Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced that Heather Evans, executive director and chief executive of the Canadian Tax Foundation , will be the new head of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Evans will become the Commissioner of Revenue, effective July 13, taking the place of Jean-François Fortin, who has served as acting commissioner of the agency since March 31. She has led the Canadian Tax Foundation since 2016 and previously practised in two Toronto-based law firms before joining the Canadian arm of Deloitte LLP, where she served as national managing partner. She became a partner at the firm in 2000 and served as its national managing partner for tax between 2012 and 2016. She has also held roles at the C.D. Howe Institute think tank and McCain Foods Group Inc.

“Her appointment is a testament to her exemplary professionalism and leadership from which now all Canadians will benefit,” said Michael R. Smith, chair of the Canadian Tax Foundation, in a congratulatory note on the research organization’s website, adding that her leadership has been “instrumental in strengthening the Foundation’s role and impact.”

Alongside her work in taxation and law, Evans is a member of the Ontario Bar Association, the Law Society of Upper Canada and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and has taught at Western Law School and York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School.

Evans graduated with a Master of Laws (Taxation) from Osgoode Hall Law School at York University and received a Bachelor of Laws from Western University and Bachelor of Arts in political science and history from McMaster University.

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“Tax law in Canada has become exponentially more complex, and the pace of change is also accelerating as we feel the influence of global trends, such as enhanced transparency and more detailed anti-avoidance provisions,” Evans said in a 2022 interview with Osgoode Hall Law School.

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