Канадалық саяси-экономикалық зерттеу орталығы

Canadian public policy think tank

The Fraser Institute is a libertarian conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. and is a member of the free market Atlas Network. Fraser describes itself as independent and non partisan.

The Fraser Institute was founded in 1974 by Michael Walker, an economist from the University of Western Ontario, and businessman T. Patrick Boyle, then a vice president of MacMillan Bloedel. It obtained charitable status in Canada on October 22, 1974, and in the United States in 1978. It is a member of the Atlas Network, which Fisher founded in 1981. The institute is named after the Fraser River. then led by premier Dave Barrett. In late 1997, the institute set up a research program emulating the UK's Social Affairs Unit, called the Social Affairs Centre. Its founding director was Patrick Basham. The program's funding came from Rothmans International and Philip Morris. When Rothmans was bought by British American Tobacco (BAT) in 1999, its funding ended, and in 2000 the institute wrote to BAT asking for $50,000 per year, to be split between the Social Affairs Centre and the Centre for Risk and Regulation. "which highlighted the absence of any scientific evidence for linking cancer with second hand smoke [and] received widespread media coverage both in Canada and the United States". and envisions "a free and prosperous world where individuals benefit from greater choice, competitive markets, and personal responsibility". The New York Times has described the institute as libertarian. Langley Times classified it as right of centre libertarian. Additionally, in response to a 2019 report published by Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Fraser Institute claimed in an article that "Most of what people are noticing, of course, are just natural weather events." The rest of the article goes on to portray the report as hype and misleading. These claims contradict the consensus of experts in the field and are not in line with scientific data regarding Climate change.

As a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency, the institute files annual registered charity information returns. In 2022, the institute reported having almost CA$12 million in annual revenue. The institute also files annual returns to the U. S. Internal Revenue Service, where it is registered as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. The institute depends on contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations. It does not accept government grants or payments for research, however individual donors may claim tax credits for donations and corporate donors may claim tax deductions. The institute has received donations of hundreds of thousands of dollars from foundations controlled by Charles and David Koch, with total donations estimated to be approximately $765,000 from 2006 to 2016. It also received US$120,000 from ExxonMobil in the 2003 to 2004 fiscal period. In 2016, it received a $5 million donation from Peter Munk, a Canadian businessman. The Fraser Institute accepted donations worth $100,000 from Philip Morris for "publishing research studies" in 2011 2012. Research produced by the Institute has previously argued that 'tobacco taxation causes smuggling', a common claim by corporations in the industry that has been disputed by public health officials and critics as exaggerated and erroneous. In 2012, the Vancouver Observer reported that the Fraser Institute had "received over $4.3 million in the last decade from eight major American foundations including the most powerful players in oil and pharmaceuticals". According to the article, "The Fraser Institute received $1.7 million from 'sources outside Canada' in one year alone, according to the group's 2010 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) return. Fraser Institute President Niels Veldhuis told The Vancouver Observer that the Fraser Institute does accept foreign funding, but he declined to comment on any specific donors or details about the donations."

The institute periodically hosts free seminars across Canada for students, teachers, and journalists, focusing on key economic concepts and timely issues in public policy. In 2010, the institute hosted eight one day student seminars, attracting more than 775 participants. The Fraser Institute also offers an internship program, to which more than 431 individuals applied in 2010. offers tuition assistance grants to help parents in financial need send their children to an independent school of their choice. The program was discontinued in 2012.

Canada's largest non profit recognition program, the Donner Canadian Foundation Awards for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services recognize non profit social service agencies that, despite budget limitations, excel in terms of management and service delivery. Winners are selected every year in a variety of categories, and share in $60,000 prize money.

The institute has attracted some well known individuals to its ranks, including politicians such as former Reform Party of Canada leader Preston Manning, former Progressive Conservative Ontario premier Mike Harris, and former Progressive Conservative Alberta premier Ralph Klein. From 1979 to 1991, the institute's senior economist was Walter Block.