Cardus Exchange 2024

Description

We’re hosting the 2024 Cardus Exchange from April 10-12, co-sponsored by The Hub. The third annual Cardus Exchange will be held parallel to the Canada Strong and Free Networking Conference. This year, Cardus Exchange will explore the theme of home.

What is “home”?

Is it our address, our city, our province, or our country? Is home just a physical place or does it include institutions like the family, the school, the church, and the workplace? While some argue that Canada is a “post-national” country, others say “Canada is broken.”

We know these views about nationhood and institutions shape our culture and our policy-making.

So, what do we really mean when we invoke “home” in policy debates? What are its component parts and how do they relate to each other? Is home something concrete or something intangible? What makes a good home?

We will be joined by leading Canadian thinkers to explore the differing and contested visions of home in Canadian public life.

The third annual Cardus Exchange promises to be a forum for thoughtful debate and intimate conversations that you won’t find anywhere else. As we think about Canada’s future, Cardus Exchange guarantees opportunities to dig deeply into the themes informing our cultural and policy discourse.

View the schedule below:

Kindly sponsored by:

Event sponsor logos for The Hub, Christian Labour Association of Canada, Progressive Contractors Association of Canada, Crestview Strategy, and Crosspoint Financial

Schedule

Wednesday, April 10

Does Canada have a national identity? (Keynote address by Jason Kenney)

Event starts at 8 PM, Doors open at 7 PM

How do we respond to claims that “Canada is broken” or that we are a “post-national country”? Do we think of Canada as our home and native land? What vision of the nation as home does the conservative tradition offer and how do Canadians answer these questions? Jason Kenney, former federal cabinet minister and premier of Alberta, will keynote this opening event of Exchange. Join us for a discussion about origin, history, philosophy, politics, regionalism, language, religion, multiculturalism, and what all this means for public policy.

Speakers:

Moderator: Brian Dijkema
Keynote: The Hon. Jason Kenney
Respondents/panel: The Hon. Jason Kenney, Jean-Christophe Jasmin, Karen Restoule

Thursday, April 11

Demographics, Education, Childcare and Family Policy (at the CSFN Conference)

10:30 AM to 11:15 AM

This panel takes place at the CSFN Networking Conference in the Westin Hotel (11 Colonel By Drive)

Is Canadian public policy shaped in a way that allows or empowers Canadian families and Canadian women in particular to live the lives they truly want? Are women having the amount of kids they want? Are they staying home – or working – because it’s what they want to do? Are families choosing the childcare arrangements or the schools they want for their kids? Join a conversation with leading Canadian thinkers and policy makers Ginny Roth, Andrea Mrozek, Paige McPherson, moderated by Brian Dijkema. They will discuss the interplay between Canadian culture, families, and public policy on childcare, education, and demographics that women’s desires seriously.

Speakers:

Moderator: Brian Dijkema
Panelists: Ginny Roth, Andrea Mrozek, Paige MacPherson

Pluralism in the Public Square (with special guests Joanna Baron and Harrison Lowman)

12:15 PM to 1:15 PM

Public responses to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have exposed cracks in Canada’s political consensus. How do we manage differences in belief, thought, and speech? These differences must be bound by a set of norms but who holds the line, and where? Do we need a shared understanding of the societal good, and how do we navigate differences in the Canadian home? Our panelists will explore these questions and more, discussing concrete challenges including political polarization and anti-Semitism.

Speakers:

Moderator: Ray Pennings
Panelists: Rev. Dr. Andrew Bennett, Harrison Lowman, Joanna Baron

Insights with Friends: Overlooked Topics in Canada Today (with special guest Howard Anglin)

Event starts at 7 PM, Doors open at 6 PM

Which topics aren’t receiving enough attention in Canadian public discourse? How should we frame these conversations? Why do they matter and what does it mean to show leadership on these issues? Known for their deep thinking, research, and commentary on public life, our panelists will share insights on what they see as under-discussed issues in our politics and culture. Join us for a conversation with Ray Pennings, Cardus’s Executive Vice President and author of Cardus Insights; Lisa Richmond, Cardus’s Vice President of Research; and Howard Anglin, author at The Hub.

Speakers:

Moderator: Michael Van Pelt
Panelists: Ray Pennings, Lisa Richmond, Howard Anglin

Friday, April 12

How do ideas shape public policy? (with special guests Ginny Roth and Wayne Prins)

12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

Whether it is child care or fertility, economic productivity or disability benefits, our ideas influence how we govern real people with real needs. These Canadians are also embedded in institutions – families, schools, unions, workplaces, places of worship, and community associations. How can public policy help these people and institutions flourish? And what are the limits of government in addressing social problems? Our concluding panel will discuss how good policy can serve the people and institutions that make up the Canadian home.

Speakers:

Moderator: Brian Dijkema
Panelists: Ginny Roth, Wayne Prins, Peter Jon Mitchell, Renze Nauta

In addition to this schedule, we hope to have more impromptu interviews with special guests throughout the conference. Sign up for text alerts to make sure you don’t miss out on these additional conversations.

Our offices will be open to you to network, grab a bite and a drink, or to be your home base for those three days.

Food and drink will be available at all our events.