Margaret Biggs

Margaret Biggs is the former President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and current Chair of Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC). As CIDA President Ms. Biggs was responsible for Canada's international development and humanitarian assistance efforts worldwide. She led Canada’s G8 Muskoka Initiative on maternal and child health and spearheaded CIDA’s development work related to fragility and conflict, democratic governance and sustainable economic growth. Ms. Biggs has represented Canada in numerous international fora including on the Board of Governors of the World Bank and as International Executive Co-Chair for the China Council on International Cooperation on Environment and Development. Ms. Biggs previously served as Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet for priorities and planning in the Privy Council Office (Government of Canada).

Ms. Biggs is currently the Matthews Fellow in Global Public Policy at Queen’s University and serves as Chair of World Universities Service Canada, Vice Chair of the Canadian Partnership on Maternal and Child Health (CanWaCH) and on the FinDevCanada Advisory Council. She is active on issues related to Canada’s engagement in global sustainable development, democracy support, trade and development, and global education. She co-authored with John McArthur A Canadian North Star: Crafting an Advanced Economy Approach to the Sustainable Development Goals (Brookings Institution) and co-chaired the Study Group on Global Education’s report Equipping the Next Generation of Canadians to Succeed in a Complex World.