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May 12 2026

OEA Award of Distinction

Ottawa Economics Association invites you to celebrate the 2025/26 OEA Award of distinction.

 

This year’s recipient is:

Kevin Page
President and CEO of IFSD

 

Each year, the OEA Award of Distinction is given to an individual to recognize their outstanding contributions to the field of economics in Canada and/or the Canadian economy. Past recipients have included economists like Michael McCracken, Ivan Fellegi, David Dodge, Don Drummond, Judith Maxwell, Glen Hodgson, Stephen Poloz and, more recently Carolyn Wilkins. The Award comes with an Indigenous stone bear sculpture engraved with each award recipient’s name. The recipient generally hosts the sculpture for the year until it is time to pass it along to the next recipient. It will be on display at Fairmont Chateau Laurier, Ottawa, on May 12.

This ceremony is exclusive to the OEA members and the Spring Policy Conference Guests only.

Event Information
Date:             Tuesday, May 12th
Time:             6:00 pm – 9:00 pm ET
Location:      Fairmont Chateau Laurier, 1 Rideau Street, Ottawa
Cost:             Free event for OEA members

REGISTRATION
There is no charge for this event. Pre-registration is mandatory due to limited capacity.
To register, please complete the online registration form on the event website. We do not accept registrations by electronic mail. Registration deadline is 5 p.m. on Monday, May 5, 2026, but will close earlier should the event reach capacity. For questions, please contact us at oea@cabe.ca.

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If you learned of this event from a colleague or through an internet search, click here to be added to our distribution list for other events open to the public.

The OEA may carry out photography and/or video recording during the event, which may feature attendees. By attending this event, you waive the right to inspect and approve such images and agree that the OEA may use such images in perpetuity, in any promotional, advertising or publicity material in any format whatsoever and that copyright in these materials rests with the OEA.
This event will be closed to the media and will employ Chatham House Rule.

 

ABOUT THE RECIPIENT

Kevin Page

 

Kevin Page is the founding President and CEO of IFSD and is recognized as a national authority on Canada’s budgetary system and its intersection with cabinet and parliament. Kevin sets IFSD strategy and is the last word on product quality control.

For 27 years, Kevin was a dedicated member of the federal public service at three central agencies responsible for fiscal matters, including the Department of Finance, the Treasury Board Secretariat, and the Privy Council Office of Canada. His work in the departments of Agriculture and Agri-food, Fisheries and Oceans, and Human Resources and Social Development gave him an important perspective on the challenges faced by line ministries in the expenditure management system.  As Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet for Macroeconomic Policy, Kevin advised the Prime Minister on economic and fiscal matters.

Kevin was named Canada’s first Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) in 2008, serving Parliament. As the founding officer Kevin’s work set standards for fiscal transparency and accountability and led to the organization being considered an international benchmark. Following his time on Parliament Hill, Kevin held the Jean Luc Pepin Research Chair at the University of Ottawa (2013-16) where he taught public finance and economics and encouraged youth participation in public policy discourse. Currently, he teaches a public policy seminar course at the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University in Montreal.

Kevin has provided expert support to leading international organizations like the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank to support the development of public finance capacity in different parts of the world. He has participated on advisory boards including the Slovak Republic Fiscal Council (CBR) and the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB). In Canada, he has volunteered in advisory positions on social issues at both a national level (Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness) and a local level (Serenity House – support for people with addictions to drugs and alcohol).

In 2015, Kevin co-authored Unaccountable: Truth and Lies on Parliament Hill, which is a unique insider’s look at the PBO, federal government and parliament.

Born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario, he has undergraduate degrees from Lakehead University and Simon Fraser University and holds a Master of Economics from Queen’s University. Kevin has also received an honorary Doctor of Laws from Lakehead University and an honorary doctorate from the University of York (UK). He has had the good fortune of receiving many accolades for his work, domestically and abroad, and from across the political spectrum.

Event Details

Fairmont Chateau Laurier
1 Rideau St, Ottawa, ON K1N 8S7 Get Directions
May 12, 2026 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm EST

Event Registration

Public Attendee List

  • Trevin Stratton