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Karim Bardeesy

Karim Bardeesy

Karim Bardeesy (he/him) is the Executive Director of the Dais, a think tank at Toronto Metropolitan University. The Dais works on the innovation, education and democracy policy and leadership challenges to ensure more shared prosperity and citizenship for Canada. Karim is an award-winning teacher, mentor and public service leader, and served previously as Deputy Principal Secretary for Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, and as Executive Director of Policy for Premiers Wynne and Dalton McGuinty. He was a candidate in Parkdale—High Park in the 2022 Ontario provincial election.

He has worked as a journalist, as a politics and policy columnist for The Toronto Star, an editorial writer and business reporter at The Globe and Mail, and at Slate magazine in New York City. He also taught leadership at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Policy and Governance. Karim holds a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University, a Master in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and was an affiliate to the 2023-2024 Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University. He is the son of immigrants from Egypt and England and grew up in Bathurst, New Brunswick. He and his wife are raising their two children in Toronto’s west end.