to understand and operate the family auto dealership. At a very young age Nick purchased the business and has since expanded by acquiring several other dealerships within Northwestern Ontario.
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Nick has dedicated himself to creating a positive workplace that allows his staff to thrive and prosper as a result of their dedication and loyalty. The Beyak Automotive Group and its affiliated companies regularly re-invest in the communities that they do business in by providing financial support to local organizations and community projects. Nick takes great pride in the ability to make a difference for children and families in the area by supporting activities and events that will enhance their personal lives.
As an entrepreneur, Nick recognizes the need for good stewardship and wise management in all aspects of society. He believes this can be achieved by supporting and encouraging good governance while at the same time holding leaders accountable. Throughout his career, Nick has helped provide leadership and oversight by actively volunteering in various community, professional, and municipal organizations.
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