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The Canadian Club of Toronto, now known as Canadian Club Toronto, is a non-profit speakers' forum in Toronto, Ontario. [1] It meets several times a month to hear speeches given by invited guests from diverse fields, including politics, law, business, science, media and the arts.
The Canadian Club of Toronto was founded in 1897 to encourage interest in Canadian public affairs. [2] It subsequently developed a role as an opinion-formation vehicle for some of Toronto's most prominent citizens.
Speeches were initially given in the evening, but starting in 1902, the club moved to its present lunchtime format. [3] In 1903, several members of the Canadian Club, concerned that the club was not sufficiently opposed to the wave of anti-British sentiment being expressed in the wake of the Alaskan Boundary Tribunal decision, left the Canadian Club to found the more pro-British Empire Club of Canada. [3]
In the days before radio and television, the club provided a chance for influential Torontonians to have contact with Canadian and international leaders in a variety of fields. Today, the club hosts events in a number of different formats, but most events use the traditional luncheon style. [4]
Speakers that addressed the club since 2000 have included Paul Martin, [5] Stephen Harper, [6] Vladimir Putin, [7] Justin Trudeau, [8] Paul Bremer, [9] Bob Rae, [10] Michael Dell, [11] Jean Charest, [12] John de Chastelain, [13] Hillary Clinton, [14] Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, [15] Margaret Atwood, [16] Karen Kain, [17] The Right Honourable David Johnston, [18] David Frum, [19] Pamela Wallin, [20] David Suzuki, [21] Beverley McLachlin, [22] Dalton McGuinty, [23] Belinda Stronach, [24] David Dodge, [25] Pinball Clemons, [26] Galen Weston Jr., [27] Louise Arbour, [28] Adrienne Clarkson, [29] Donovan Bailey, [30] Mark Carney [31] and Jack Layton. [32]
Margaret Eleanor Atwood is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist, teacher, environmental activist, and inventor. Since 1961, she has published 18 books of poetry, 18 novels, 11 books of non-fiction, nine collections of short fiction, eight children's books, and two graphic novels, and a number of small press editions of both poetry and fiction. Atwood has won numerous awards and honors for her writing, including two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Governor General's Award, the Franz Kafka Prize, Princess of Asturias Awards, and the National Book Critics and PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Awards. A number of her works have been adapted for film and television.
David Takayoshi Suzuki is a Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a Ph.D. in zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001. Since the mid-1970s, Suzuki has been known for his television and radio series, documentaries and books about nature and the environment. He is best known as host and narrator of the popular and long-running CBC Television science program The Nature of Things, seen in over 40 countries. He is also well known for criticizing governments for their lack of action to protect the environment.
Barbara Frum, OC was an American-born Canadian radio and television journalist, acclaimed for her interviews for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
David Jeffrey Frum is a Canadian-American political commentator and a former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, who is currently a senior editor at The Atlantic as well as an MSNBC contributor. In 2003, Frum authored the first book about Bush's presidency written by a former member of the administration. He has taken credit for inspiring the phrase "axis of evil" in Bush's 2002 State of the Union address.
The Annex is a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road. The City of Toronto recognizes a broader neighbourhood definition that includes the adjacent Seaton Village and Yorkville areas.
Belinda Caroline Stronach, is a Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist and former Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2008. Originally elected as a Conservative, she later crossed the floor to join the Liberals. From May 17, 2005, to February 6, 2006, Stronach was the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development and Minister responsible for Democratic Renewal in the government of Paul Martin. After leaving politics, she served as the executive vice-chairman of Magna International, Canada's largest automotive parts manufacturer until December 31, 2010.
Beverley Marian McLachlin is a Canadian jurist and author who served as the 17th Chief Justice of Canada from 2000 to 2017. She is the longest-serving chief justice in Canadian history and the first woman to hold the position. She is considered by many to be among the finest legal minds in the history of the Supreme Court.
Kim F. Coates is a Canadian-American actor who has worked in both Canadian and American films and television series. He has worked on Broadway portraying Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire and in the lead role of Macbeth performed at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. He is best known for his role as Alexander "Tig" Trager in the FX series Sons of Anarchy and as Declan Gardiner in the Citytv series Bad Blood, as well as his recurring roles in Prison Break, Cold Case, CSI and CSI: Miami. He has also had film roles in The Last Boy Scout (1991), Bad Boys (1995), King of Sorrow (2006), Goon (2011).
The Empire Club of Canada is a Canadian speakers' forum. Established in 1903, the Empire Club has provided a forum for over 3,500 different speakers.
Michael Lutrell "Pinball" Clemons is an American-Canadian sports executive and former running back and return specialist who serves as general manager for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Clemons played with the Argonauts for twelve seasons where he was a two-time All-Star and a three-time Grey Cup Champion, and twice served as their head coach before becoming an administrator, since winning three more Grey Cups. His no. 31 jersey is one of only four that have been retired by the Argonauts. He is one of the most famous former Argos players, and is also one of the most popular professional athletes in the history of Toronto. Clemons has stated that he feels CFL football is the best football in the world. Clemons is 5 ft 6 in (167 cm) tall and weighs 170 pounds (77 kg).
Pamela Wallin, is a Canadian senator, former television journalist, and diplomat. She was appointed to the senate on January 2, 2009, where she initially sat as a Conservative.
WE Charity, formerly known as Free the Children, is an international development charity and youth empowerment movement founded in 1995 by human rights advocates Marc and Craig Kielburger. The organization implements development programs in Asia, Africa and Latin America, focusing on education, water, health, food and economic opportunity. It also runs domestic programming for young people in Canada, the US and UK, promoting service learning and active citizenship. Charity Intelligence, a registered Canadian charity that rates over 750 Canadian charities, rates the "demonstrated impact" per dollar of We Charity as "Fair" and has issued a "Donor Advisory" due to We Charity replacing most of its board of directors in 2020.
The David Suzuki Foundation is a science-based non-profit environmental organization headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with offices in Montreal and Toronto. It was established as a federally registered Canadian charity on January 1, 1991. By 2007, it had 40,000 donors. Its mission is to protect nature while balancing human needs. It is supported entirely by Foundation grants and donations and by 2012, 90% of its donors were Canadian. By 2007, the Foundation employed about seventy-five staff members.
Linda Frum is a Canadian author and journalist, and was a Conservative member of the Senate of Canada from 2009 until 2021. She has announced her intention to retire from the Senate effective August 27, 2021 to devote more time to other pursuits such as her role as chair of the board of the Jewish Federation of Greater Toronto.
The 1990 Toronto Argonauts finished in second place in the East Division with a 10–8 record. They appeared in the Eastern Final. After being the CFL's passing leader in 1989 Matt Dunigan was in another blockbuster six-for-one player trade that sent him to the Argonauts. During Dunigan's first season with the Argonauts, he helped guide the second most prolific scoring offense in the history of the Canadian Football League to 689 points or 38.3 points per contest.
The Munk Debates are a semi-annual series of debates on major policy issues held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are run by the Aurea Foundation, a charitable foundation set up by Peter Munk, founder of Barrick Gold, and his wife Melanie Munk. The debate series was founded in 2008 by Munk and Rudyard Griffiths, who moderates most of the debates.
Granite Real Estate Investment Trust is a Canadian-based REIT engaged in the acquisition, development, ownership and management of industrial, warehouse and logistics properties in North America and Europe. It was originally composed principally of former holdings of Magna International.
Howard Sokolowski, is a property developer, philanthropist and sport business owner from Toronto. He is the husband of Linda Frum and was the former co-owner of the Toronto Argonauts with David Cynamon from 2003 to 2010. His parents, Henry and Eva Sokolowski, were Holocaust survivors from Poland.
The Gordon Sinclair Award is a Canadian journalism award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television for excellence in broadcast journalism. Originally presented as part of the ACTRA Awards, it was transferred to the new Gemini Awards in 1986. During the ACTRA era, the award was open to both radio and television journalists; when it was taken over by the Academy, it became a television-only award.
The House of Commons Special Committee on Electoral Reform (ERRE) was a special committee of the House of Commons of Canada established during the 42nd Canadian Parliament to investigate reforms to the Canadian electoral system. The formation of "an all-party Parliamentary committee to review... [electoral] reforms" was an election promise by Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau in the 2015 federal election. After becoming Prime Minister, Trudeau indicated the formation of a special committee was a priority in his mandate letter for Minister of Democratic Institutions Maryam Monsef. Shortly after the committee submitted its report to parliament on December 1, 2016, Monsef was transferred to the position of the Minister of Status of Women and Karina Gould took over the electoral reform file. Shortly after taking her position Gould announced that the government would no longer be pursuing reform of the electoral system, stating "It has become evident that the broad support needed among Canadians for a change of this magnitude does not exist".