“EDUCATION IS THE FIRST PUBLIC GOOD THAT A GOVERNMENT CAN GIVE TO A PEOPLE.”
- Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine
A few weeks before March 11th, 1848, the LaFontaine-Baldwin majority passed their first bill: an immigration bill that became the beginning of Canadian immigration policy at its best. A few weeks later marks the beginning of democracy as we know it in Canada today.
Flash forward a few hundred years to the year 2000, and our co-chair John Ralston Saul speaks at the very first LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture series. Since that day, Canadians have gathered 18 times to reflect on democracy, citizenship and the public good. Established by John Ralston Saul and hosted for the past decade by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), the lectures honour the leaders of Canada’s first democratic movement, Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin.
Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin are best known in Canadian history as the architects of responsible government. From Montréal and Toronto, respectively, they were both influential in early Canadian politics as lawyers and as members of their legislative assemblies.
Between 1848 and 1851, LaFontaine and Baldwin led the “Great Ministry” that established responsible government and enacted hundreds of laws. Their reforms created the roots of modern Canada by moving government away from the European model and toward the concepts of complexity and diversity.
2020 marked the 18th LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture in two parts and featured a group of past and brand new lecturers alike. On March 11th, we would like you to join us in revisiting some of these past lectures on our RU-vid channel at the link below (in our bio)
We are so happy to celebrate the 173rd anniversary of Canadian Democracy with our vibrant online community!
1 окт 2024
