Dr. Meredith Lilly

Professor and Simon Reisman Chair

• 5th Floor Richcraft Hall, Carleton University
• 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6

Meredith Lilly, Ph.D., is a full Professor and Simon Reisman Chair in International Economic Policy at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. Her research focuses on North American trade relations, Canada’s trade diversification strategy, and economic security. Prior to her appointment at Carleton, she served as Foreign Affairs and International Trade Advisor to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. She was previously appointed at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and has worked in policy roles in several Canadian government departments. She engages regularly with foreign governments and diplomats, and is a frequent media commentator on North American trade issues.

She is a member of CD Howe Institute’s International Economic Policy Council, a non-resident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute Claudio X. González Center for the United States and Mexico, an Advisory Board member for the Canadian Global Affairs Institute, and serves as the Academic Partner for Canada’s delegation to the North American Forum. She is recipient of the King Charles III Coronation Medal in recognition of her service to community and country in public policy.

Expertise:

Canada-US trade relations; Canadian trade policy; Free trade negotiations; trade diversification; labour economics; economic sanctions

Contact Professor Lilly at: meredith.lilly[at]carleton.ca

Recent Publications:

Lilly, Meredith. The U.S. Isn’t the Only Customer in Town. Macleans Magazine. Invited Special Issue, How to Fight Back. June 25, 2025. https://macleans.ca/society/how-to-fight-back/

Lilly, MB. (2025). Urgency and Caution: Charting a Careful Path to the CUSMA Review. CD Howe Institute. June 18, 2025. https://cdhowe.org/publication/urgency-and-caution-charting-a-careful-path-to-the-cusma-review/

Barkin, N., Bassi, J., Demarais, A., Fasulo, F. Gertz, G, Kilcrease, E., Hermine, J-P., Lilly, M., Luck, P. (2026). Boosting economic security collaboration among G7 economies and like-minded allies. Think 7 Solutions Paper. G7 France 2026. https://ecfr.eu/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/T7-solution-paper_Boosting-economic-security-collaboration-v1.pdf

Lilly, MB. (2025). Harnessing New Investments in Industrial Policy to Advance North American Competitiveness. Revista, Harvard Review of Latin America. Mexico White Papers. June 26, 2025. https://revista.drclas.harvard.edu/harnessing-new-investments-in-industrial-policy-to-advance-north-american-competitiveness/

Charron, A. and Lilly, MB. 2025. Canada’s Approach to Sanctions: An Overview. Elgar Encyclopedia of International Sanctions. Clara Portela, Andrea Charron and Mirko Sossai (eds). Edward Elgar Publishing. ISBN: 978 1 03533 952 5

Lilly, MB. Renegotiating NAFTA: A Canadian Perspective (2024). Pender de Un Hilo. Detrás De Las Negociaciones Del T-MEC. Eds. Rafael Fernandez de Castro. [Translation: Hanging by a Thread: Behind the USMCA Negotiations]. Ariel Mexico. ISBN : 9786075698724

Lilly, MB, EM Walter*, D Balkissoon (2022). Trade policy pain for marginal climate gain? The complex case for border carbon adjustments in Canada. Canadian Tax Journal. 70(1): 1-17. https://www.fcf-ctf.ca/common/Uploaded%20files/Documents/CTJ%202022/Issue%201/Public/57_Public-2022CTJ1-PF-3-Lilly-etal.pdf

Lilly, MB (2023). Beyond NAFTA: Canada and USMCA’s Initial Implementation, 2020-2022. Chapter in D. Gantz, S M. Fegtly, T. Payan (eds). The Future of Trade: A North American Perspective. Edward Elgar Publishing. UK. https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/usd/the-future-of-trade-9781035315413.html

Lilly, MB and EM Walter (2023). A tale of two border closures: How the 9/11 experience prepared Canada and the US for the 2020 pandemic shut down. in A. Charron, A. Moens, S. Roussel (eds). The Legacy of 9/11: Views from North America. McGill-Queen’s University Press. https://www.mqup.ca/legacy-of-9-11–the-products-9780228017325.php

Lilly, MB (2022). A Win-Win Compromise: How Canada Won at Home while America Came First in NAFTA Renegotiations. In Hampson, F.O. and Narlikar, A. (eds.) International Negotiation and Political Narratives: A Comparative Study. Routledge.

Williams, H. and Lilly, MB (2021), Developing a novel index to evaluate labour chapters in trade agreements: Canada’s ambition–enforceability compromise, Journal of International Trade Law and Policy, 20(2): 65-82. https://doi.org/10.1108/JITLP-10-2020-0056

Lilly, MB and D. Arabi (2020). Symbolic Act, Real Consequences: Passing Canada’s Magnitsky Law to Combat Human Rights Violations and Corruption. International Journal: Canada’s Journal of Global Policy Analysis, 75(2) 163-178. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0020702020934504

Lilly, MB (2020). Hewers of wood and drawers of water 2.0: how American and Chinese economic nationalism influence Canadian trade policy in the twenty-first century. Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, Vol. 26, No. 2, 167-181. DOI: 10.1080/11926422.2020.1750444

Select Parliamentary Testimony:

Lilly, MB (2026). Opening Statement of Testimony. CUSMA and Canada’s trade relationships with the United States and Mexico. Senate of Canada Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. 45th Parliament, 1st Session. May 27, 2026. https://senparlvu.parl.gc.ca/Harmony/en/PowerBrowser/PowerBrowserV2/20260522/-1/15316

Lilly, MB (2025). Opening Statement of Testimony. Canada’s Engagement in a Rules-Based International Trade and Investment System. House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade. 45th Parliament, 1st Session. https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/CIIT/meeting-3/evidence#Int-13129823

Lilly, MB (2024). Opening Statement of Testimony. Evidence. House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade. 2026 CUSMA Review. 44th Parliament, 1st Session. June 11, 2024. https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/44-1/CIIT/meeting-111/evidence

Lilly, MB (2024). Opening Statement of Testimony. House of Commons Special Committee on Canada-China Relations. 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Feb 5th, 2024. https://www.ourcommons.ca/documentviewer/en/44-1/CACN/meeting-32/evidence

Lilly, MB (2022). Opening Statement of Testimony. Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Comprehensive review of the provisions and operation of the Sergei Magnitsky Law and the Special Economic Measures Act. 44th Parliament, 1st Session. Nov 2, 2022. https://sencanada.ca/en/Content/Sen/Committee/441/AEFA/24MN-55787-Eg Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade. Bill S-217, An Act respecting the repurposing of certain seized, frozen or sequestrated assets. 44th Parliament, 1st Session. March 24, 2022. https://sencanada.ca/en/committees/AEFA/meetingschedule/44-1