CANADIANS CHANGING THE WORLD
Mobilizing for Global Impact
Agenda 8:00
Registration and Light Breakfast
8:45
Welcome and Land Acknowledgement
Robert Greenhill: Global Canada Ben Rowswell: CIC
Opening comments (by video)
9:15
Mark Carney: Governor of the Bank of England
100 years of Canadian Global Engagement
Jennifer Welsh: Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security, McGill University John English: Founding Director, Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History Khalil Shariff: CEO, Aga Khan Foundation of Canada Ben Rowswell (moderator)
Before 1914, Canada legally, practically and attitudinally left its foreign policy in the hands of the British Empire. One hundred years ago, in 1919, Conservative Prime Minister Borden insisted that Canada have its own voice at the Paris Peace Conference. The bitter lesson of WWI was that international issues were too important to be ignored, or to be delegated to others. In 1928, Borden founded the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (which became the CIC) to keep Canadians engaged on international issues.
50 years ago, in 1969, former Liberal Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson chaired the seminal Partners in Development World Bank report that framed modern international assistance. The authors presented an “enlightened and constructive self interest” investment case: “If we wish the world to be secure and prosperous, we must show a common concern for the common problems of all peoples.”
On these two anniversaries, how important is Canada’s engaging beyond our borders to Canadian prosperity and security? How relevant is “enlightened and constructive self-interest” today? Are leaders engaging Canadians sufficiently on global issues?
10:00 Break