Canada’s two great early prime ministers were divided by language, religion, party and region but united in their belief that the Canada they were creating would be a bastion of freedom that would attract people from the four corners of the earth.

Chief among the freedoms they so valued was the freedom to speak one’s mind, regardless of the popularity of one’s opinions. It is for this reason that MLI has decided to dedicate its speaker series to the memory of these two towering figures of our distinguished history and political tradition.

The audience for the Macdonald-Laurier Vancouver Speaker Series is people who eschew the comfortable, flinch at the conventional and rebel at the complacent.  They want to hear from speakers who get to the nub of the matter, who don’t sugar coat hard truths, who roll up their sleeves and dig into some of the biggest challenges we face. And they want it to be done in a way that is reminiscent of Macdonald and Laurier: elegant, articulate, informed and courageous.

Our speakers in 2024 include journalist and essayist Douglas Murray, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, cultural critic and social activist Chris Rufo and free speech apostle and media pioneer Bari Weiss. All of these talks take place before a live audience and are made available in video and transcript form. The first talk–with Douglas Murray–has already attracted an audience of nearly 250,000 people worldwide.

MLI is Canada’s leading public policy think tank focused on the intelligent use of federal power in the interest of all Canadians. Our mission is to help make Canada the best governed country in the world. Inspired by Macdonald and Laurier, we think the best way to do that is to expose Canadians to the best thinkers of our time in conversation about the things that matter most.