Home Meet our editorial advisory board
Meet our editorial advisory board
Melanie Paradis
A consummate communicator, Melanie has been at the front lines of election campaigns in Canada, serving in multiple national and provincial election war rooms, as well as in senior communications roles on three party leadership bids. As Deputy Campaign Manager, Melanie played a key role in Erin O’Toole’s successful 2020 Conservative Leadership campaign. She then served as the Director of Strategic Communications and principal speech writer in the Office of the Leader of the Opposition. Melanie appears regularly on national affairs broadcasts and panels, including Curse of Politics, Politico Canada, and CTV election coverage, and her writing appears in the Globe and Mail, National Post, the Toronto Sun, and the Line.
Ben Woodfinden
Ben Woodfinden is a doctoral candidate at McGill University, a research fellow at the Centre for Constitutional Law and Legal Studies at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and the Executive Director of Advocates for the Rule of law, a registered charity and think tank established to promote constitutionalism and the rule of law. His academic research focuses on Westminster constitutionalism and sits at the intersection of political theory, constitutional theory, and the history of political thought. Ben is also a frequent commentator on Canadian and conservative politics. He is a frequent speaker and panelist in Canadian conservative forums. Ben is a contributor to the National Post and The Hub. Ben publishes a newsletter, The Dominion, which is focused on thinking about what a distinctly Canadian conservatism is and looks like.
Matthew Lau
Matthew Lau, a financial analyst by trade and an adjunct scholar with the Fraser Institute, writes a weekly column for the Financial Post editorial page in the National Post. His writing covers a wide range of subjects, including fiscal policy, economic theory, climate change, free markets, government regulation, and Canadian politics. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a specialization in finance and economics from the University of Toronto, and is a CFA charterholder.
Sean Speer
Sean Speer is a Canadian academic, commentator, and public policy analyst. He is assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, Fellow in strategic competitiveness at the Public Policy Forum, and Editor-at-large at The Hub. Sean’s work has appeared in National Post, the Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, Policy Options, and] National Review. He served as policy advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper after serving as director of policy to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. Sean has appeared on the Hill Times Top 25 Most Powerful & Influential People list as well as the Maclean’s power list.
