Is Canada’s foreign policy and international reputation stronger or weaker since the election of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2006, and his government’s majority win in May 2011?
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) invites media to cover its CIGI Global Policy Forum, “The Big Break: The Conservative Transformation of Canada’s Foreign Policy,” taking place on April 8, 2014, at the Rideau Club in Ottawa, Canada.
CIGI Senior Fellow John Ibbitson, an award-winning writer and leading political journalist in Canada, will deliver a keynote address on the shift in Canadian foreign policy under the Conservative government. Ibbitson has taken a one-year leave of absence from The Globe and Mail, where he was chief political writer, to examine the foreign policy of the Harper government for CIGI. Those findings will also inform his biography of Stephen Harper, to be published by McClelland & Stewart in 2015.
The CIGI Global Policy Forum is an invitation-only series of talks offering authoritative analysis on policy-relevant issues affecting Canada and its place in the world. A video recording of the event will be placed online in the near future. Media wishing to cover the forum as it occurs are asked to register in advance with CIGI Communications Specialist Kevin Dias, at 519-885-2444, ext. 7238 or [email protected].
Invitation-Only Event:
CIGI Global Policy Forum: “The Big Break: The Conservative Transformation of Canada’s Foreign Policy,” by CIGI Senior Fellow John Ibbitson
Date:
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
Time:
5:30-7 p.m.
Location:
Rideau Club
99 Bank St. 15th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario Canada
About the Speaker:
John Ibbitson is a CIGI senior fellow, January 2014. During his one-year appointment, he will be on leave from his position as chief political writer for The Globe and Mail. At CIGI, John will research, write and speak publicly on issues related to Canada’s foreign policy and the country’s role in current global affairs, including the global economy and global security. During his leave from The Globe, he will also be working on the definitive biography of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Stephen Harper: A Biography (McClelland & Stewart). In a career spanning more than 25 years, John has worked as a reporter and columnist for the Ottawa Citizen, Southam News, the National Post and, since 1999, The Globe and Mail. Along the way, John published four works of political analysis: Promised Land: Inside the Mike Harris Revolution (Prentice Hall, 1997); Loyal No More: Ontario’s Struggle for a Separate Destiny (HarperCollins, 2001); The Polite Revolution: Perfecting the Canadian Dream (McClelland & Stewart, 2005) and Open and Shut: Why America has Barack Obama and Canada has Stephen Harper (McClelland & Stewart, 2009). He also writes plays and novels, including the children’s book The Landing (Kids Can Press, 2008), which won the 2008 Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature. His latest work is the national bestseller The Big Shift: The Seismic Change in Canadian Politics, Business and Culture, and What it Means for Our Future (HarperCollins, 2013), co-written with Darrell Bricker. John’s writing has also been nominated for the Governor General’s Award, the Donner Prize, the National Newspaper Award, the Trillium Award and the City of Toronto Book Award.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Kevin Dias, Communications Specialist, CIGI
Tel: 519.885.2444, ext. 7238, Email: [email protected]
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is an independent, non-partisan think tank on international governance. Led by experienced practitioners and distinguished academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements. Conducting an active agenda of research, events and publications, CIGI’s interdisciplinary work includes collaboration with policy, business and academic communities around the world. CIGI was founded in 2001 by Jim Balsillie, then co-CEO of Research In Motion (BlackBerry), and collaborates with and gratefully acknowledges support from a number of strategic partners, in particular the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. For more information, please visit www.cigionline.org.
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