Alexander MacDonald appointed president of Canadian Space Agency

Alexander MacDonald has been appointed president of the Canadian Space Agency, the federal government announced Wednesday.

MacDonald succeeds Lisa Campbell. The government said the appointment followed an open, transparent and merit-based selection process.

MacDonald previously served as NASA’s first chief economist and held senior positions connected to the agency’s Moon-to-Mars and Artemis planning. He has degrees from Queen’s University, the University of British Columbia and the University of Oxford, and received NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2024.

Source: Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, appointment announcement, November 4, 2026.

Illustrative stock image: a Soyuz rocket launch. Photo by NASA on Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License; cropped and resized. The image does not depict the appointment.