In this episode of CharityVillage Connects, we examine what Canada’s 2026 Spring Economic Update means for the nonprofit and charitable sector. Where do the federal government’s priorities lie? Where does the care economy fit within its vision for Canada’s future? Sector experts explore the opportunities and challenges ahead, including potential impacts on funding, regulation, service delivery, and community wellbeing. Tune in to The Spring Economic Update: Where Does the Nonprofit Sector Fit in Canada’s Future?

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Meet Our Guests

This episode of CharityVillage Connects is brought to you by the WUSC. For more than 50 years, WUSC has been working alongside communities around the world to catalyze positive education and economic outcomes for young people. Now, Canadians have the chance to join us by volunteering internationally. As a WUSC volunteer, you’ll collaborate with local organizations, share your experience, and help co-create initiatives that expand opportunities for young people. For more information about how you can use your expertise to improve economic opportunities for young people, visit volunteer.wusc.ca.

Meet Our Guests (in order of appearance)

Nicole D’Aoust

Charity and Non-Profit Lawyer, Partner, McCarthy Tétrault   

Nicole D’Aoust is a trusted advisor to charities, foundations and non-profits seeking practical and insightful guidance across Canada’s complex legal and regulatory framework. Nicole D’Aoust is a partner in McCarthy Tétrault’s national Charities and Non-Profits practice and is well-equipped to help tax-exempt entities navigate a dynamic and evolving landscape.

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Her practice encompasses organizational structuring, governance, CRA compliance, charitable receipting, fundraising, endowments, investments, social finance, and cross-border operations. Prior to focusing on charity law, she practiced corporate tax, tax litigation, and dispute resolution at a Big Four accounting firm. Nicole is deeply engaged in shaping the legal landscape for charities in Canada. She was appointed to the federal government’s Technical Issues Working Group (TIWG) as a representative of Imagine Canada, advising the CRA on regulatory issues affecting registered charities and qualified donees. She is a member of the Charities and Not-for-Profit Law Executive of the Canadian Bar Association, a member of a governance sub-committee of the Ontario Bar Association executive, and is chair of the Government Relations Committee of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners. Nicole holds a JD from the University of Ottawa. She was called to the Bar of Ontario in 2012 and is fluent in French.

 

Tyler Meredith

Founding Partner, Meredith Boessenkool & Phillips Policy Advisors 

Following seven intense years, ending as the lead economic policy advisor to Canada’s governing party, Tyler still firmly believes that public policy is about making life better for people. Helping oversee Canada’s economic response to COVID-19, Tyler witnessed firsthand how solid non-partisan policy saved jobs, businesses, and lives during one of the most critical times in Canadian history. Tyler is intent on bringing the same strong policy acumen to supporting clients across Canada and creating superior policy-based solutions.

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First enticed into political life in late 2015, Tyler was recruited from a think tank to advise Canada’s Prime Minister on domestic economic policy. Tyler then spent the next seven years in government because he knew there was no other job where he could impact so many people in so many positive ways in such a short period of time. Tyler helped deliver six federal budgets, held responsiblity for tax and financial sector policy, including all financial sector transaction reviews from 2019-2022, and architected two winning federal campaign platforms.

Along with his partner role at Meredith Boesskenkool & Phillips, Tyler is also Fellow at University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and Fellow at the Maytree Foundation. When not busy shaping policy, Tyler loves to experience the world and all it has to offer with his life partner Chris, and their chocolate lab Cole

Armine Yalnizyan

Economist and Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers, Atkinson Foundation

Armine Yalnizyan is the Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers and a leading voice on Canada’s economic scene. Before the pandemic, she was senior economic policy advisor to the federal Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development Canada, whose budget is seven percent of GDP.

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During the pandemic she coined the term she-cession and raised awareness of the scale and role of the care economy, serving on a high-level federal task group. Armine advanced the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ Inequality Project from 2006 to 2016. She provided weekly business commentary for CBC radio and CBC TV from 2011 to 2018. From 2020 to 2024 she wrote a highly-regarded business column for the Toronto Star, providing big-picture thinking about economic trends affecting policy and lives. Armine has written for all of Canada’s major publications, including the Globe and Mail, National Post, Macleans and The Walrus. She appeared regularly on TVO’s nightly current affairs program, The Agenda with host Steve Paikin, and has been featured in Reuters, Washington Post and Al Jazeera. Armine is Vice-President of the Canadian Association for Business Economics. She has a bilingual honours undergraduate degree in economics from Glendon College of York University, and a graduate degree in labour policy for the University of Toronto’s Centre for Industrial Relations. Her most recent work focuses on private equity’s growing presence in the care economy, and how to safeguard the quality of the services and jobs Canadians rely on.

 

Dr. Susan Phillips

Professor Emerita, Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University 

Dr. Susan Phillips is Professor Emerita, Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, School of Public Policy and Administration, Carleton University.  In 2025, she was appointed to the Order of Canada for her leadership in research and education in the field of philanthropy. 

 

About your Host

Mary Barroll

President of CharityVillage

Mary Barroll, president of CharityVillage, is an online business executive and lawyer with a background in media, technology and IP law. A former CBC journalist and independent TV producer, in 2013 she was appointed General Counsel & VP Media Affairs at CharityVillage.com, Canada’s largest job portal for charities and not for profits in Canada, and then President in 2021. Mary is also President of sister company, TalentEgg.ca, Canada’s No.1, award-winning job board and online career resource that connects top employers with top students and grads.

Additional Resources from this Episode

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