The LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium

Founded by John Ralston Saul in 2000, the LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium engages Canadians in a national conversation on the public good. The symposium features a high profile guest speaker who addresses relevant issues of the day and continues the public debate around the future shape of Canada's civic culture. A free, public roundtable discussion is also held as part of the symposium.

Past lecturers have included Louise Arbour , Alain Dubuc , Georges Erasmus , David Malouf and Beverley McLachlin.

Who were LaFontaine and Baldwin?

Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin were lawyers from Montreal and Toronto who started their public careers as members of their respective Assemblies around 1830. They came together in 1841 over the common cause of opposing the British administration's attempts, following the Rebellions of 1837, to assimilate the French Canadians into the culture of English-speaking Upper Canada and to maintain power in the hands of the colonial elite.

LaFontaine and Baldwin are best known as architects of responsible government, the concept that the legitimacy of the democratic government rests on the ability of the elected representatives to decide who will govern. But they also had a revolutionary effect on public administration, the legal system, the creation of municipalities, as well as both public and university education. Having formed a government in March 1842 that brought together French and English Canadian reformers, LaFontaine and Baldwin resigned a year later when then Governor Metcalfe refused to consult them on public service nominations. They were reelected in 1848 and their second term, “The Great Ministry”, saw the formal attainment of responsible government with the enactment of The Rebellion Losses Bill. Despite fierce opposition – including the burning of the parliament buildings in Montreal – the bill's passage entrenched the right of the colony's elected representatives to manage their own affairs.

2010

The 10th annual LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium

October 15, 2010

This year's lecture will be delivered by His Highness the Aga Khan. The lecture will be presented at The Royal Conservatory's Koerner Hall at the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, on Friday October 15, 2010. Ticketing information will be announced in September. For further information about Koerner Hall, visit performance.rcmusic.ca

The LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium is generously supported by TD Bank.

Biography of His Highness the Aga Khan

His Highness the Aga Khan is the forty-ninth hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He assumed the office of the Imamat in July 1957, and since then he has worked on an international scale to improve living conditions and foster social, cultural and economic opportunities for men and women in the developing world. The Aga Khan Development Network, which he established in 1980, encompasses foundations, universities and programs in 30 countries, including Aga Khan Foundation Canada. His Highness the Aga Khan has received numerous awards, distinctions and honorary doctorates for his service to humanity.

Please check this page for further updates on this event.

2009

The 9th annual LaFontaine-Baldwin Symposium

Siila Watt-Cloutier delivered the 9th LaFontaine-Baldwin lecture on May 29, 2009 in Iqaluit. Watt-Cloutier, one of Canada's leading public figures, has long been a national and international voice for Northerners and the North.  She is an Officer of the Order of Canada, the first recipient of Canada's Northern Medal and was nominated for the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

An audience of approximately 500 people packed into Inukshuk High School in Iqaluit to experience the first lecture of this scope in the North. Dignitaries included Governor General Michaëlle Jean, and Institute for Canadian Citizenship co-chairs John Ralston Saul and Adrienne Clarkson.

IsumaTV, a web portal from award-winning filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk's production company Igoolik Isuma Productions, streamed the lecture to venues in Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal and Alice Springs, Australia.

To watch the 2009 LaFontaine Baldwin symposium click here.

For a transcript of Siila Watt-Cloutier's speech, click here.

For a special report on the north by committee volunteers Stefan Lorimer and Maxim Jean-Louis, click here

For more information contact us at symposium@icc-icc.ca.

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"Images of the Arctic" photo contest

The “Images of the Arctic” Photo Contest was created to celebrate the ninth annual LaFontaine Baldwin lecture. Photo submissions were reviewed by the following jury: 

Here are the winning photos:

1st place - Anita Rich

2nd place - Uluriak Amarualik

I picked this picture because it shows the mountains, the ice and also the sky in Eureka, a meteorological research station on Ellesmere. You can see what Nunavut looks like in the spring time. It shows all the different shades of white that make up our land, from the blue-white ice to the brown-white mountains. There are not that many people that get the opportunity to see the views I get to see everyday. It's rare for some people to get to see what the land looks like around Ellesmere Island, and also around Nunavut.

The mountains show a part of Nunavut and what beautiful views Nunavut has in the Arctic. There are a lot of mountains and not one of them is the same, they are all different. It is very special because the land animals like rabbits, wolves, caribou, and also polar bears can find every thing they need to survive and as an Inuk these animals are important to my culture. Nunavut has always been special because of how tough the living conditions can be and how strong the people that live here need to be to survive.

3rd place - Bernadette Green

I think my photo captures the essence of the arctic because it shows the effects of global warming. Springtime coming earlier, warm weather and the snow melting are all signs of global warming. Five to ten years ago, April was a month of blowing snow, cold weather and lots of people going out goose hunting at least until May. Now, I don't think we'd be able to go out this year because it is melting really fast. This affects us, the Inuvialuit, because geese are a part of our diet and has been for a long time. Also, because the ice is melting, it takes away part of our culture which is going out on the land.

Inuvialuit love and appreciate the land, it is part of us, our culture and who we are. Every chance we get, we go out on the land even if it is just for a day. One day I hope everyone around the world can see that global warming is destroying our way of life and try to help us end it, which is what I think my photo shows. The essence of the arctic.

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Voices of the North

During the ICC's trip to Iqaluit in May, we had the opportunity to visit Inukshuk High School and meet some students. They discussed their concerns about the North and also presented some of their poetry. Here is some of their work.

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Further Reading

"Paix dans l’Arctique"

"Needed: an official guardian" - excerpt from Siila Watt Cloutier’s speech

"Make indigenous people stewards of the North" - excerpt from
Siila Watt Cloutier’s speech

"Nunavut’s birthday sparks debate about future"

"À quand une université dans le Grand Nord?"

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Past Symposiums

Past Lectures & Speakers

John Ralston Saul (2000)
Alain Dubuc (2001)
Georges Erasmus (2002)
Beverley McLachlin (2003)
David Malouf (2004)
Louise Arbour (2005)
George Elliot Clarke (2006)
Adrienne Clarkson (2007)

Publications

LaFontaine Baldwin Lectures

A volume of collected lectures is scheduled for publication every third year. The first volume of the lectures includes essays by John Ralston Saul, Alain Dubuc and Georges Erasmus. Mr. Saul's essay traces LaFontaine and Baldwin's idea of "responsible government" and applies it to the issues of today. Mr. Dubuc argues that Canada has its own brand of nationalism that is as entrenched and ingrained as Quebec nationalism. And in the third and final essay, Mr. Erasmus discusses how Aboriginals envision Canada.

Dialogue On Democracy

A collection of six lectures exploring aspects of Canadian identity and democracy, Dialogue on Democracy includes essays by John Ralston Saul, Alain Dubuc, Georges Erasmus, Beverley McLachlin, David Malouf, and Louise Arbour on responsible government, nationalism, Aboriginal values, human rights, and the distinctively Canadian response to our differences.