Drew Fagan

Drew Fagan is a professor at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto. He teaches policy implementation in the graduate degree program and leads other university initiatives.

Prof. Fagan also is a public policy adviser as principal of Greenbrook Consulting Inc. Recent clients include departments, ministries, agencies and boards at all three levels of government.  

Prof. Fagan is a senior fellow at the Public Policy Forum, where he has overseen recent research reports, as well as other think tanks and university institutes. He also is senior adviser at National Public Relations, where he provides strategic advice internally and to public and private sector clients.

Prof. Fagan previously spent 12 years in leadership positions with the governments of Ontario and Canada.  

With Ontario, he was Deputy Minister responsible for the 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games and Deputy Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport. He also spent four years as Deputy Minister of Infrastructure, with responsibility for Ontario’s long-term infrastructure plan.  

Prof. Fagan joined the Ontario Public Service in 2009 from Ottawa, where he was Assistant Deputy Minister for strategic policy and planning at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (now Global Affairs Canada). He served as the Prime Minister’s personal representative to the Asia-Pacific (APEC) summit process.

Before becoming a public servant and diplomat in 2004, Prof. Fagan worked at The Globe and Mail, including as parliamentary bureau chief, editorial page editor and columnist, foreign editor, associate editor of Report on Business and Washington correspondent.

Prof. Fagan is a board member of the Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall and other organizations, including the Art Gallery of Ontario government affairs committee. He serves on the Government of Ontario corporate audit committee. He is a former board member of the Canadian Tourism Commission and was interim editor of the Literary Review of Canada. He served on the United Way of Toronto campaign cabinet when he led the Government of Ontario campaign. He was a member of the advisory board of the Munk School of Global Affairs from 2009 to 2017.

Prof. Fagan’s writing has appeared recently in such publications as The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star and The Conversation. He is a frequent media commentator, including on CBC, CTV, China Radio International and others.

Prof. Fagan holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Queen’s University and a Master of Arts degree from the University of Western Ontario. He received his ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto in 2017 and also was honoured to be a convocation speaker at UofT graduation ceremonies.