Educated in England and Canada, Malcolm Cairns earned a Ph.D. at the University of Toronto in mathematical statistics in 1975. He subsequently worked for nearly twenty years with the Canadian federal government.

During those years he was an econometrician in the research branch of the Canadian Transport Commission and involved in a range of regulatory and policy issues, including the effects of economic regulation on the trucking industry, the forecasting of transcontinental air traffic, and major revisions to the legislative controls that exist on the movement of western Canadian export grain. Subsequent responsibilities included management of regulatory policy at the Office of Privatization and Regulatory Affairs, planning for the Grain Transportation Agency, and latterly the development of strategic policy and a legislative direction for surface freight transportation at Transport Canada.

In 1994, Dr. Cairns became director of business research for Canadian Pacific Railway, where he is involved in the analysis of a range of long-term strategic issues. More recently he has been involved with the ongoing review of the Canada Transportation Act, competition issues associated with railway mergers, and competition among west coast ports for Asian container traffic. He is currently involved with potential market and railway developments in Mexico.

Dr. Cairns is President of the Canadian Transportation Research Forum and President of the Ottawa Chapter of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transportation.