Michel Kelly-Gagnon

After practicing law with Colas & Associates, Kelly-Gagnon went into business as an associate of Formatrad, an in-house employee training firm. In 1998, he assumed leadership of the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI). The annual budget was $15,000 in 1998 and rose to $1 400 393[1] by 2005. To achieve this growth, he explained that he raised funds from corporations and wealthy individuals in Canada and the US by offering to represent their interests.[2]

In 2006, he became the president of the Quebec Employers Council where he changed an operational deficit of $110,196[3] the year before his arrival, into a $205,804[3] surplus after his first year. In 2009, he returned to the MEI as president and moved the organisation from a $269,342[4] deficit for financial year ending December 31, 2008 to a $153,188[5] surplus (as of December 31, 2009) in the context of a severe recession. From 2006 to 2009, he also served on the board of directors of Quebec Workers Compensation Board (CSST). He is also member of the Mont Pelerin Society, president of the advisory committee of Global Ressources Humaines, and he is in the board of directors of the Fondation universitaire Pierre Arbour, the John W. Dobson Foundation, and the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF).

Kelly-Gagnon was one of six individuals from the province of Quebec honoured in Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 2008 awards.

• Chroniques économiques : Des idées pour démystifier les politiques publiques (Montreal: Varia, 2004).