Compiled by Oleksandr (Sasha) Kondrashov
Updated September 2021
Think tanks, policy and research institutes are organizations or groups of people who are involved in research and advocacy in a range of fields, including but not limited to social policy, political strategy, environment, economics, technology, industry, business, agriculture, and national defense.
Many think tanks are non-profit organizations; their funding may come from governments, businesses, private advocacy groups, or from consulting and research work and might reflect the ideology of the funders. Below is a compilation of more than 130 Canadian think tanks.
The list was compiled from McGill Canadian think tanks list and https://onthinktanks.org/ website.
You can read doctoral dissertation the study of Canadian think tanks from McMaster University Library: McLevey, V. P. (2013). Producing and promoting policy ideas: A study of think tanks in Canada (Doctoral dissertation).
Some useful videos to learn more about think tanks and their role in social policy:
- What do Think Tanks Do? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRoDvI0rSpM
- The Agenda with Steve Palkin. (2014, November 18). Do think tanks matter? . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC-yCcQbRyA
- John de Boer UNU Center for Policy Research (Producer). (2015, January 21). Think tanks: What are they good for?, A conversation with Rohinton Medhora. . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KthteXzerfc
- Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars (Producer). (2013, December 12). Thinking about think tanks: What are they and what do they do? . Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOWc_p-VmK4
| Organization | Location | Website |
| APEC Atlantic Canada | Halifax, NS | https://www.apec-econ.ca/ |
| Arctic Institute of North America | Calgary, AB | https://arctic.ucalgary.ca/ |
| ArcticNet | Quebec, QC | https://arcticnet.ulaval.ca/ |
| Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada | Vancouver, BC | Toronto, ON | https://www.asiapacific.ca/ |
| Atlantic Institute for Market Studies | Halifax, NS | http://www.aims.ca/ |
| Atlantic Provinces Economic Council | Halifax, NS | https://www.apec-econ.ca/ |
| Broadbent Institute | Ottawa, ON | https://www.broadbentinstitute.ca/ |
| Brookfield Institute | Toronto, ON | https://brookfieldinstitute.ca/ |
| Business Council of Canada | Ottawa, ON | https://thebusinesscouncil.ca/ |
| Business Council of Canada (Canadian Council of Chief Executives) | Ottawa, ON | https://thebusinesscouncil.ca/ |
| C.D. Howe Institute | Toronto, ON | https://www.cdhowe.org/ |
| Caledon Institute | Archive Only | https://maytree.com/caledon-archive/ |
| Canada 2020 | Ottawa, ON | https://canada2020.ca/ |
| Canada Strong and Free Network (Manning Centre) | Calgary, AB | https://canadastrongandfree.network/ |
| Canada West Foundation | Calgary, AB | https://cwf.ca/ |
| Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission | Montreal, QC | https://ecofiscal.ca/ |
| Canada’s Public Policy Forum | Ottawa, ON | https://ppforum.ca/ |
| Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute | Ottawa, ON | https://capi-icpa.ca/ |
| Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies | Toronto, ON | https://carfms.org/ |
| Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA) | Toronto, ON | https://www.cancea.ca/ |
| Canadian Centre for Health Economics | Toronto, ON | https://www.canadiancentreforhealtheconomics.ca/ |
| Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives | Ottawa, ON | Offices across Canada | https://www.policyalternatives.ca/ |
| Canadian Chamber of Commerce | Ottawa, ON | Offices across Canada | https://chamber.ca/ |
| Canadian Constitution Foundation | Calgary, AB | https://theccf.ca/ |
| Canadian Council on Social Development | Kanata, ON | www.ccsd.ca |
| Canadian Economics Association | Ottawa, ON | Vancouver, BC | https://www.economics.ca/ |
| Canadian Energy Research Institute | Calgary, AB | Ottawa, ON | https://ceri.ca/ |
| Canadian Global Affairs Institute (Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute) | Calgary, AB | Ottawa, ON | https://www.cgai.ca/ |
| Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) | Toronto, ON | https://cifar.ca/ |
| Canadian Institute for Climate Choices | Kitchener, ON? | https://climatechoices.ca/ |
| Canadian Institute for Identities and Migration | Montreal, QC | https://www.ciim.ca/en/ |
| Canadian Institute of Advanced Research | Toronto, ON | https://www.cifar.ca/ |
| Canadian International Council (Couchiching Institute) | Toronto, ON | https://thecic.org/ |
| Canadian Research Data Centre Network | Hamilton, ON | https://crdcn.org/ |
| Canadian Tax Foundation | Toronto, ON | Montreal, QC | https://www.ctf.ca/ |
| Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) | Toronto, ON | https://canurb.org/ |
| Cardus | Hamilton, ON | Offices across Canada | https://www.cardus.ca/ |
| Centre d’Étude et de Cooperation International | Montréal, QC | https://www.ceci.ca/ |
| Centre de Recherche en économie de l’Environnement, de l’Agroalimentaire, des Transports et de l’Énergie Centre for Economics Research on the Environment, Agri-food, Transportation, and Energy | Quebec, QC | http://www.create.ulaval.ca/ |
| Centre for International and Defence Policy | Kingston, ON | https://www.queensu.ca/cidp/ |
| Centre for International Governance Innovation | Waterloo, ON | https://www.cigionline.org/ |
| Centre for International Policy Studies | Ottawa, ON | https://www.cips-cepi.ca/ |
| Centre for International Sustainable Development Law | Montreal, QC | https://www.cisdl.org/ |
| Centre for Security Governance | Waterloo, ON | https://secgovcentre.org/ |
| Centre for the Study of Living Standards | Ottawa, ON | http://www.csls.ca/ |
| Chantier de l’économie sociale | Montréal, QC | https://chantier.qc.ca/ |
| China Institute (UAlberta) | Edmonton, AB | https://www.ualberta.ca/china-institute/index.html |
| Community Research Connections | Victoria, BC | https://www.crcresearch.org/ |
| Conference Board of Canada | Ottawa, ON | Montreal, QC | Calgary, AB | https://www.conferenceboard.ca/ |
| Council of Canadian Academies | Ottawa, ON | https://cca-reports.ca/ |
| Council of Canadians | Ottawa, ON | Offices across Canada | https://canadians.org/ |
| David Suzuki Foundation | Vancouver, BC | Montreal, QC | Toronto, ON | https://davidsuzuki.org/ |
| Democracy Watch | Ottawa, ON | https://democracywatch.ca/ |
| Donald J. Savoie Institute | Moncton, NB | http://www.djsi.ca/index.php/en/ |
| Ecofiscal Commission | Montreal, QC | https://ecofiscal.ca/ |
| Environmental Defence | Ottawa, ON | Toronto, ON | https://environmentaldefence.ca/ |
| Fraser Institute | Vancouver, BC | Offices across Canada | https://www.fraserinstitute.org/ |
| Frontier Centre for Public Policy | Winnipeg, MB | https://fcpp.org/ |
| George Morris Centre | Guelph, ON | http://www.georgemorris.org/ |
| Global Institute for Food Security | Saskatoon, SK | https://www.gifs.ca/ |
| Global Network for Africa’s Prosperity (GNAP) | Online? | https://www.africaprosperity.com/ |
| GPI Atlantic | Glen Haven, NS | http://www.gpiatlantic.org/ |
| Group of Reflection and Action for a New Haiti | Montreal, QC | http://www.grahn-monde.org/ |
| Human Rights Research and Education Centre | Ottawa, ON | https://cdp-hrc.uottawa.ca/en |
| Human Security Report Project | Vancouver, BC | http://www.hsrgroup.org/ |
| Human Security Report Project (HSRP), Simon Fraser University | Vancovuer, BC | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Security_Report_Project |
| Institut de politiques alternatives de Montréal | Montréal, QC | http://ipamontreal.org/ |
| Institut de Recherche en Économie Contemporaine (IREC) | Montreal, QC | https://irec.quebec/ |
| Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-économiques (IRIS) | Montreal, QC | https://iris-recherche.qc.ca/ |
| Institut Donald J. Savoie | Moncton, NB | https://idjs.ca/en/ |
| Institut national de la recherche scientifique | Québec, QC | http://www.inrs.ca/ |
| Institute du Québec (L’IdQ) | Montreal, QC | https://institutduquebec.ca/ |
| Institute for Citizen-Centred Service | Toronto, ON | https://citizenfirst.ca/ |
| Institute for Liberal Studies | Ottawa, ON | https://www.liberalstudies.ca/ |
| Institute for Public Economics (Department of Economics. University of Alberta) | Edmonton, AB | https://www.ualberta.ca/economics/institute-for-public-economics/index.html |
| Institute for Research on Public Policy | Montréal, QC | https://irpp.org/ |
| Institute of Fiscal Studies and Democracy @uOttawa (IFSD) | Ottawa, ON | https://www.ifsd.ca/en/ |
| Institute of Health Economics | Edmonton, AB | https://www.ihe.ca/ |
| Institute of Public Administration of Canada | Toronto, ON | https://www.ipac.ca/ |
| Institute on Governance | Ottawa, ON | Toronto, ON | https://iog.ca/ |
| Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation | Waterloo, ON | https://www.intactcentreclimateadaptation.ca/ |
| International Development Research Centre | Ottawa, ON | Offices across the world | https://www.idrc.ca/ |
| International Institute for Sustainable Development | Winnipeg, MB | Offices across regions | http://www.iisd.org/ |
| International Migration Research Centre | Waterloo, ON | https://researchcentres.wlu.ca/international-migration-research-centre/index.html |
| Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms | Calgary, AB | https://www.jccf.ca/ |
| Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management (Ivey Business School. Western University) | London, ON | https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/lawrencecentre/ |
| Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues | Vancouver, BC | http://www.ligi.ubc.ca/ |
| Macdonald-Laurier Institute | Ottawa, ON | https://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/ |
| Mackenzie Institute | Toronto, ON | https://mackenzieinstitute.com/ |
| Martin Prosperity Institute | Toronto, ON | http://www-2.rotman.utoronto.ca/mpi/ |
| Maytree | Toronto, ON | https://maytree.com/ |
| McGill Institute for Global Food Security (Canada) | Montral, QC | https://www.mcgill.ca/globalfoodsecurity/ |
| Montreal Economic Institute / Institut Economique de Montreal (IEDM) | Montréal, QC | https://www.iedm.org/ |
| Mosaic Institute | Toronto, ON | https://mosaicinstitute.ca/ |
| Mowat Centre | Toronto, ON | https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/ |
| Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (University of Toronto) | Toronto, ON | https://munkschool.utoronto.ca/ |
| Norman Paterson School of International Affairs | Ottawa, ON | https://carleton.ca/npsia/ |
| Northern Policy Institute | Thunder Bay, ON | Sudbury, ON | https://www.northernpolicy.ca/ |
| North-South Institute | Ottawa, ON | http://www.nsi-ins.ca/ |
| Parkland Institute | Edmonton, AB | https://www.parklandinstitute.ca/ |
| Parliamentary Centre | Ottawa, ON | https://www.parlcent.org/ |
| Pearson Centre for Progressive Policy | Ottawa, ON | http://www.thepearsoncentre.ca/ |
| Pembina Institute | Calgary, AB | Offices across Canada | https://www.pembina.org/ |
| Pollution Probe | North York, ON | https://www.pollutionprobe.org/ |
| Program on Water Governance, University of British Columbia | Vancouver, BC | https://watergovernance.ca/ |
| Public Policy Forum | Ottawa, ON | https://ppforum.ca/ |
| Rideau Institute | Ottawa, ON | https://rideauinstitute.ca/ |
| Rotman Institute for International Business (RIIB) | Toronto, ON | https://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/FacultyAndResearch/ResearchCentres/InstituteForInternationalBusiness/Research/RIIB-Research |
| Saskatoon Research and Development Centre | Saskatoon, SK | https://profils-profiles.science.gc.ca/en/research-centre/saskatoon-research-and-development-centre |
| School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary | Calgary, AB | https://spp.ucalgary.ca/ |
| Second Street | Regina, SK | https://secondstreet.org/ |
| Smart Prosperity Institute | Ottawa, ON | https://institute.smartprosperity.ca/ |
| Social Research and Demonstration Corporation | Ottawa, ON | Offices across Canada | http://www.srdc.org/ |
| The Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute | Ottawa, ON | https://capi-icpa.ca/ |
| The Institute for 21st Century Questions | Online? | https://www.i21cq.com/ |
| The Institute for the Study of Civil Society (CIVITAS) | Online? | https://www.civitascanada.ca/ |
| The Institute of Intergovernmental Relations | Kingston, ON | https://www.queensu.ca/iigr/home |
| The Mackenzie Institute | Toronto, ON | https://mackenzieinstitute.com/ |
| The Polaris Institute | Ottawa, ON | https://www.polarisinstitute.org/ |
| The Samara Centre for Democracy | Toronto, ON | https://www.samaracanada.com/ |
| Unisféra International Centre | Montréal, QC | Offices across regions | https://unisfera.org/ |
| Van Horne Insitute | Calgary, AB | http://www.vanhorneinstitute.com/ |
| Vanier Institute of the Family | Ottawa, ON | https://vanierinstitute.ca/ |
| Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence | Toronto, ON | https://vectorinstitute.ai/ |
| Water Institute, University of Waterloo | Waterloo, ON | https://uwaterloo.ca/water-institute/ |
| Wellesley Institute | Toronto, ON | https://www.wellesleyinstitute.com/ |
| Work Research Foundation | Hamilton, ON | Offices across Canada | https://www.cardus.ca/ |
| Yellowhead Institute | Toronto, ON | https://yellowheadinstitute.org/ |
| York Consortium on International and Security Studies (YCISS) | Toronto, ON | https://yciss.news.yorku.ca/ |
Dr. Oleksandr (Sasha) Kondrashov 