Industry Minister Mélanie Joly announces Alexander MacDonald as Canadian Space Agency president

Industry Minister Mélanie Joly announced on Nov. 4, 2026, in Ottawa that Alexander MacDonald has been appointed president of the Canadian Space Agency by the Government of Canada.3

MacDonald succeeds Lisa Campbell, who led the agency beginning in September 2020. Jean-Claude Piedboeuf, the agency’s senior vice-president, became acting president in July when Campbell’s tenure ended. Joly thanked Campbell for six years at the helm and Piedboeuf for steering the agency through the transition. MacDonald begins leading the Canadian Space Agency on November 16.

The selection process opened in April, and candidates faced a May 21 deadline. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada managed the open, competency-based process under the Governor in Council appointments framework that the federal government put in place in 2016.

Born in Canada, MacDonald holds dual Canadian and American citizenship. News of the appointment came after months of discussion over who would take over leadership of the agency following Campbell.

He earned degrees from Queen’s University and the University of British Columbia, and he completed a doctorate at the University of Oxford focused on the long-run economic history of American spaceflight. He is an award-winning author whose books include The Long Space Age, released by Yale University Press in 2017, and The Spaceflight Narrative. The first book argues that private money supported space exploration well before the Sputnik era. He discussed The Long Space Age on SpaceQ’s podcast in 2018.

MacDonald served as NASA’s first chief economist for about 17 years, departing in December 2024, and he helped shape NASA’s Moon to Mars strategy and its Artemis program. His NASA career began with work involving small satellite mission design at the Ames Research Center. Later he moved to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and headquarters, helping to establish the Emerging Space Office and advising the Office of the Administrator on economic policy.

During his time as chief economist, he oversaw the International Space Station National Laboratory in his role as a program executive at NASA. The agency presented him with its Exceptional Service Medal in 2024 toward the end of his career. Following his exit from NASA, he joined the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies as a senior associate. He also served as Distinguished Professor of Practice at Arizona State University, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Joly said MacDonald recognizes that space matters for national and economic security and is able to lead the agency in space exploration and the development of sovereign capability. “space is crucial to our national and economic security,” Joly said. “He brings to the position extensive leadership experience, deep expertise in space policy and economics,” she said.

In May, SpaceQ Media said MacDonald might replace Campbell as president of the Canadian Space Agency. During the past year, he has examined Canada’s space industry and argued that it needs to accelerate.

Speaking at the Space Canada Horizons conference in Longueuil, Quebec, in May, MacDonald said the suspension of the Lunar Gateway by NASA removed the destination for Canada’s primary contribution. “NASA no longer has a clear near-term use for the Canadarm3,” MacDonald said. He proposed shifting leftover Canadarm3 money to robotic work on the lunar surface.

He proposed buying two or three seats on NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services landers to send Canadian robots to the Moon in 2027 and 2028. He urged a rapid reduction of the Lunar Utility Vehicle competition to just two teams. He said Canadian firms could claim a role in NASA’s Moon base efforts involving space nuclear power, medical systems and food production.

He urged everyone in the room to just get this done.

At SpaceBound in Gatineau, MacDonald relayed the outlook of about 40 Space Canada members, who believe Canada can take a global lead in Arctic northern infrastructure based in space as defence budgets increase. The group asked for faster buying, a steadier demand signal and more authority for program managers, and it cautioned that caution by the government toward new technology can result in micromanagement.

Campbell said at the May Horizons conference that the agency was shifting procurement toward quicker, iterative development rather than fixed mission requirements. As the incoming agency president, MacDonald will oversee that shift in how the agency handles purchases.

The Canadian Space Agency was established in March 1989 as a federal body responsible for all civil space activities across Canada. Its work covers space exploration, space utilization and space science and technology.

Campbell’s five-year term as president received a one-year extension before MacDonald was chosen to replace her. Under the Canadian Space Agency Act, the president serves a term of as many as five years at the government’s discretion.

DOGE eliminated NASA’s technology policy and strategy office last year, after MacDonald had already departed. His exit came a few months before the office was shut down.