After three years in the International Department of the
Bank of Canada, Boothe joined the Economics Department at the
University of Alberta in 1984. He was appointed a Professor in 1992. He served as the Director of the Institute for Public Economics from 1997–1999, and again from 2002 to 2004. In 1998, he delivered the
C.D. Howe Institute's Annual Benefactors’ Lecture. Boothe has published more than eighty scholarly books and monographs, articles and book chapters. In 1999, Boothe was appointed Deputy Minister of Finance and Secretary of Treasury Board for the Province of
Saskatchewan. In 2004, he served as G7 Deputy and Associate Deputy Minister for
Finance Canada. He later served as Senior Associate Deputy Ministry for Industry Canada (2007–2010) and Deputy Minister for
Environment Canada (2010–2012). At
Industry Canada, he led the Canadian federal government’s negotiation team during the restructuring negotiations with Chrysler and General Motors. Boothe retired from the federal public service in 2012 and was appointed Professor and Director of the
Ivey Business School's Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management. Together with the late Richard Dicerni, Boothe founded the non-profit organization Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing. He retired from Ivey in 2016 and served as Trillium’s Managing Director until 2019. In June 2024, Boothe was named as Chair of the executive Board of Directors supporting the transition of
Sustainable Development Technology Canada’s programming to the National Research Council of Canada (NRC). Boothe’s work experience includes university research and teaching and acting as an independent consultant to Canadian and international organizations. He is a retired professor at the Ivey Business School, past director of the Lawrence National Centre for Policy and Management and a former faculty member at the University of Alberta. He is the author, co-author or editor of more than 80 articles, monographs and books. ==Outside activities==