Election 2015 / en Canada Next: Richard Florida, Roger Martin and David Wolfe on getting innovation right /news/canada-next-richard-florida-roger-martin-and-david-wolfe-getting-innovation-right <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Canada Next: Richard Florida, Roger Martin and David Wolfe on getting innovation right</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-05T06:32:07-05:00" title="Thursday, November 5, 2015 - 06:32" class="datetime">Thu, 11/05/2015 - 06:32</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">οexperts Richard Florida, Roger Martin &amp; David Wolfe are among those calling for a shift in the way the federal government thinks about innovation</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/noreen-ahmed-ullah" hreflang="en">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utm" hreflang="en">UTM</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/political-science" hreflang="en">Political Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/munk-school-global-affairs-public-policy" hreflang="en">Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/martin-prosperity-institute" hreflang="en">Martin Prosperity Institute</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/innovation" hreflang="en">Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/government" hreflang="en">Government</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election-2015" hreflang="en">Election 2015</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/business" hreflang="en">Business</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">“We’ve had an innovation policy in Canada that’s been useless and pathetic,” Martin says</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his cabinet, he added the term “innovation” to the title of the new Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.</p> <p>For οprofessors who have been calling for Canada to push hard on spurring business innovation it was an important first step.</p> <p>“We’ve had an innovation policy in Canada that’s been useless and pathetic,” said Professor <strong>Roger Martin</strong>, institute director of U of T’s Martin Prosperity Institute and former dean of the Rotman School of Management. “If we want better innovation outcomes, we have to move from attempting to influence how policy-makers think innovation happens to attempting to influence how it really happens.”&nbsp;</p> <p>For U of T’s key economic and political thinkers, Canada’s lack of progress on the innovation front has been frustrating to watch.</p> <p>“Canada is behind,” said Professor <strong>Richard Florida</strong>.</p> <p>Under Florida’s Global&nbsp;Creativity&nbsp;Index, a&nbsp;measure of how 139 nations worldwide stack on the 3Ts of economic development&nbsp;– technology, talent and tolerance&nbsp;–&nbsp;Canada ranks fourth, driven largely by the country’s high performance on tolerance.</p> <h2><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-commentary/by-ignoring-the-knowledge-economy-canada-is-taking-a-step-backward/article26688832/">Read more about Florida's take on why Canada is behind</a></h2> <p>“But we lag much further behind on technology where we rank 13th and talent where we rank 14th,” said Florida, who is at the Martin Prosperity Institute. “On top of this, we have in effect wasted a decade under the previous Harper administration somehow believing our nation’s economic future lay in natural resources, so we have badly neglected innovation and productivity improvement, and have fallen behind even further.”</p> <p>In the economic world, the term innovation incorporates more than just a breakthrough idea. It includes research and development, a new product, a new process, a new approach to sales and marketing, or even a new business.</p> <p>Under the Harper administration, there was a cabinet-level position for the Minister of Industry. Innovation fell under the jurisdiction of a more junior-level Minister of State for Science and Technology.</p> <p>Some have felt that was the problem.</p> <p>The day after the Oct. 19 elections, the Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance, Canada’s largest high-tech trade association, called for Trudeau to combine the two portfolios, creating one senior-level Minister of Science, Technology and Business Innovation.</p> <p>The Trudeau government appears to have listened, putting “innovation” first in the title, signalling a more significant focus. Trudeau named Navdeep Singh Bains, the Liberal MP from the Mississauga-Malton, as the new Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.</p> <p>The cabinet-level focus on innovation is “what is needed,” said Professor <strong>David Wolfe</strong> of political science at the University of Toronto Mississauga.</p> <p>Wolfe, co-director of the Munk School of Global Affairs’ Innovation Policy Lab, is among those who believe the problem lies in the disconnect between Canada’s research and its business innovation. He quotes the Council of Canadian Academies’ reports that say Canada is trapped in a “low innovation equilibrium.”</p> <p>“[The council’s reports]&nbsp;say the economy specializes in too many sectors that don’t perform a lot of research and development, and don’t rely on innovation,” Wolfe said. “Plus, in those sectors where innovation is more important, we often have a heavy degree of foreign ownership like automotive where we rely on the parent companies of multi-nationals to do all the research, and all we do in Canada is production.</p> <p>“You don’t always need a lot of research and development to be innovative, but generally speaking countries with higher levels of business-performed research and development tend to be more innovative, and Canada is near the bottom of the pack.”</p> <p>Wolfe says in Canada 0.9 per cent of the GDP goes to business expenditures on research and development, making it one of the lowest among the 34 countries making up the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.</p> <p>Martin goes back even further in time, saying Canada’s shortfalls date back to the 1878 National Policy after which we have never fully recovered, despite the Free Trade Act and NAFTA.</p> <p>“We have to finally throw off the yoke of the 1878 National Policy, in which we decided to put gigantic tariff barriers up around Canada because we feared being overrun by the U.S.,” Martin said. “What that created in Canada was a mentality that said you don’t need to innovate: the smartest thing to do from a business standpoint was to wait and see what happens outside of Canada, and when it’s sure to have been successful, you then take it and do that in Canada behind a tariff wall. Unfortunately even though Free Trade came in 1989, that’s 111 years of history saying that innovation is nice to have, but not necessary.”</p> <p>The next step for many will be the throne speech. Wolfe says he’ll be looking at how big a priority innovation is compared to everything else Trudeau has promised.</p> <p>Munk’s Innovation Policy Lab, which has been studying digital technology’s impact on the Canadian economy, is often asked by government and industry partners to develop policy recommendations on a number of issues, including the GTA’s financial and technology sector, <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/how-toronto-falling-behind-financial-services-technology-sector">a report on which came out Thursday</a>.</p> <p>Wolfe says he looks forward to engaging with the new federal government on an innovation agenda.</p> <blockquote> <h1>“We now know where innovation comes from. It does not just come&nbsp;from great entrepreneurs or even great companies. It comes from cities.”</h1> </blockquote> <p>Part of that agenda could look at reallocating existing money, rethinking whether the government should be offering incentives for companies to spend more on research and development. Others have suggested a Canadian version of the Small Business Innovation Research program found south of the border.</p> <p>“Innovation is necessary,” Martin said. “Doing things first is necessary. And I think we have to have a global economy, in which unless we do things first we will simply be left behind.”</p> <p>Florida emphasizes that cities need to be front and centre on any discussion about an innovation agenda. He cites venture capital startup neighbourhoods in San Francisco that attract talent − and New York City and&nbsp;London emerging as two of the world’s leading global innovation hubs.&nbsp;</p> <p>“We now know where innovation comes from,” Florida said. “It does not just come&nbsp;from great entrepreneurs or even great companies. It comes from cities, which bring talented and ambitious people, which have the openness and diversity, which spur new ideas, and which are the arenas where ideas come to mate.&nbsp;A successful innovation strategy must be an urban innovation strategy. Our innovation policy must recognize this and help our cities and neighbourhoods power innovation.” &nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-11-05-canada-next-innovation.jpg</div> </div> Thu, 05 Nov 2015 11:32:07 +0000 sgupta 7414 at Meet the new cabinet ministers from the University of Toronto /news/meet-new-cabinet-ministers-university-toronto <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Meet the new cabinet ministers from the University of Toronto </span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-11-04T09:55:46-05:00" title="Wednesday, November 4, 2015 - 09:55" class="datetime">Wed, 11/04/2015 - 09:55</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(photo by Asif Ali via Flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/alan-christie" hreflang="en">Alan Christie</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Alan Christie</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/st-michael-s-college" hreflang="en">St. Michael's College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utm" hreflang="en">UTM</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-college" hreflang="en">University College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/trinity-college" hreflang="en">Trinity College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/medicine" hreflang="en">Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/law" hreflang="en">Law</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/government" hreflang="en">Government</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election-2015" hreflang="en">Election 2015</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election" hreflang="en">Election</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/alumni" hreflang="en">Alumni</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Sworn in at Rideau Hall: Dr. Jane Philpott, Catherine McKenna, Kirsty Duncan, Dr. Carolyn Bennett and Dominic LeBlanc</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Members of the University of Toronto community are solidly represented in the new federal Liberal government, with five of them sworn in as cabinet members.</p> <p>Justin Trudeau became Canada’s 23rd prime minister on Nov. 4 after winning a majority government on Oct. 19. He was sworn in at Rideau Hall, along with a cabinet divided equally between men and women.&nbsp;</p> <p>The new Parliament includes dozens of&nbsp;οalumni. Former grads&nbsp;from all three campuses were elected from across all three major parties, including Conservative <strong>Tony Clement</strong>&nbsp;(University College, Faculty of Law),&nbsp;Liberals&nbsp;<strong>Bill Blair</strong>&nbsp;(University of Toronto Scarborough) and <strong>Gagan Sikand</strong> (University of Toronto Mississauga) and&nbsp;New Democrat <strong>Murray Rankin</strong>&nbsp;(Faculty of Law).</p> <p>Among them are the new cabinet ministers,&nbsp;taking charge of some impressive portfolios.</p> <p><strong><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Jane-Philpott1-200x200.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left;">Dr. Jane Philpott</strong>:&nbsp;Minister of Health<br> Philpott has a clinical, part-time appointment with the department of family and community medicine at οat the rank of associate professor. In 2012 she completed a Master of Public Health degree at U of T. Philpott founded Give a Day to World AIDS in 2004 which raised more than $4 million to help those affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.</p> <p>She served as chief of the department of family medicine at Markham Stouffville Hospital from 2008 until 2014. Philpott was elected for the first time on Oct. 19 in the Markham-Stouffville riding.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><img alt src="/sites/default/files/mckenna.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left;">Catherine McKenna</strong>: &nbsp;Minister of Environment and Climate Change<br> McKenna attended the University of St. Michael's College at&nbsp;οand graduated&nbsp;in 1994. A&nbsp;former legal adviser and negotiator for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in East Timor, she&nbsp;co-founded Level (previously known as Canadian Lawyers Abroad).</p> <p>McKenna, who has taught at U of T's&nbsp;Munk School of Global Affairs in the past&nbsp;has a degree in international relations and French at οand a master’s degree in international relations at the London School of Economics as well as&nbsp;a law degree from McGill. She was elected for the first time on Oct. 19 in the riding of Ottawa Centre.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Duncan-200x200.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left;">Kirsty Duncan</strong>:&nbsp;Minister of Science<br> Duncan, who earned a BA from University College in 1989, studied geography and anthropology at U of T&nbsp;and earned a PhD in geography at the University of Edinburgh. She has previously taught at the University of Toronto Scarborough&nbsp;and&nbsp;at Royal Roads University.</p> <p>Duncan served on the intergovernmental panel on climate change, an organization that won the 2007 Nobel Prize with Al Gore and&nbsp;wrote a book about the Spanish flu pandemic in 2003. First elected in 2008, she was re-elected in Etobicoke North on Oct. 19.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><img alt src="/sites/default/files/CarolynBennettWEB-200x200.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left;">Dr. Carolyn Bennett</strong>: Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs<br> As a former minister of state for public health, Bennett set up the Public Health Agency of Canada. She obtained her degree in medicine in 1974 and is the author the book <em>Kill or Cure? How Canadians Can Remake their Health Care System</em>.</p> <p>Bennett was president of the medical staff association at Women’s College Hospital and has a clinical adjunct appointment in the&nbsp;department of family and community medicine at U of T, at the rank of assistant professor. First elected in 1997, she was re-elected on Oct. 19 in in the downtown Toronto riding of St. Paul’s.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong><img alt src="/sites/default/files/Dominic-LeBlanc1-200x200.jpg" style="width: 175px; height: 175px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; float: left;">Dominic LeBlanc</strong>:&nbsp;Government House Leader<br> LeBlanc, who holds a BA in&nbsp;political science from οand graduated from&nbsp;Trinity College in&nbsp;1989,&nbsp;is the son of former Liberal cabinet minister and governor general Romeo LeBlanc. He is a lawyer from New Brunswick who served as&nbsp;a special adviser to former Prime Minister Jean Chretien before being elected in Beausejour in 2000. He has been re-elected four times since. He ran for the Liberal leadership in 2008 before bowing out to support <strong>Michael Ignatieff</strong>.</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-11-04-new-cabinet-parliament-hill.jpg</div> </div> Wed, 04 Nov 2015 14:55:46 +0000 sgupta 7411 at ISIS, refugees and resisting nostalgia: experts debate Canada’s foreign policy future at Munk School roundtable /news/isis-refugees-and-resisting-nostalgia-experts-debate-canada%E2%80%99s-foreign-policy-future-munk-school-roun <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">ISIS, refugees and resisting nostalgia: experts debate Canada’s foreign policy future at Munk School roundtable</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-23T11:25:49-04:00" title="Friday, October 23, 2015 - 11:25" class="datetime">Fri, 10/23/2015 - 11:25</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Hugh Segal (centre) and Stephen Toope (right) debate the future of Canada's foreign policy (photo by Johnny Guatto)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/terry-lavender" hreflang="en">Terry Lavender</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Terry Lavender</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/global-lens" hreflang="en">Global Lens</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/university-college" hreflang="en">University College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/munk-school-global-affairs-public-policy" hreflang="en">Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/massey-college" hreflang="en">Massey College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election-2015" hreflang="en">Election 2015</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/canadian-studies" hreflang="en">Canadian Studies</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Three days after Canadians elected a new government, the Canadian Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, the Munk School of Global Affairs and the Canadian studies program at University College hosted a roundtable discussion on the future direction of Canadian foreign policy.</p> <p>Among the participants were Massey College Master <strong>Hugh Segal</strong>, and Munk School of Global Affairs Director <strong>Stephen Toope</strong>.</p> <p>They engaged in a lively and wide-ranging debate on a number of foreign policy topics.</p> <p>Strengthening international partnerships is one of the goals&nbsp;President&nbsp;<strong>Meric Gertler</strong>&nbsp;described in the recently released&nbsp;<a href="http://threepriorities.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Three-Priorities-Discussion-Paper.pdf">Three Priorities: A Discussion Paper</a>.</p> <h2 style="font-size: 19.999px; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/university-toronto-and-three-priorities" target="_blank">Read more about the Three Priorities</a></h2> <div><em>οNews</em> presents an edited and condensed account from the roundtable that explored&nbsp;Canada's need to strengthen global partnerships as well.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div> <hr></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>What should Canada’s role be on the global stage?</strong></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Segal&nbsp;</strong>I hope the new government launches a foreign policy review. It would be a good thing to see what worked in the last 10 years, what didn’t work, what can be improved. I think it’s very important to not be too self-reverential about Canada. Peacekeeping, Mike Pearson – all of that seemed outstanding, compelling, and important to Canadians, but it was never as important outside of Canada. Which is not to say that Mike Pearson didn’t do something that was constructive and helpful and worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize in the Suez conflict, but we shouldn’t assume that it’s important to everyone.</div> <p><strong>Toope&nbsp;</strong>We should really resist nostalgia. I think we have to be realistic about the kind of role we can play. There’s a view in Canada that somehow we’re going to recapture a role I think we never actually played. And furthermore, even if we did, we’re not in the same power position as we were in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. Yes, we were very active participants then, but our role now has to be different because there are many more players who are every bit as important as we are. I’m not talking about Russia or China; I’m talking about Korea and Mexico and South Africa. We have to build alliances with like-minded states around certain types of activities.</p> <p>We can’t be thinking purely in terms of how many refugees Canada is going to accept: 25,000, 50,000 – it’s nothing compared to the 60 million people outside their borders now. We’ve got to think about what’s happening with refugee camps, we’ve got to figure out how to support the government of Jordan, we’ve got to figure out how Turkey is going to survive, these are big questions and I think we have a role to play.</p> <div><strong>Should Justin Trudeau keep his election promise to end air combat against ISIS?</strong></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Segal&nbsp;</strong>When a prime minister campaigns on a promise to end air combat then he’s obliged to do something. Would I have made that similar commitment? No, but I’m not the leader of the Liberal Party and I’m not about to be sworn in as prime minister.</div> <p>I’m kind of hopeful that he will let the present mandate lapse because other things can happen between now and March that could be constructive. If he actually increases Canadian boots on the ground in terms of trainers and special forces to work with Iraqis and Kurds, and maybe some equipment support, I think most Canadians would say we’re doing our share against the forces of ISIS.</p> <p><strong>Toope</strong>&nbsp;I agree. The prime minister should deliver on a promise that was so clearly stated. There are hundreds of thousands, millions of people suffering here. My own view would be that six fighter jets is probably not the best way for Canada to engage. I would push for a deeper commitment and I think one way is by creating humanitarian corridors to allow people to escape from the control of what is an appalling set of people.</p> <div><img alt="Hugh Segal and Tina Park pose for a photo" src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-22-Canadian-Foreign-Policy_embed.jpg" style="width: 684px; height: 500px; margin: 10px;"><em>(Hugh Segal and <strong>Tina Park</strong>, Director of the Canadian Centre for the Responsibility to Protect; photo by Johnny Guatto)&nbsp;</em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>What should the new government’s position be regarding the Middle East?</strong></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Toope</strong>&nbsp;We’ve always been a strong supporter of Israel under every government. We have tended to try at the same time to build linkages with other countries so that at least we’re hearing different perspectives and have the ability to transmit views, to communicate and, from time to time, serve as an interpreter. We can’t do that right now because we have destroyed most of those connections around the region. I would encourage the government to rebuild some of those connections, but from a very clear vantage point that we are strong supporters of Israel.</div> <p><strong>Segal</strong>&nbsp;The one substantive change that we should give serious thought to is to re-open our relationships with Tehran. It does not mean we are approving of any of their internal or foreign policies. It merely means that we should have a window open to them. You can’t do good work in the Middle East, with the Israelis, with the Sunni countries, with the Gulf State allies if you do not have a relationship in Iran.</p> <div><strong>What position should Canada take on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)?</strong></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div><strong>Segal</strong>&nbsp;I think our new young prime minister – who seems very committed on these sorts of issues – would be the perfect guy to say, “Canada is back and one of the things we’re back on is R2P. We care about it, and we’re not prepared to accept the institutional constraints that say it is okay to look away when tens of thousands of people are being killed for no other reason than they’re in the wrong political party, the wrong religion, the wrong race, the wrong tribe. We aren’t prepared to stand for that.” Canada should say to our friends in Australia, in Japan, in South Korea: “Let’s put together an R2P multinational unit where we do diplomatic planning, we do aid planning, we do strategic investment.”</div> <p><strong>Toope&nbsp;</strong>Another area where R2P should be brought into play is in the whole area of global health where Canada has extraordinary resources. If you look in this city alone, we have probably the second-largest cluster of people in global health in North America after Boston and we’re nowhere on the international horizon in global health.</p> <p><em>A full transcript of the roundtable discussion will be posted at the Canadian Centre for the Responsibility to Protect website at <a href="http://www.ccr2p.org">www.ccr2p.org</a></em></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-22-Canadian-Foreign-Policy_roundtable_0.jpg</div> </div> Fri, 23 Oct 2015 15:25:49 +0000 sgupta 7380 at οexperts on what's next for Canada's international reputation /news/u-t-experts-whats-next-canadas-international-reputation <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">οexperts on what's next for Canada's international reputation</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-22T05:11:33-04:00" title="Thursday, October 22, 2015 - 05:11" class="datetime">Thu, 10/22/2015 - 05:11</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Social media and mainstream media were full of images like this one in the days after the Liberals swept into power, with pundits focusing on Justin Trudeau's appearance and image as much as – or more than – his policies (photo by Alex Guibord via flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/noreen-ahmed-ullah" hreflang="en">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/more-news" hreflang="en">More News</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/munk-school-global-affairs-public-policy" hreflang="en">Munk School of Global Affairs &amp; Public Policy</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international-relations" hreflang="en">International Relations</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election-2015" hreflang="en">Election 2015</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Having the world’s media fawning and gawking over Canada’s newly elected prime minister isn’t necessarily a bad thing, says <strong>Hugh Segal</strong>.</p> <p>And that's particularly true&nbsp;at a time when Canada’s international reputation has been called into question, the Master of Massey College and former member of the Senate said in an interview this week.</p> <p>“Any time a modern industrial democracy elects a leader who acquires a star standing around the world very quickly, that is a tremendous plus for Canada,” said Segal. “It’s an instrument he can use because of the interest in his new role as prime minister to shape some perceptions of our foreign policy and our priorities in a way that might not have existed for his predecessor. I think it’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”</p> <p>How Canada can re-assert its influence on the world stage will be up for discussion on Oct. 22 when U of T’s Canadian Centre for the Responsibility to Protect organizes a roundtable featuring Jennifer Welsh, the U.N. Secretary General’s special adviser on the responsibility to protect, along with Professor <strong>Stephen Toope</strong>, director of U of T’s Munk School of Global Affairs, Marius Grinius, former Canadian ambassador to South Korea and permanent representative to the UN and Segal.</p> <p>The event, which will lead discussion on both Canada’s foreign policy and the UN’s responsibility to protect principle, will be held from noon to 2 p.m. at the Munk School of Global Affairs. <a href="http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/round-table-discussion-canadian-foreign-policy-mainstreaming-r2p-tickets-18766053772">Register for the event here</a>.</p> <p>The erosion of Canada’s international reputation was the subject of internal reports by senior Foreign Affairs officials leaked in the final weeks before this week’s election. The reports identified climate change, building stronger democracies and engaging the United Nations as key areas where Canada’s influence has dwindled. And the Harper government was criticized at length for distrust of its foreign service, selling off embassies abroad and for hurting Canada’s reputation by backing military action rather than diplomacy. They called for a post-election focus on improving the country’s image.&nbsp;</p> <p>Along with fixing the country’s economy and uniting the country, that’s one of the critical challenges ahead for Trudeau, said Segal.</p> <p>“I think the prime minister – because of global interest in his election and because of the reputation that the other Prime Minister Trudeau had – has a rare opportunity for Canada to reset international expectations and lay out some compelling priorities which will make it perfectly clear that Canada will be an engaged participant in the critical issues facing our allies and the international community.”&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="photo of Marc Garneau and other astronauts" src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-22-garneau-NASA.jpg" style="width: 350px; height: 277px; margin: 10px; float: right;">As he builds a cabinet, Trudeau must choose a foreign minister. Both Segal, who chaired the Senate’s committees on Foreign Affairs and Terrorism until 2014 and was appointed recently by Harper to co-chair an advisory committee on public service, and Munk School Professor <strong>Robert Bothwell</strong>, who has been vocal in his criticism of Harper’s foreign policy and poor relationship with U.S. President Barack Obama, suggested former astronaut Marc Garneau (<em>at centre of&nbsp;photo by NASA</em>).</p> <p>“I very much hope that Trudeau will pick a foreign minister who is capable of repairing morale and giving new and rational direction to the department,” Bothwell said. “These are housekeeping tasks, perhaps, but if we don’t do them we will have no house to keep. The name of Marc Garneau is frequently mentioned, and in my opinion he would be an excellent choice.”</p> <p>Segal calls for Trudeau to order a review of Canada’s foreign policy “to signal to the world and many groups of Canadians like NGOs that the government is looking for input in a way that could be very instructive.”</p> <p>Both professors point to important meetings and summits ahead: When Trudeau meets with Commonwealth leaders in early November in Malta as they choose a new secretary general, Segal says Trudeau should take a strong position in support of reform and modernization of Commonwealth especially on issues like development, education, rule of law and democracy. En route, he will likely be going through the United Kingdom to pay his respect to the Queen and have some initial discussions with the British Prime Minister to talk about Afghanistan and Iran, and work at building relations.&nbsp;</p> <p>Bothwell says the forthcoming UN Conference on Climate Change in Paris is another opportunity to show change.</p> <p>“It will be a very high profile occasion and an ideal forum for showing that Canada is no longer AWOL from international cooperation,” Bothwell said.</p> <hr> <p>The event will be held at Room 108N at the Munk School of Global Affairs. It is co-sponsored by the Canadian studies program at University College, the international relations program at Trinity College, the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History, the Centre for the Study of Korea at Asian Institute, the Munk School of Global Affairs and the International Relations Society.</p> <p><a href="http://www.eventbrite.ca/e/round-table-discussion-canadian-foreign-policy-mainstreaming-r2p-tickets-18766053772">Registration is required</a>.&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-22-trudeau-guibord-resized.jpg</div> </div> Thu, 22 Oct 2015 09:11:33 +0000 sgupta 7373 at Election 2015: social media highlights of a 78-day campaign /news/election-2015-social-media-highlights-78-day-campaign <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Election 2015: social media highlights of a 78-day campaign</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-20T11:22:46-04:00" title="Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - 11:22" class="datetime">Tue, 10/20/2015 - 11:22</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">One of the images shared widely via social media on election night featured Justin Trudeau's head superimposed on Jose Bautista's body</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/sarah-khan" hreflang="en">Sarah Khan</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Sarah Khan</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/social-media" hreflang="en">Social Media</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/government" hreflang="en">Government</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election-2015" hreflang="en">Election 2015</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election" hreflang="en">Election</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>During its 78-day campaign, the 42nd federal election in Canada dominated conversations at the University of Toronto&nbsp;–along with <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/tags/blue-jays">the Blue Jays</a> and exams.&nbsp;</p> <p>οexperts weighed in with their <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/undergrads-come-together-federal-election-uoftvotes-and-voteposal">analysis of the election campaign strategies,&nbsp;tactics and issues</a>&nbsp;while students&nbsp;took to <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/undergrad-video-series-shares-voices-uoftvotes">video</a> and <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/undergrads-come-together-federal-election-uoftvotes-and-voteposal">social media</a> to urge each other to vote and to&nbsp;share their opinions on election priorities and party platforms.</p> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/tags/election-2015">Read more Election 2015 coverage</a></h2> <p>οstudents were especially engaged in Election 2015, and held <a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/election-2015-u-t-students-vote">strong opinions on election priorities</a> that will affect them the most. During advance polls and on Election Day, thousands of students, staff, faculty members and alumni headed to the polls to cast their ballot, and later gathered to watch the results.</p> <p>Below is a snapshot of the last 78 days at U of T, as seen on social media:</p> <div class="storify"><iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="no" height="750" src="//storify.com/UofT/u-of-t-votes/embed?border=false" width="100%"></iframe><script src="//storify.com/UofT/u-of-t-votes.js?border=false"></script><noscript>[<a href="https://storify.com/UofT/u-of-t-votes" target="_blank">View the story "οVotes" on Storify</a>]</noscript></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-20-Election2015_socialmediahighlights.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 20 Oct 2015 15:22:46 +0000 sgupta 7368 at Election 2015: students watch as red wave rolls across country /news/election-2015-students-watch-red-wave-rolls-across-country <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Election 2015: students watch as red wave rolls across country</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-20T10:08:32-04:00" title="Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - 10:08" class="datetime">Tue, 10/20/2015 - 10:08</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Students gathered to watch the election results roll in at Hart House (photo by Sarah Khan)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/alan-christie" hreflang="en">Alan Christie</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Alan Christie</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/more-news" hreflang="en">More News</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/political-science" hreflang="en">Political Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hart-house" hreflang="en">Hart House</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election-2015" hreflang="en">Election 2015</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">“I personally believe voting should be mandatory,” student says. “It’s that important.”</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Over soft drinks and sushi, οpolitical science students watched the election results roll in at U of T's Hart House. They had a rollicking good time.&nbsp;</p> <p>The decidedly-pro Liberal group watched CBC as the Grits steadily climbed toward a majority government. But they also got a kick out of watching a YouTube version of <em>Last Week with John Oliver</em>, during which the comedian deemed Canada's 78-day election “adorable” and called Prime Minister Stephen Harper “an alien disguised as a human.”</p> <p>The laughing stopped when they turned back to the CBC, and a hushed South Dining Room heard Peter Mansbridge say Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau would be Canada’s next prime minister at 9:40 p.m. Other networks called the Liberal win at the same time.</p> <p><strong>Arjun Gandhi</strong>, a second-year political science student on the executive of U of T's Political Science Association, organized the event, during which he would occasionally call out the score of the Toronto Blue Jays playoff game.&nbsp;</p> <p>Gandhi, who voted Liberal in his Vaughan-Woodbridge riding,&nbsp;said the change in government is about “defining who we are as a country, both domestically and on the world stage.”&nbsp;Harper, Gandhi said, may have been good on the economy but “on social issues we were falling back, things like (the treatment of) aboriginal women and the Niqab issue.”</p> <p>When the Liberals hit 100 seats one student raised her arms in the air, and when they reached the magic number for a majority government – 170 – students clapped as Mansbridge talked about the “red wave” sweeping the country.&nbsp;</p> <p>Downstairs at Hart House, in a more subdued Arbor Room, <strong>Aisha Cuadir</strong> watched the results with a certain sense of bemusement. She had never voted in a Canadian federal election before but, as a dual citizen, voted for Barack Obama for president in 2012, in Florida.</p> <p>The third-year astronomy and physics student voted Liberal in the Rosedale-University riding. She said “Canadian politics are a lot calmer than American. There is less negativity here, not as much slandering of opponents. People stress the positives here.”</p> <p>Sitting at her table was <strong>Eric Shore</strong>, who voted Liberal in his York Centre riding. “I personally believe voting should be mandatory,” he said. &nbsp;“It’s that important.”</p> <p>Like many other students who live off campus, Shore&nbsp;said he wouldn’t be staying late to watch the results.&nbsp;“I have a long commute up to Bathurst and Finch, so I need to get home,” he said.</p> <p><strong>Patrick Laberge</strong> sat with several engineering students who watched both the results and their laptops with equal fervor. Laberge said he voted by mail for a candidate in a Montreal riding, though he wouldn’t say for whom. But he said over the last four years the Canadian economy has been tied to the price of oil, which has hurt the Canadian dollar.</p> <p>Another student, who didn’t want to give her name or say how she voted, simply said, “I’m here because I don’t have a TV&nbsp;at home.”</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-20-election2015-student-viewing-party.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 20 Oct 2015 14:08:32 +0000 sgupta 7367 at Election 2015: what just happened – and what's next for Canada? /news/election-2015-what-just-happened-and-what-happens-next <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Election 2015: what just happened – and what's next for Canada?</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-20T09:02:26-04:00" title="Tuesday, October 20, 2015 - 09:02" class="datetime">Tue, 10/20/2015 - 09:02</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Newly elected Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a campaign rally in Winnipeg on the eve of the election (Photo courtesy Liberal Party of Canada)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/alan-christie" hreflang="en">Alan Christie</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Alan Christie</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/political-science" hreflang="en">Political Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/government" hreflang="en">Government</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election-2015" hreflang="en">Election 2015</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The election of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister could usher in major domestic changes and improve the perception of Canada on the world stage, οProfessor <strong>David Soberman</strong> says.</p> <p><em>οNews </em>interviewed&nbsp;experts from across the university during the federal election campaign, getting their views on the issues, the advertising, polling and strategy leading up to Oct. 19.</p> <h2><a href="http://news.utoronto.ca/tags/election-2015">Read more Election 2015 coverage</a></h2> <p>After the Liberals won a majority government – the first party to jump from third place to first in more than 100 years&nbsp;–&nbsp;four οprofessors offered their views on what lies ahead.&nbsp;</p> <p>Soberman is professor of marketing and the Canadian National Chair of Strategic Marketing at the Rotman School of Management. <strong>Nelson Wiseman</strong> is a professor of political science and director of the Canadian Studies Program. <strong>Chris Cochrane</strong> is a political science professor at οScarborough. <strong>Peter Loewen</strong> is an associate professor of political science.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Soberman:</strong><br> “Of course there will be a change as Trudeau is younger and I think more charismatic than (Stephen) Harper. This will affect our image internationally. In many ways, the change will be similar to how Pierre Trudeau changed the image of Canada compared to the prime ministers who preceded him (Pearson, Diefenbaker and St. Laurent).</p> <p>“I also think that the Liberals will pursue a foreign policy that is less in sync with the U.S. Republican view of the world. This should help our image as much of the world is negatively pre-disposed to the U.S. view.</p> <p>“I think that Trudeau will also adopt a policy that is more progressive and pro-active with regards to the environment and the challenge of global warming. &nbsp;</p> <p>“Finally, I think that the Liberals will continue the Conservatives’ policy with regard to the liberalizing of trade and the lowering of trade barriers. For example, I do not foresee the Liberals implementing a reversal of Canada’s commitment to the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) as would have been the case with an NDP government.”</p> <p>Soberman, an expert on political advertising, said he believes, “the Conservatives’ advertising did not work. In the course of the election, the Conservatives’ advertising did more to help the Liberals than hurt them. The entire ‘just not ready’&nbsp;campaign and ‘nice hair’&nbsp;ads simply did not strike home with the electorate because they were based on Justin Trudeau being a shallow and incompetent leader.</p> <p>“In fact, many predicted prior to the debates that Harper and the other leaders would dissect Trudeau in the debates due to his inability to deal with the complexity of the issues that face a prime minister. This proved to be completely wrong because as we went from one debate to the next, Trudeau proved himself to be competent and articulate (anything but the shallow greenhorn that Conservative ads seemed to claim).”</p> <p>Asked what surprised him during the campaign, Soberman said, “it was the decision by the Liberals to run deficits and jump to the left of the NDP. This was &nbsp;very clever as it clearly differentiated the Liberals from the other two parties. It gave credibility to the Liberal commitment to spend more on infrastructure and it made (Thomas) Mulcair’s commitment to a balanced budget seem incredulous.”</p> <p><strong>Wiseman:</strong><br> “The civil service, especially in foreign affairs, will be happy. It will be a big change because the previous government dismissed the views of the diplomatic corps. What I have seen is that people in the foreign affairs bureaucratic establishment are very keen for Canada to play a more active role behind the scenes. The current government, showing their disgust for the diplomatic corps, hasn’t permitted Canada’s representatives abroad to make speeches unless they are closely vetted or written from the centre (of the PM’s office).”</p> <p>Asked what impact the new government might have on universities, especially funding of scientific research, Wiseman said “it’s too early to tell. The Liberals’ promises are quite vague, and if there is a reversal (from the Conservatives cutbacks on such funding) it will be slow. But I am sure there is great relief in the academic community.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The position of the outgoing government wasn’t simply cutbacks, it just felt that the money going to research should be tied to potential commercial applications and that philosophy is also what was driving a large part of their foreign policy. In some areas, the outgoing government has been innovative and acted in many ways that Canadians can support, including maternal and child health. That speaks well of Canada, however, over-all, there was less money put into foreign aid.</p> <p>“Universities are always going to lobby for more (money). The Liberals have not talked about higher education, it is essentially talking about vital needs – infrastructure, housing, transit – so if there is a ramp up in spending in those areas it is going to be very cautious and slow.”</p> <p><strong>Cochrane:</strong><br> “The circumstances going into this election were not favourable for an incumbent. The Conservatives had been in power for nearly a decade, they were mired in a legal fiasco that reached into the Prime Minister’s Office, and the country was in the midst of a recession, albeit a minor one. At the outset of this election, there was no question that the Conservatives were vulnerable.&nbsp;For many Canadians, this was a good time for a change. &nbsp;</p> <p>“What happened? The final verdict on this question will have to wait. One thing that is clear already, however, is that Justin Trudeau was underestimated, yet again. He was underestimated when he broke into the Liberal party and contested a seat in Papineau, which was by no means a sure thing for the Liberals.&nbsp;He was famously (and perhaps more trivially) underestimated in his boxing match with Patrick Brazeau. He was underestimated in the Liberal leadership campaign when we wondered whether his charisma could substitute for his lack of experience. And he was underestimated at many points throughout this campaign, especially going into the debates. In short order, he’ll be the Prime Minister. It’s safe to say that he’s answered his doubters.”</p> <p><strong>Loewen:</strong><br> “This election will be one for the ages. A politician and a party largely written off (full disclosure: including by me) now possesses a majority government. The Conservative Party is weakened, though not devastated, and the NDP has returned to a rump. How did this happen? There are two important factors: impressions and expectations.&nbsp;</p> <p>Throughout the election, colleagues and I conducted the Local Parliament Project, a daily representative poll of 600-1,200 Canadians. We asked a lot of questions, among them voters’ impressions of the leaders and expectations of the outcome. These two factors alone tell much of the story. First, Justin Trudeau greatly improved his impressions in the latter half of the campaign. At the start, voters were convinced that he was intelligent, empathic and trustworthy. They were not convinced that he was strong. But they were by the end of the campaign. The same growth was not evident for either Mr. Harper or Mr. Mulcair.&nbsp;</p> <p>Second, voters’ expectations about which party was most likely to win their riding and win the most seats coalesced in the final two weeks of the campaign. While substantial confusion reigned throughout most of the campaign, it disappeared in the last two weeks. Then, voters understood that the Liberals had the best chances of winning. The die was cast, and Mr. Mulcair only tumbled from there. The Prime Minister, who relied on that confusion, could do nothing to change these expectations.”&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-20-Election2015_wrap-up.jpg</div> </div> Tue, 20 Oct 2015 13:02:26 +0000 sgupta 7366 at Election 2015: “If you can make it in Brampton, you can make it anywhere,” says expert /news/election-2015-if-you-can-make-it-brampton-you-can-make-it-anywhere-says-expert <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Election 2015: “If you can make it in Brampton, you can make it anywhere,” says expert</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-19T13:15:24-04:00" title="Monday, October 19, 2015 - 13:15" class="datetime">Mon, 10/19/2015 - 13:15</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(photo by Sean_Marshall via flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/noreen-ahmed-ullah" hreflang="en">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/more-news" hreflang="en">More News</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/political-science" hreflang="en">Political Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/government" hreflang="en">Government</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election-2015" hreflang="en">Election 2015</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election" hreflang="en">Election</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Associate Professor Peter Loewen on the significance of the region and its five seats </div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Like much&nbsp;of&nbsp;the GTA, Brampton voted Liberal Monday, turfing out its&nbsp;Conservative representatives.</p> <p>In the weeks leading up to the election,&nbsp;Brampton&nbsp;was a key battleground between Conservatives and Liberals. With five seats up for grabs, Brampton was an important player, says Associate Professor&nbsp;<strong>Peter Loewen</strong>&nbsp;of political science – and with recent history showing anything could happen in Brampton, Loewen was&nbsp;keenly watching the city's races and polling residents in the days leading up to the election.&nbsp;</p> <p>In 2011, Brampton went from a Liberal stronghold to a Conservative sweep. The region&nbsp;had seen&nbsp;its population jump by 21 per cent and visible minorities account for 66 per cent of the residents. With the region's demographics changing rapidly, each Brampton riding had voted Conservative,&nbsp;helping to propel&nbsp;Stephen Harper to a majority government.&nbsp;</p> <p>All of that meant pundits weren't surprised when&nbsp;Liberal leader Justin Trudeau picked Brampton to hold his largest campaign rally earlier this month. Or when the Conservatives ran ads in ethnic media last week claiming Trudeau would put brothels in their neighbourhoods – a move many felt was targeted to immigrant communities such as those in Brampton&nbsp;– and&nbsp;followed that up with a rally in Brampton.&nbsp;</p> <p>Loewen&nbsp;talked to <em>οNews</em> about voter sympathies in the area and why the city played such a&nbsp;significant role.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Why did Brampton matter so much in this election?</strong><br> I think Brampton matters for at least three reasons. First, five seats are up for grabs. All were won by the Tories in the last election. To win government, those were useful pick-ups for the Liberals. To hold government, the Tories needed to protect them.&nbsp;</p> <p>Second, Brampton is a bit of a media centre for a large non-English press that has reach and influence across the GTA.&nbsp;</p> <p>Third, the Brampton constituencies are just the type that each party has tailored its policy packages to win. “If you can make it in Brampton, you can make it anywhere.” &nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Why did Brampton back the Conservatives during the last federal election?</strong><br> On the face of it, it may seem surprising, but it should not. Brampton is exactly the demographic the Tories targeted: middle class, family-oriented, a lot of households often with a sole breadwinner, a distinct sense of being squeezed by taxes. The only factor that might –&nbsp;on the surface –&nbsp;have moved it out of the Tory category is the long-standing poor performance of the Tories among new Canadians. But that assumption fundamentally misunderstands both the Tories increased appeal among all immigrants and their specific appeal among many South Asian groups.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>So what happened Monday night? How did the Liberals take it all in Brampton? Do the ridings vote as one community?</strong><br> There was a uniform swing towards the Liberals. Those who voted NDP last time realized they needed to vote Liberal to remove the Prime Minister. They needed to coordinate, and they did.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-19-brampton-vote.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 19 Oct 2015 17:15:24 +0000 sgupta 7364 at Election 2015: οstudents vote /news/election-2015-u-t-students-vote <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Election 2015: οstudents vote</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-19T10:14:19-04:00" title="Monday, October 19, 2015 - 10:14" class="datetime">Mon, 10/19/2015 - 10:14</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">“I was really excited that I could finally have a say in what goes on,” says Liana Ernszt with fellow first-time voters Arin Klein and Ben Levy (all photos by Johnny Guatto)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/alan-christie" hreflang="en">Alan Christie</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Alan Christie</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/trinity-college" hreflang="en">Trinity College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/undergraduate-students" hreflang="en">Undergraduate Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election-2015" hreflang="en">Election 2015</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election" hreflang="en">Election</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/victoria-college" hreflang="en">Victoria College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/politics" hreflang="en">Politics</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/law" hreflang="en">Law</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/top-stories" hreflang="en">Top Stories</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">“Our future is at stake,” first-time voter says</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When <strong>Bushra Nassab </strong>urged students to vote in a <em>οNews</em> video, it was no empty gesture. She did the deed herself with vigour and determination.&nbsp;</p> <p>“I voted because I truly believe that if I don't vote I absolutely have zero right to complain about policies that I don't like,” Nassab said. “Canada has, unfortunately, taken a pretty bad turn over the past few years –&nbsp;with respect to both its domestic and foreign policies –&nbsp;and it is time that we turn things around.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The Canada we have today is not the Canada I was raised upon, which was defined by tolerance, multiculturalism, and diversity. I want that Canada back and that is why I couldn't wait to vote.”</p> <p>Nassab, 21, is in her fourth year as an undergraduate, studying political science, and peace, conflict and justice studies. She is also president of the Political Science Association on campus.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="photo of Bushra Nassab" src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-19-election-voting-bushra.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 417px; margin: 10px 25px;"></p> <p>“My feelings after voting? Honestly, it felt amazing. Never think that your vote won't count. Every single vote counts and that is the message that I am trying to spread among young voters. If you want to see a change, exercise your right and get out there and vote.” &nbsp;</p> <p>Nassab voted in an advance poll for Liberal candidate Omar Alghabra in her Mississauga Centre riding. But the joy she expressed in voting was echoed by students voting at Hart House Oct. 19.</p> <p><strong>Ben Levy</strong>, <strong>Liana Ernszt</strong> and <strong>Arin Klein</strong> entered the voting station at Hart House together. All are 18; all voting in their first election.</p> <p>Levy, a first-year student studying life sciences at U of T’s Victoria University (pictured below), said voting is important.&nbsp;</p> <p>“I think a lot of people overlook the student vote mainly because students tend not to vote so there is no reason for politicians to do things for students’ benefit,” Levy said. “ If we really make a concerted effort to raise voting rates for students then they would see a dramatic effect.” &nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="photo of Levy with sign" src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-19-election-voting-2015-levy.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 417px; margin: 10px 25px;"></p> <p>Levy voted for Liberal candidate Chrystia Freeland in the newly-created University-Rosedale riding that includes the downtown campus of U of T. Students who live in residence on campus can vote in the riding.&nbsp;</p> <p>“I am really passionate about issues in Canadian politics, and our future is at stake,” Ernszt said. “I was really excited that I could finally have a say in what goes on, or at least be a part of having a say in what goes on.”&nbsp;</p> <p>The first-year philosophy student had considered voting Liberal but&nbsp;after attending a town hall meeting liked what she heard from NDP candidate Jennifer Hollett and voted for her.</p> <p>Levy and Klein watched as Ernszt drew a caricature of movie star Shia LaBeouf and a line saying “just do it” for a photo to be posted &nbsp;on social media.</p> <p><img alt="photo of Ernzt with shia cartonn" src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-19-election-voting-2015-shia.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 413px; margin: 10px 25px;"></p> <p>Klein said, “it is important for all young people to vote because it seems the Conservatives seem to win without the majority of votes, and if a bigger percentage of young people voted we would have a better say in the future.”</p> <p>For eighteen-year-old&nbsp;<strong>Jolee Tung</strong>&nbsp;(pictured below)&nbsp;voting is an important part of being a &nbsp;good citizen.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="photo of Jolee Tung" src="/sites/default/files/2015-10-19-election-voting-2015-tong.jpg" style="width: 625px; height: 417px; margin: 10px 25px;"></p> <p>“People around the world are dying to have the privilege to vote; we are so privileged to be able to do it so easily, to have a say in our country. It would feel wrong not to vote.”</p> <p>A life sciences student at U of T’s Trinity College, Tung voted for Conservative candidate Karim Jivraj . &nbsp;</p> <p>“I believe that Stephen Harper and his party have been doing a pretty good job in managing Canada so far.&nbsp;I am pleased with the direction Canada is going in and its role on the world stage.”</p> <p><strong>Jane Gimian</strong>, a third-year Law Student, said she voted Liberal.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Civic involvement matters, even if individual votes may or may not make a difference,” she said.</p> <p>Gimian said she was impressed with Chyrstia Freeland “but also it was something of a strategic vote, to get rid of a Conservative government.”</p> <p><iframe allowfullscreen frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h3h0qXw82go" width="640"></iframe></p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/Election2015_students-lead.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 19 Oct 2015 14:14:19 +0000 sgupta 7362 at The Blue Jays and the ballot box: did Stroman send you to the polls? /news/blue-jays-and-ballot-box-did-stroman-send-you-polls <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">The Blue Jays and the ballot box: did Stroman send you to the polls?</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>sgupta</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2015-10-19T06:32:05-04:00" title="Monday, October 19, 2015 - 06:32" class="datetime">Mon, 10/19/2015 - 06:32</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(photo by recreation via flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/arthur-kaptainis" hreflang="en">Arthur Kaptainis</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Arthur Kaptainis</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/features" hreflang="en">Features</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/blue-jays" hreflang="en">Blue Jays</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/sports" hreflang="en">Sports</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/innis-college" hreflang="en">Innis College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election-2015" hreflang="en">Election 2015</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/election" hreflang="en">Election</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/utsc" hreflang="en">UTSC</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">οexperts on the connection between politics and sports</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Monday is the day of decision across the country. Will Canadians flock to the polling stations or watch the Toronto Blue Jays battle back from a 2-0 deficit against the Kansas City Royals in the American League Championship Series?</p> <p>These are not mutually exclusive options. Could there be a link between exercising your democratic rights and cheering on the team?</p> <p>“The question of whether the good feelings and community spirit generated by sports victories spill over into the political arena has long been speculated on,” notes Professor <strong>Bruce Kidd</strong>, vice-president and principal of University of Toronto Scarborough.</p> <p>The Progressive Conservatives had hoped the combination of Team Canada’s victory in the 1987 Canada Cup hockey tournament and worldwide approval of the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary would give Canadians confidence that Canada had nothing to fear from international competition, says Kidd. It was a&nbsp;feeling with relevance to the federal election of November 1988, fought substantially on the issue of free trade,&nbsp;which the Tories won with a majority.</p> <p>In 1971, Kidd adds, the Liberal government of Pierre Elliott Trudeau created Sport Canada as a mechanism to boost support for high-performance athletes.&nbsp;The belief was that victories in international competition give Canadians a better sense of themselves.</p> <p>“But of course, how do you measure such a effect?” he asks. “It's almost impossible. So I'm reluctant to say anything about the spillover effect of the Jays.”</p> <p><strong>David Roberts</strong>, a lecturer in urban studies at Innis College, is likewise open to the possibility of a Blue Jays election boost but doubtful that any means exist to subject the phenomenon to scientific analysis.</p> <p>“There are lots of things that drive voter turnout,” he says. “I have read that there have been record numbers of people voting in early polls, even while these polls were on days when the Jays faced elimination.”</p> <p>It was natural, he adds, for political leaders to embrace the Blue Jays – while paradoxically avoiding games to prevent the perception of having jinxed the team in the event of a loss. This alone establishes a connection.</p> <p>It also makes clear that the Blue Jays have become Canada’s team, and not just a phenomenon of interest to Torontonians. Fans from all over western Canada descended on Seattle late in the regular season.</p> <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="270" id="flashObj" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&amp;isUI=1"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=4562701883001&amp;linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsnet.ca%2Fshows%2Ftim-and-sid-show%2Fstroman-vote-early-then-go-crazy-for-your-blue-jays%2F&amp;playerID=2513591680001&amp;playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAGWRwLc~,cRCmKE8Utf5uJwBuioSF4psFywRcHOq4&amp;domain=embed&amp;dynamicStreaming=true"><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com"><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashvars="videoId=4562701883001&amp;linkBaseURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportsnet.ca%2Fshows%2Ftim-and-sid-show%2Fstroman-vote-early-then-go-crazy-for-your-blue-jays%2F&amp;playerID=2513591680001&amp;playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAAGWRwLc~,cRCmKE8Utf5uJwBuioSF4psFywRcHOq4&amp;domain=embed&amp;dynamicStreaming=true" height="270" name="flashObj" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" seamlesstabbing="false" src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1&amp;isUI=1" swliveconnect="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480"></object> <p>Has the animosity often alleged to exist between Toronto and Canadians from other parts of the country been suspended?</p> <p>“These tensions have roots and manifestations that go beyond a shared hope for the success of the Blue Jays,” Roberts says. “Even though the Jays are intimately connected to the city of Toronto, fans from other parts of the country find it easy to disconnect the two.”</p> <p>If there has been one downer in the pennant drive, it was surely the episode in the series with the Texas Rangers in which fans threw beer cans on the field of the Rogers Centre after a controversial decision. An image of a mother and infant in distress was widely disseminated.</p> <p>“Of course this behaviour cannot be condoned,” Roberts says. “But I hope we can place these acts beside the crowds that gathered to celebrate at the intersection of Yonge and Dundas. They took over the streets, but only during red lights, dispersing when traffic needed to pass.</p> <p>“There are lots of ways in which people chose to celebrate victory after what was a bizarre and at times quite tense game. Most did not involve throwing beer. Hopefully those are more formative of the city’s image.”</p> <p>Kidd, an Olympian and gold medalist in the 1962 Commonwealth Games, is philosophical about the beer-throwing outburst (which led the Blue Jays organization to announce a review of the policy of selling beer in cans).</p> <p>“The beer-throwing incident did not reflect well upon the image of Toronto,” he said. “But&nbsp;such incidents are more characteristic of the atmosphere of professional sport than the cities where they occur. I do not think it will do much damage.”&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-picpath field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">picpath</div> <div class="field__item">sites/default/files/2015-10-19-Election2015_baseball-sized.jpg</div> </div> Mon, 19 Oct 2015 10:32:05 +0000 sgupta 7360 at