Book Launch: "The Enduring Riddle of Mackenzie King", edited by Patrice Dutil
Nov
19
4:00 PM16:00

Book Launch: "The Enduring Riddle of Mackenzie King", edited by Patrice Dutil

  • Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (map)
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As Canada's longest serving, arguably most successful, and certainly most eccentric Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King is a figure of perennial fascination. Join us for fresh perspectives on neglected aspects of King's life and career.

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Book Talk: On The Ground: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent by Brian Stewart
Oct
8
4:00 PM16:00

Book Talk: On The Ground: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent by Brian Stewart

  • Campbell Conference Facility (map)
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Join us for the launch of On the Ground: My Life as a Foreign Correspondent with special guest Brian Stewart. On the Ground is powerful memoir revealing the pressures, joys, and traumas of witnessing history up close and personal, from one of Canada’s most prominent and decorated foreign correspondents.

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The Cold War and Canadian Intelligence
Oct
2
4:00 PM16:00

The Cold War and Canadian Intelligence

Join us for discussion of two recent books exploring a neglected dimensions of both Canadian and international history - Canadian Intelligence in the Cold War. Alan Barnes explores the role of Canadian intelligence in continental defence policies, while Timothy Andrews Sayle traces the evolution of intelligence cooperation between Canada, Britain, and the United States.

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Book Launch: Chrétien and the World
Sep
30
4:00 PM16:00

Book Launch: Chrétien and the World

Join us for the launch of Chrétien and the World: Canadian Foreign Policy from 1993 to 2003 with special guest the Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien. Books will be available for purchase. A private reception will follow the presentation. This book launch is part of 2025 Couchiching Conference, co-hosted by the Canadian International Council  and the Aga Khan Museum.

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Ukraine: A Report from Kyiv with Tim Mak
Jun
16
2:00 PM14:00

Ukraine: A Report from Kyiv with Tim Mak

Join a discussion with journalist Tim Mak about the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. As founder of The Counteroffensive, a Kyiv-based publication that covers the war from the ground, Mak speaks with authority on questions of strategy and tactics, the role of changing military technology, the geopolitics of the conflict, and the experiences of those caught up in it.

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Roundtable: Reflecting on Eighty Years of the International Journal
Jun
5
3:30 PM15:30

Roundtable: Reflecting on Eighty Years of the International Journal

This roundtable will debate what the International Journal's dictum, to 'contribute in a substantial way to the knowledge of Canadians on problems of international relations and [to] express to other countries the Canadian viewpoint on international questions,' means today.

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Mar
31
4:00 PM16:00

East of Empire: Egypt, India, and the World Between the Wars

Erin O'Halloran offers a compelling new account of the era immediately preceding decolonization and the epochal partitions of India and Palestine. Alongside well-known figures like Mohandas K. Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Saad Zaghlul, she introduces less familiar but no less intriguing personalities: feminists, diplomats, and poets; surrealists, socialists and spies.

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Mar
10
4:00 PM16:00

Discussion: "Policy in Action: Spencer Wilkinson and the Foundations of Modern Grand Strategy"

  • Room 208, North House, Munk School (map)
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Policy in Action: Spencer Wilkinson and the Foundations of Modern Grand Strategy

A Discussion with Paul Ramsey

Sponsored by the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History

Date: Monday, March 10, 2025

Time: 4:00 pm-6:00 pm, EST

Location: Room 208, North House, Munk School, 1 Devonshire Place, Toronto, ON, M5S 3K7


Register Here

About the Event

This talk examines Spenser Wilkinson's pivotal role in shaping modern grand strategy amidst nineteenth-century industrialization and globalization. Wilkinson broadened strategy to encompass all national resources, integrating military and policy dimensions to address the complexities of imperial defence. The talk explores his vision of grand strategy as national policy in action. It also traces how his ideas impacted later scholars, challenging the attribution of grand strategy’s origins to figures like J.F.C. Fuller and Basil Liddell Hart. By revisiting Wilkinson’s contributions, the talk illuminates the historical roots of grand strategic thought and its relevance to contemporary security challenges. It argues that Wilkinson laid the foundations of modern grand strategic thought, offering a comprehensive framework that remains pertinent today.

About the Speaker

Paul Ramsey is a historian of war and strategy. Paul is ABD in history at the University of Calgary, and a visiting researcher at the University of Toronto. He was the Edward S. Miller Research Fellow in Naval History at the United States Naval War College. He completed his MA in the History of Warfare in the Department of War Studies at King’s College, London, and his BA in Military and International History at the University of Salford. Paul’s research examines the early academic writing about national strategy and public opinion about war. His dissertation shows the role of Spenser Wilkinson, a leading thinker on war, strategy and society, in the professionalisation of strategic planning and national defence policy in First World War era Britain.

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War, Peace, and Truth: An Evening with Sviatoslav Shevchuk and Timothy Snyder
Feb
25
7:00 PM19:00

War, Peace, and Truth: An Evening with Sviatoslav Shevchuk and Timothy Snyder

Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the more than 5 million Ukrainian Catholics worldwide, will deliver a public lecture at the Isabel Bader Theatre at Victoria College (93 Charles Street West) at the University of Toronto on February 25 at 7 p.m.

Professor and New York Times best-selling author Timothy Snyder will respond to the lecture. Snyder teaches at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and is a leading public intellectual in modern Central European politics.

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Feb
25
4:00 PM16:00

Canada’s Long-Term Strategic Situation, Past and Present

  • North House, Munk School for Global Affairs and Public Policy (map)
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In 1962, Dr. Robert James Sutherland, a defence scientist and strategic advisor with the Defence Research Board (DRB), presented a paper at the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA) in Toronto. His talk, “Canada’s Long-Term Strategic Situation,”  which explored the likely shape of Canadian strategic choice out to the end of the century, went far better than he might have expected. On February 25, Sutherland’s biographer, Dr. John Keess from the Royal Military College of Canada, will offer a brief discussion of Sutherland’s background, then present a refreshed version of Sutherland’s original talk and article.

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Feb
12
4:00 PM16:00

The Twelfth of February: Canadian Aid for Gender Equality during the Rise of Violent Extremism in Pakistan

  • Campbell Conference Facility (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

At a critical moment for Pakistan, Canada stopped funding of women’s organizations, ending a legacy of leadership on women’s rights. Was it a lost legacy? Given violent extremism’s devastating impact on development gains including women’s rights, security, and the elimination of gender-based violence, what is the future role for international development?

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Feb
5
4:00 PM16:00

The Challenge of Next-Gen Insurgency by Steven Metz

  • Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (map)
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Insurgency remains a challenge to global security but much thinking by both scholars and security practitioners remains mired in the past, treating mid 20th century insurgency as paradigmatic. Conceptualizing insurgency as a form of strategy rather than a variant of warfare or a type of organization can allow security experts to transcend this analytical ossification. Reflecting broader trends in the security environment, the most challenging of tomorrow's insurgencies will be dramatically different than those of the past and test the ability of states and suprastate security systems to contain or defeat them.

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Jan
22
4:00 PM16:00

Book Launch: Tommy Douglas and the Quest for Medicare in Canada

  • Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy (map)
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There was an important international context in which Tommy Douglas formulated and implemented his plans for universal health coverage in Canada while premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 until 1961. While much of the narrative in Gregory Marchildon’s Tommy Douglas and the Quest for Medicare in Canada focuses on domestic politics and policy, international politics and policy played a central but overlooked role at critical points.

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Jan
21
4:00 PM16:00

Book Launch: Chrystia, by Catherine Tsalikis

  • Campbell Conference Facility, Munk School (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Catherine Tsalikis traces Chrystia Freeland’s remarkable journey from the northwestern Alberta town of Peace River to Moscow, London, and New York, where she spent two decades as a journalist, to the halls of Parliament Hill as deputy prime minister and finance minister in Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government.

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Jan
16
4:00 PM16:00

Unpredictable America: Donald Trump and the Future of American Foreign Policy

  • Campbell Conference Facility (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

In his first presidential term, Donald Trump heralded the arrival of an “America First” foreign policy that would critically examine and scale back the commitments and responsibilities America had taken on as a world power, and focus directly on promoting America’s national interest.  As he comes back to the White House, what type of foreign policy will Trump 2.0 carry out?  How will America’s allies and adversaries react?  This talk will attempt to provide some answers, recognizing the uncertainty and unpredictability characteristic of Trump’s decision-making style.

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Nov
27
4:00 PM16:00

For and Against the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

  • Trinity College Combination Room (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

With the award of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to the antinuclear group Nihon Hidankyo and discussion of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, this is a fitting time to discuss the arguments for and against the abolition of nuclear weapons. Florian Eblenkamp, Advocacy Officer of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and Jack Cunningham, Program Coordinator of the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History offer contending perspectives, followed by a Q&A and general discussion.

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Nov
13
4:00 PM16:00

Book Launch: Canada First, Not Canada Alone

  • Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

This book traces the history of Canadian foreign policy from a time when positioning Canada First meant shunning international obligations to today. It highlights key decisions taken and not taken in Ottawa that have shaped Canadians' safety, security, and prosperity over the last one hundred years. Case studies focused on environmental reform, Indigenous peoples, trade, hostage diplomacy, and wartime strategy illustrate the breadth of issues that shape contemporary Canada's global realm.

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Nov
7
4:00 PM16:00

A World Without War: Utopian Dream or Pragmatic Necessity?

Dr. Sundeep Waslekar will argue that we live in the most dangerous epoch in the history of human civilization. With the fires spreading in Ukraine, the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia, and an escalating arms race in killer robots, hypersonic missiles, and deadly pathogens, is the world sleep walking into a global catastrophic war that will annihilate the human race? He will then proceed to propose a global social contract, a blueprint for multilateral reform, and a framework for reorienting global governance which will enable a paradigm shift to make lasting peace a reality.

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Nov
1
to Nov 2

Conference: Canada, Kosovo, and the Kosovar Refugee Diaspora 25 Years On

  • Campbell Conference Facility (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

The 25th anniversary of the arrival of Kosovar Albanians to Canada and Canada’s military and diplomatic involvement in Kosovo presents a special opportunity to revisit Canada’s unique humanitarian undertaking in 1999. To commemorate this event, a two-day symposium will be held which will bring together academics, immigration officials, policymakers, politicians, private citizens, representatives from aid organizations, as well as members of the Kosovar Albanian community.

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Oct
23
4:00 PM16:00

Unwinnable Peace: Untold Stories of Canada’s Mission in Afghanistan, by Tim Martin

  • Campbell Conference Facility (map)
  • Google Calendar ICS

Canada’s longest war (2001-2014) pushed military, diplomatic, development and humanitarian organizations to their limits. Was it all in vain?

Based on interviews with twenty-one key decision-makers and participants, many of whom are speaking publicly for the first time, Unwinnable Peace recounts the personal and professional challenges faced by individuals deeply committed to securing and rebuilding Kandahar province.

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Oct
8
to Oct 9

Associated Event: Couchiching Annual Conference on Diplomacy

You’re invited to the Annual Couchiching Conference on October 8-9, 2024 at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto, Ontario in the beautiful Nanji Family Foundation Auditorium.

The Couchiching Conference, co-hosted by the Canadian International Council (CIC) and in partnership with the Aga Khan Museum, aims to foster an inclusive dialogue on the evolving role of diplomacy on the international stage. This event will provide a platform for citizens, journalists, academics, and students to engage in meaningful discussions on international affairs, reflecting our shared mission to give Canadians a voice in global matters.

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Sep
30
4:00 PM16:00

Virtual Book Talk: Disruption, by Michael De Groot

In Disruption, Michael De Groot argues that the global economic upheaval of the 1970s was decisive in ending the Cold War. Both the West and the Soviet bloc struggled with the slowdown of economic growth; chaos in the international monetary system; inflation; shocks in the commodities markets; and the emergence of offshore financial markets. The superpowers had previously disseminated resources to their allies to enhance their own national security, but the disappearance of postwar conditions during the 1970s forced Washington and Moscow to choose between promoting their own economic interests and supporting their partners in Europe and Asia.

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Sep
18
2:00 PM14:00

Three Years Since the Taliban Takeover: Security Threats, Humanitarian Crisis, and the Fight for Freedom

Join us on September 18th from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM at the Munk School (University of Toronto) for an in-depth exploration of the ongoing challenges and emerging threats in Afghanistan, three years after the Taliban's return to power. This event will feature two comprehensive sessions, each focusing on critical themes and featuring distinguished speakers.

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Jun
4
4:00 PM16:00

Associated Event - Democracy & Diplomacy: Canada-Germany Collaboration for EU Stability

Associated Event:

Democracy & Diplomacy: Canada-Germany Collaboration for EU Stability

with Peter Hefele, John Kirton, Madeline Koch, Mary Janigan, and Jorge Caicedo

Date: Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Time: 4:30 pm-6 pm, EST

Cost: Free

Location: Faculty Club | 41 Wilcocks Street, Toronto M5S 3G3

More Information

The event will feature a panel discussion and fireside chat, followed by a reception for all attendees (no cost, free refreshments).

The discussion will be based on the Panorama Report 2024 published by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, which provides a comprehensive insight into the current development of the European Union and its environment in a year-on-year comparison. The analysis presents a multi-thematic assessment of the current situation in the areas of innovation and competitiveness, the attitudes of member states towards the EU, and the global environment. By using qualitative and quantitative indicators, the analysis provides sound insights into current trends and developments.

 

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The Hon. Chrystia Freeland in conversation with Martin Wolf, CBE
Apr
25
6:00 PM18:00

The Hon. Chrystia Freeland in conversation with Martin Wolf, CBE

 
 

The Hon. Chrystia Freeland in conversation with Martin Wolf, CBE

Date: Thursday, April 25, 2024

Time: 6:00 pm-7:00 pm, EST

Location: TD Music Hall (178 Victoria St, Toronto M5B 1T6)

 

Chrystia Freeland

Martin Wolf

 

About the Event:

The Canadian International Council’s Toronto branch is delighted to host a conversation with The Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, and Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times.

One of Canada's most influential political figures today, The Hon. Chrystia Freeland comes to Toronto for an exclusive discussion co-sponsored with the CIC National Branch, the Canadian Narrative Fund and the Canada Difference Project at Trent University. She will be joined by Martin Wolf from London, UK, acclaimed Financial Times journalist awarded Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000 and author of The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism.

 
 
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