Award-winning journalist John Ibbitson to discuss PM Harper’s Canadian foreign policy, at CIGI lecture

Media Advisory

January 23, 2014

CIGI Senior Fellow John Ibbitson, an award-winning writer and leading political journalist in Canada, will focus on the transformation of Canadian foreign policy under the leadership of Prime Minister Stephen Harper, at the next Signature Lecture at The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI).

“The Harper Doctrine: A Conservative Foreign-Policy Revolution,” will take place from 7–9 p.m. on Wednesday, January 29.

Members of the public who want to attend in person can register for the waitlist (due to the event being sold out) through this link: http://www.cigionline.org/harper-doctrine. Those who are not in Waterloo, Canada, or who want to watch the lecture from home, can view the live-webcast at no cost by registering through the link above.

Ibbitson has taken a one-year leave of absence from The Globe and Mail, where he has been 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. 

CIGI invites media to cover this free public Signature Lecture. Members of the media can register in advance by emailing Kevin Dias, CIGI communications specialist, at [email protected].

Event: CIGI Signature Lecture — “The Harper Doctrine: A Conservative Foreign-Policy Revolution,” featuring CIGI Senior Fellow John Ibbitson

Date: Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Time: 7–9 p.m.

Location:

The CIGI Campus Auditorium

67 Erb St. West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

John Ibbitson is a CIGI senior fellow, effective 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 CitizenSoutham 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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