Our Mission
RPCR’s mission is to advance high-impact research and informed commentary on the policy and practice of competition law and regulation in Canada. We focus on building a national conversation that bridges academic insight with real-world regulatory challenges, while promoting sound economic reasoning in policy design and enforcement.
Our Work
RPCR’s core activities include:
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Policy-Relevant Research
We generate timely analysis on key issues in competition and regulation, with commentary that supports better decision-making in Canadian public policy.
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Professional and Academic Training
We offer specialized education programs in regulatory economics and competition policy, including executive education, academic conferences and practitioner-focused courses. These professional education courses are in the development stages and are anticipated to be offered in the next year to two years.
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Student Development through SIRE
A cornerstone of RPCR is the continued success of the Summer Internship in Regulatory Economics (SIRE)—a highly regarded training program that prepares undergraduate economics students for careers in regulatory and competition-focused roles.
100+
Years of Research
Building Excellence
About RPCR
The Research Program in Competition and Regulation (RPCR) is a unique and forward-looking initiative housed within the Department of Economics at the University of Calgary. Our mission is to foster research, education and policy dialogue centred on regulatory economics and competition policy in Canada.
We serve as a hub that brings together policymakers, regulators, industry professionals and academics to strengthen the application of economic principles in shaping Canada’s regulatory and competition policy landscape.
ABOUT US.
Why now, and why the University of Calgary?
The time to restore economic foundations to the practice of regulation, the design of regulatory institutions, and the determination of what is regulated is now. Regulatory practice and policy have played a role in the lost decade, from 2015–2024, of economic stagnation in Canada. The policy emphasis of governments and regulators, both provincial and federal, has not been on maximizing the value of production from scarce resources, counting all costs, and thereby promoting productivity and incomes of Canadians. Instead, the focus has been on regulating to promote favoured special interest groups, often by granting veto power to certain interests.
Calgary is the most active centre of economic regulation in Canada, since it is the home city of most oil and gas pipelines and is the centre of Alberta’s deregulated electricity network. It is also the location of the main offices of the Canada Energy Regulator, the Alberta Utilities Commission, the Alberta Energy Regulator, the Market Surveillance Administrator, and the Alberta Electric System Operator.
The University of Calgary is a top five research university in Canada, and the Department of Economics is the leading department in Canada focusing on energy and environmental economics—which is an important complement to the capacity brought by the Research Program in Competition and Regulation.
No other university has the depth and breadth of faculty expertise in regulatory economics and competition policy in Canada. The RPCR builds on the strength of the five faculty members whose primary teaching and research programmes encompass applied industrial organization, including regulatory economics and competition policy. The University has allocated an additional faculty position to support the RPCR and the RPCR has postings for two post-docs/research fellows.
The Department of Economics’ Summer Internship in Regulatory Economics (SIRE) has successfully placed more than 150 students in regulatory and competition positions over the past 25 years. The RPCR can build on this extraordinary record of success.
Our Team
Staff
Robert Tarvydas
Executive Director
Robert is a former executive with over twenty-five years of leadership and technical expertise in the oil and gas, energy, regulatory/government, and professional services sectors.
Maureen Church
Operations Manager
Maureen has over three decades of experience in the academic and professional services sectors with expertise in administration, management and development.
Academic Advisors
Jeff Church
Adjunct Professor UofC - Department of Economics
Academic Director, RPCR
Dr. Church’s research focus is on telecommunications, pipelines, regulatory institutions, and competition policy. In addition, he established the SIRE program in the Economics Department.
Aidan Hollis
Professor UofC - Department of Economics
Academic Director, RPCR
Dr. Hollis teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in regulatory economics. Dr. Hollis’ research focus is on regulatory design, innovation, and pricing.
Academic Members
Chris Sullivan
Associate Professor UofC - Department of Economics
Dr. Sullivan’s research focuses on industrial organization, particularly measuring market power and its effects
David Walls
Professor UofC - Department of Economics
Dr. Walls has broad interests in economics, including energy markets, the economics of transportation and pipelines.
Kent Fellows
Assistant Professor in Economics and Director of Graduate Programs, School of Public Policy, UofC
Dr. Fellows specializes in competition policy and energy and infrastructure economics. Through his academic and policy publications he has provided advice to provincial, federal and international governments
Lucia Vojtassak
Associate Professor (Teaching) UofC - Department of Economics
Dr. Vojtassak, an award-winning instructor, teaches Industrial Organization
Funding
RPCR is an independent research program within the University of Calgary Department of Economics. We are funded by individual donors including alumni of the summer intern program, corporations, foundations, the Alberta Government Department of Advanced Education and supported by the University of Calgary.