President's Message

Welcome to the 2008-09 season of the Canadian Club.

As this year’s President, it’s my pleasure to welcome you to an exciting season of intelligent and creative programming. As always, we will be bringing an interesting line-up of prominent and provocative speakers to our podium.

This year, we will also be partnering with leading national and international organizations to bring new people, perspectives and formats to our television and in-person audiences. Among our program partners this year are respected national organizations such as the C.D. Howe Institute, the Munk Centre, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHERC), the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR), TVOntario and many others.

We will be continuing and expanding our Book Launch Series, featuring authors and titles from politics and business. We look forward to hosting former Prime Minister Paul Martin, who will launch his political memoirs at the Canadian Club in November. Watch for more news about the authors and books that will be featured at the Club throughout the season.

We are sharpening our focus on the arts and culture, bringing artists and visionaries from the world of theatre, dance, music, the visual arts and architecture to our stage. Together with the Empire Club, we will be hosting Matthew Teitelbaum, President and CEO of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Later in the season, watch for our Festival Preview Luncheons, where we get an early look at the program for the 2009 Luminato International Arts Festival.

And of course, we will keep bringing you political news and views, from here and abroad. With a federal election in full swing this Fall, we will be bringing Canada’s major party leaders to our podium for our Campaign 2008 Series. The most exciting US election in a generation will give us an additional opportunity to bring American politics to the doorstep of Canadians.

Closer to home, we are also pleased this Fall to be hosting several provincial ministers, including Hon. Dwight Duncan, Hon. George Smitherman and Hon. David Caplan, as well as Hon. Benoit Pelletier, Quebec Minister of International Affairs, Aboriginal Affairs and Francophones.

We will continue our focus on women in both corporate and public life. Early in the season, we will hear from the head of Catalyst North America about how well women are represented on the boards of FP500 companies, and why it matters. We look forward this Spring to presenting our 4th annual Women in Public Life Luncheon, in partnership with Equal Voice.

We are delighted to be continuing our Education Program by presenting our third annual Take Our Kids to Lunch Day in conjunction with The Learning Partnership. And at every luncheon, we will continue our student table program, supported by corporate and individual sponsors, to give young audiences new opportunities for learning outside the classroom.

For more information on our season or to purchase tickets, please visit us at www.canadianclub.org. To enquire about membership, sponsorship or partnership opportunities, contact our Executive Director, Jennifer Schmidt, at 416-364-5591.

We look forward to seeing you at our events and sharing an exciting season.

Regards,

Helen Burstyn
President 2008-2009