November 1st, 2022 – The C.D. Howe Institute announced today a $1.5 million gift from noted philanthropist and long-time member Donald K. Johnson to enhance the Institute’s policy research capacity.
“Don’s gift – the largest donation we have ever received – creates a 10-year fellowship program to support the appointment of a policy practitioner or university-based researcher each year. The Don Johnson fellowship will strengthen our policy impact now, and into the future,” said William Robson, the Institute’s CEO.
The inaugural Johnson fellow is Janet Davidson, who works in health care consulting with a focus on strategy, organization management and design, and governance. Formerly, she served as Deputy Minister of Health for Alberta, CEO of Trillium Health Centre, COO of Vancouver Coastal Health, as well as numerous other leadership positions in a number of Canadian jurisdictions.
Part of his gift will also endow a named membership at the Institute, to forever associate the Institute’s policy work with his legacy.
Duncan Munn, the Institute president, added “We are very grateful for Don’s gift, which strengthens our capacity to recruit top-drawer talent to work on critical issues.”
“The creation of the Johnson Fellowships will enable the Institute to invest in priority areas where time-limited focus can produce policy impact.”
He added that the C.D. Howe Institute is honoured to count Johnson among its strongest supporters.
For his part, Johnson says that while he believes in the importance of supporting charities through estate planning, “It is better to give with a warm hand than a cold hand.”
“He who gives while he lives also knows where it goes.”
An Officer of the Order of Canada, he has made landmark gifts to charities across Canada, including a recent $50 million gift to name the Eye Research Institute at the University Health Network, and generous gifts to a wide variety of charities across Canada, including the Ivey Business School and the National Ballet of Canada.
He also assembled and worked for more than a decade with a broad range of Canadian charities to successfully convince Finance Canada to eliminate the capital gains tax on gifts of listed securities to registered charities.
A fixture at Institute policy roundtables focussed on tax policy, he is currently working with charities on an advocacy campaign to gifts of private company shares and real estate to be included in the capital gains exemption.
For more information contact: Laura Bouchard, lbouchard@cdhowe.org
The C.D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit research institute whose mission is to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies. Widely considered to be Canada's most influential think tank, the Institute is a trusted source of essential policy intelligence, distinguished by research that is nonpartisan, evidence-based and subject to definitive expert review.