Cherie Metcalf is a Professor in the Faculty of Law and the Department of Economics (cross-appointed). She completed her undergraduate degree at Queen’s before earning postgraduate degrees in Economics (MA, PhD) at UBC, later returning to Queen’s to obtain her LLB. Following her LLB, she clerked at the Federal Court of Appeal and for former Justice Ian Binnie at the Supreme Court of Canada. She completed her LLM at Yale on a Fulbright scholarship before joining the Faculty. 

Professor Metcalf’s research is mainly in law and economics and empirical legal studies. She has used economic theory and empirical methods to study Indigenous rights, including the Supreme Court’s s. 35 Aboriginal rights cases, considering impacts on governance, rights holders and resource industry participants. Another research strand relates to the role of law, especially constitutional rights, in influencing individuals’ decisions, preferences and broader social norms. Professor Metcalf also studies issues in environmental and resource law more generally and her recent work is focused on legal institutions and climate change.   

Her research has been published in journals including the Northwestern University Law Review, Maryland Law Review, International Review of Law & Economics, Canadian Public Policy, University of Toronto Law Journal, Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, & Queen’s Law Journal. Together with co-author, Ian Keay, she was twice awarded the Vanderkamp prize for best paper in Canadian Public Policy. She frequently presents her work internationally at conferences and invited seminars. Her research is currently funded by the Social Science & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). She has been an invited visitor at the University of Colorado Faculty of Law & Institute of Behavioral Sciences (Institutions Program), and Vancouver School of Economics at UBC. 

Professor Metcalf’s teaching at Queen’s spans the areas of her research interests, and includes public law, constitutional law, law and economics and international environmental and resource law. She supervised the Queen’s Laskin moot team for many years. 

She previously served as Associate Dean Academic at the faculty from 2015-2018.

She is open to supervising Ph.D. and LL.M. students in all areas related to her research and teaching expertise. 

Recent Professional Accomplishments 

  • Social Science & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) – Insight Development Grant (2024-2026) on “Culture & the Private Enforcement of Public Regulation” (as PI) 
  • Awarded Vanderkamp Prize for best paper published in Canadian Public Policy (2022)
  • Social Science & Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) – Insight Grant (2020-2025) on “Institutions for Effective Climate Change Action” (as PI) 
  • Canadian Foundation for Legal Research Grant (2020-2021) on “Climate Change & Canada’s Constitution” (as PI) 

Selected Publications 

For a complete list of publications please consult Professor Metcalf’s CV. 

Working Papers 

  • “Culture & Private Enforcement” (with Dan Klerman, Jonathan Nash & Diego Zambrano): presented at Sustainability Conference, ASU (2026, scheduled); SELE Conference, EUI (2025); Midwest Political Science Assn (MPSA) Conference (2025); 
  • “Liability Reconsidered: Experimental Evidence” / “Framing Liability” (with J. Shahar Dillbary & Brock Stoddard): presented at Conference on Empirical Legal Studies (CELS), Georgetown (2025); CLEA Conference (2025); Georgetown, Law & Economics Workshop (2023); American Law & Economics Association (ALEA) Conference, BU (2023); Western, Law & Economics Workshop (2023); CELS Conference, Virginia Law  (2022); FSU Law Colloquium (2022)
  • “Communicating Risk across the Political Divide” (with Jonathan Nash): presented at SELE Conference (2026, scheduled) KCL/ Notre Dame, MPSA Conference (2026)(scheduled); Society for Institutional & Organizational Economics (SIOE) Conference, U of T (2022); Soshnick Colloquium on Law and Economics, Northwestern (invited) (2022); CELS Conference, U of T (2022)
  • “Law, Norms & Fines in a Pandemic” (with Kyra Safar): ALEA Conference, U Michigan (2024); GMU Law & Economics Workshop (2024); CELS Conference, University of Chicago (2023); CLEA Conference, U of T (2022); Canadian Economics Association Conference (2021)