The Macdonald–Laurier Institute (MLI) is a conservative, libertarian think tank located in
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
,
Ontario,
Canada, affiliated with the global Atlas Network. Its Managing Director is
Brian Lee Crowley, who founded the
Atlantic Institute for Market Studies.
Founded in 2010, the institute is named after
John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister, and
Wilfrid Laurier, the country's first French-Canadian prime minister. MLI is 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 is funded by corporate and individual donors, as well as from private foundation funding.
Its political stance has been described as market-oriented.
In August 2022, Russia designated the MLI as an "
undesirable organisation".
Publishing
Since its foundation in March 2010, MLI has produced papers offering its perspective on crime statistics, Indigenous post-secondary education, inter-provincial trade, and prison radicalisation. 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.
The institute also published a policy paper reviewing mortgage insurance in Canada. (See list of publications below.)
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''.
Disinfowatch
In September 2020, MLI launced "DisinfoWatch," a project to monitor and track disinformation in Canada and debunk misinformation, with a specific focus on the
coronavirus pandemic. The project is funded by the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, the
United States Department of State’s
Global Engagement Center
Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act is a bipartisan bill that was introduced by the United States Congress on 10 May 2016. The bill was initially called the Countering Information Warfare Act.
The bipartisan legislation was writ ...
, and
Journalists for Human Rights.
Impact
MLI 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. The institute's Op-Eds have appeared in Canadian national newspapers such as ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' and ''
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with M ...
'', as well as in the ''
Vancouver Sun'', ''
Calgary Herald
The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network.
History
''The ...
'', ''
Windsor Star'', Moncton ''
Times & Transcript
The ''Times & Transcript'' is a newspaper from Moncton, New Brunswick. It serves Greater Moncton and eastern New Brunswick. Its offices and printing facilities are located on Main Street in Downtown Moncton. The paper is published by Brunswick Ne ...
'', Halifax ''
Chronicle-Herald
''The Chronicle Herald'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada owned by SaltWire Network of Halifax.
The paper's newsroom staff were locked out of work from January 2016 until August 2017. ''Herald'' management con ...
''. The institute has also been highlighted in ''
Foreign Policy
A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
'' magazine, ''
The Wall Street Journal'' and ''
The Economist''.
A multi-year MLI campaign defended oil and gas development rights on Indigenous land, according to a report in ''
the Guardian.'' For several years it helped discourage Canada's government from implementing a United Nations declaration on Indigenous peoples' rights to reject pipelines or drilling, until Parliament eventually passed a law in 2021. ''The Guardian'' said the MLI campaign was in partnership with the
Atlas Network
Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups ...
, a libertarian-conservative group based in the United States, but MLI disputed the relationship.
Political stance
Alejandro Chafuen, former president of the
Atlas Network
Atlas Network, formerly known as the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, is a non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization based in the United States that provides training, networking and grants for libertarian, free-market, and conservative groups ...
and current president of the
Acton Institute, praised MLI in a 2012 ''Forbes'' article describing the market-oriented think tank landscape in Canada.
The social democratic
Broadbent Institute referred to the MacDonald-Laurier Institute as a "right-wing charity" in a 2018 article and MLI was described as similarly minded to the
Fraser Institute in a 2012 article by the right-leaning
''National Post''. The Fraser Institute, like the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, are both part of the Atlas Network.
Organisation
Source:
[From the MLI web sit]
www.macdonaldlaurier.ca/about/who-is-involved
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 Saturday Night may refer to:
Film, television and theatre Film
* ''Saturday Night'' (1922 film), a 1922 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille
* ''Saturday Nights'' (film), a 1933 Swedish film directed by Schamyl Bauman
* ''Saturday Night'' (1950 fil ...
magazine, columnist with the
National Post
The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with M ...
*Brian Flemming, Lawyer
*J. Wayne Gudbranson, CEO of Branham Group Inc.
*
Calvin Helin
Calvin Helin is a Canadian businessman and writer on aboriginal topics who is a member of the Tsimshian First Nation in northwestern British Columbia.
He is from the Tsimshian village community of Lax Kw'alaams, B.C., son of Barry Helin (Niisła ...
Aboriginal author and entrepreneur, Vancouver
*
Peter John Nicholson
Peter John M. Nicholson (born May 3, 1942) is a Canadian economist, former politician, and science policy expert. He represented the electoral district of Victoria in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1978 to 1980, as a member of the Nova ...
, 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
, "Diligence Will Prevail"
, mottoeng = Perseverance Will Triumph
, established = 1951 as Xavier Junior College 1968 as NSEIT 1974 as College Of Cape Breton 1982 as University College of Cape Breton 2005 as Cape Breton ...
*Barry Sookman, Senior Partner,
McCarthy Tétrault
*Rob Wildeboer, executive chairman and co-founder of Martinrea International Inc
Research advisory board
*
Janet Ajzenstat
*
Brian Ferguson
*
Jack Granatstein
*
Patrick James
*
Rainer Knopff
*
Larry Martin
*Christopher Sands
*Elliot Tepper
*
William Watson
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
''The Way Out: New thinking about Aboriginal engagement and energy infrastructure to the West Coast'' Brian Lee Crowley and Ken Coates, 30 May 2013ref name=MLI2013 />
*''Why Canadian crime statistics don't add up: Not the whole truth'', by Scott Newark, February 9, 2011.
*''From Rehabilitation to Recruitment'', by Alex Wilner, October 18, 2010.
*''Citizen of One, Citizen of the Whole: How Ottawa can strengthen our nation by eliminating provincial trade barriers with a charter of economic rights'', by Brian Lee Crowley, Robert Knox and John Robson, June 21, 2010.
*''Free to Learn: Giving Aboriginal Youth Control over Their Post-Secondary Education'', by Calvin Helin and Dave Snow, March 15, 2010.
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.
References
External links
The Macdonald–Laurier Institute
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald-Laurier Institute
Think tanks based in Canada
2010 establishments in Canada
Undesirable organizations in Russia