Macdonald–Laurier Institute

The Macdonald–Laurier Institute (MLI) is an independent and non-partisan think tank located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.[1] The Managing Director of MLI is Brian Lee Crowley who founded the Atlantic Institute for Market Studies, which is located in Atlantic Canada.

Founded in 2010, the institute is named after two of Canada's earliest and most recognizable political leaders: Sir John A. Macdonald was Canada's first prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier was the country's first French-Canadian prime minister.[2] MLI is as a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency.

The institute has a board of directors and an internal advisory board that select themes and submit its research for external review. The institute derives its financial support from corporate and individual donors, as well as and private foundation[3] funding sources.[4]

Publishing

Since opening its doors in March 2010, MLI has produced papers offering its perspective on crime statistics, aboriginal post-secondary education, inter-provincial trade, and prison radicalization. In addition, study series have been initiated in the areas of Canada's founding ideas and the creation of a national security strategy for Canada such as the series on Aboriginal Canada and the Natural Resource Economy Series.[5] The institute also published a policy paper reviewing mortgage insurance in Canada. (See list of publications below.)

The organisation also publishes irregular shorter papers that they refer to as Commentaries. These provide commentaries on a range of topics including Democracy and the Public Interest, Prison Radicalization, Keeping the US–Canada Border Open, Canadian Manufacturing, Corporate Income Taxes, Honouring Sacrifice, MLI Report Card on the Government Response to Human Smuggling, The Western Alliance: A Moral Superpower or Nothing, The International Court of Justice advisory Opinion on Kosovo's Declaration of Independence: What does it mean for Quebec's Sovereigntist Movement?, Seniors, Population Ageing and the Future of Canada, Why is Good Policy Toxic Politics?, Why Aiding Pakistan Matters, and The 'Sun Sea' Tamil Mass Refugee Claim: An Opportunity for Needed Reforms.[6]

MLI also published its first book in May 2010. Titled The Canadian Century: Moving out of America’s Shadow, the book appeared on the best-seller lists of the Montreal Gazette.

Impact

The Macdonald–Laurier Institute has generated substantial media coverage of its publications, public policy ideas and opinions during its time in operation. Contributors and staff have appeared in national and regional news media comment on a variety of national issues. The Institute maintains a list of media information on its web site.[7] Of note are Op-Eds that have appeared in Canada's national newspapers, the Globe and Mail and National Post, as well as in the Vancouver Sun, Calgary Herald, Windsor Star, Moncton Times-Transcript, Halifax Chronicle-Herald and more. The Institute has also been highlighted in Foreign Policy magazine,[8] the Wall Street Journal[9] and The Economist in its first year.

Organisation[10]

Board of directors
  • Pierre Casgrain, Chair
  • Laura Jones, Vice-Chair
  • Brian Lee Crowley, Managing Director
  • Vaughn MacLellan, Secretary
  • Martin MacKinnon, Treasurer
  • Blaine Favel, Director
  • Jayson Myers, Director
  • Dan Nowlan, Director
  • Vijay Sappani, Director
  • Veso Sobot, Director

Advisory Council 2019
  • John Beck, executive chairman of Aecon
  • Erin Chutter, executive chair of Global Energy Metals Corporation
  • Navjeet (Bob) Dhillon, President and CEO of Mainstreet Equity Corp.
  • Jim Dinning, former Alberta Treasurer
  • David Emerson, former Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
  • Richard Fadden, Former National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada
  • Robert Fulford OC, Former editor of Saturday Night magazine, columnist with the National Post
  • Brian Flemming, Lawyer
  • J. Wayne Gudbranson, CEO of Branham Group Inc.
  • Calvin Helin Aboriginal author and entrepreneur, Vancouver
  • Peter John Nicholson, former President of the Council of Canadian Academies
  • Jim Peterson, former Canadian Minister of International Trade & Partner at Fasken Martineau, Toronto
  • Jacquelyn Thayer Scott, past President and Professor, Cape Breton University
  • Barry Sookman, Senior Partner, McCarthy Tétrault
  • Rob Wildeboer, executive chairman and co-founder of Martinrea International Inc

Research advisory board

Books and publications

Books
  • The Canadian Century: Moving Out of America's Shadow, by Brian Lee Crowley, Jason Clemens and Neils Veldhuis, May 2010.
  • Fearful Symmetry: The Fall and Rise of Canada’s Founding Values, by Brian Lee Crowley.
  • The Economic Dependency Trap: Breaking Free To Self-Reliance, by MLI Advisory Council member Calvin Helin.

Study papers

National security strategy
  • To Stand On Guard, by Paul H. Chapin, November 29, 2010.

Pharmaceutical series
  • Pills, Patents & Profits, by Brian Ferguson, March 25, 2011.

Canada's founding ideas
  • Confederation and Individual Liberty, by Janet Ajzenstat, November 10, 2010.

Policy briefings
  • Mortgage Insurance in Canada, by Jane Londerville, November 18, 2010.

Political stance

Alejandro Chafuen, former president of the Atlas Network and current president of the Acton Institute, praised MLI in a 2012 Forbes article describing the market-oriented think tank landscape in Canada.[11] The social democratic Broadbent Institute (a think tank on the political left) referred to the MacDonald-Laurier Institute as a "right-wing charity" in a 2018 article[12] and MLI was described as similarly-minded to the Fraser Institute in a 2012 National Post article.[13]

References
  1. "Who we are". Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  2. See MLI web site http://www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/about/welcome-to-mli/ Archived 2010-12-21 at the Wayback Machine
  3. http://watch.sixthestate.net/pmwiki.php?n=Main.PeterMunk?from=Main.AureaFoundation%5B%5D
  4. See MLI web site www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/support-mli/ Archived 2010-12-24 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Crowley, Brian Lee; Coates, Ken (30 May 2013). The Way Out: New thinking about Aboriginal engagement and energy infrastructure to the West Coast (PDF) (Report). Aboriginal Canada and the Natural Resource Economy Series. Macdonald–Laurier Institute. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 September 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
  6. All documents available in the MLI web site "Library" www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/mli-library/ Archived 2010-12-21 at the Wayback Machine
  7. See "Media" on MLI web site www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/category/library/media/ Archived 2010-12-21 at the Wayback Machine
  8. See Foreign Policy magazine, June 25, 2010 Archived May 29, 2013, at the Wayback Machine, "The Canadian Century", Crowley, Clemens, and Veldhuis
  9. See Wall Street Journal, December 1, 2010 Archived September 22, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, "Emerging from the Shadow", Phred Dvorak
  10. From the MLI web site www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/about/who-is-involved Archived 2010-12-21 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Alejandro Chafuen (6 August 2013). "We See Thee Rise: Canada's Emerging Role In Policy Leadership". Forbes. Archived from the original on 14 February 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  12. "Right-wing charities report zero political activity…again". PressProgress.ca. 14 May 2018. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  13. Kathryn Blaze Carlson (6 May 2012). "Thinking outside the tank: The Fraser Institute is embracing the competition its success helped inspire". National Post. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
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