Catherine Susan Swift is a Canadian businesswoman. She is the former Chair of the Board of the

Canadian Federation of Independent Business The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is a non-profit business organization representing the interests and concerns of over 110,000 Canadian owners of small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) to all three levels of government. Thei ...

. She is currently the President of the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businsses of Canada. Swift studied at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to serve returning World ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, receiving a B.A. (Honours) in Economics in 1977 and an MA in Economics in 1980. Swift worked at the Canadian federal government from 1976 to 1983, in the Departments of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, Industry and Communications. She was Senior Economist with the Toronto-Dominion Bank from 1983 to 1987. Swift joined the Canadian Federation of Independent Business as Chief Economist in 1987. She became

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

in 1995,

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

in 1997, and Chair in June 1999. For the CFIB, Swift coordinated policy issues at the federal and provincial level, and she represented CFIB to

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

and civil society members. From 2009 to 2014 she was the President of the International Small Business Congress, representing the interests of small- and medium-sized businesses globally. Swift is a former president of the

Empire Club The Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for many thousands of different speakers. Through a variety of presentation formats, the Empire Club invites local, national and in ...

, former Board member of the CD Howe Institute, the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, and SOS Children's Villages Canada. She is a current Director of the Fraser Institute. She has been widely published in journals, magazines and other media on issues such as free trade, finance, entrepreneurship and issues facing small business owners, particularly female entrepreneurs. She contributed the article in

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available fo ...

entitled ''Small Business'', and wrote for Canadian newspaper,

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

, and the National Post, among others, about small business issues. She is currently a regular columnist for The Niagara Independent www.niagaraindependent.ca. She is also a regular guest on the John Oakley show, the Alex Pierson show and the Roy Green show. She was cited in 2003 and 2012 as one of the most powerful women in Canada by the Women's Executive Network and is a recipient of the Queen's Silver and Gold Jubilee medals.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift, Catherine Living people Canadian chief executives University of Toronto alumni Carleton University alumni Canadian women business executives Canadian nonprofit executives Year of birth missing (living people)