About us

Mission

The mission of the Banff Forum is to bring together young leaders in an informal setting to discuss emerging ideas, helping to reinvigorate public debate, and improve the lives of Canadians.

 

What is the Banff Forum?

The Banff Forum is an annual retreat held in October, changing in venue between different parts of Canada and Banff. It assembles, in an informal setting, 100 or so of the country's emerging leaders, typically first participating in their thirties, drawn from the private, public, academic and non-profit sectors. The Forum focuses on topics of international and national importance, with each year's programme having a different focus area.

The Ottawa Citizen has described the Banff Forum as "the best annual colloquy on contemporary issues in Canada, attracting fine minds and a galaxy of stars in law, medicine, business, politics, government, academe, journalism, and the voluntary sector. For the quality of those who attend and what they learn and whom they meet, this has become Canada's Renaissance Weekend, the dazzling confabulation Bill and Hilary Clinton organized every year before they went to the White House."

The Banff Forum has been privileged to host world-class speakers since its inception in 2002. Just a selection of past speakers, with past or current titles, includes:

• Martin Baily
  Chairman, US President's Council of Economic Advisors (1998-2001)
• Sir Michael Barber
  Head of Policy Delivery Unit, 10 Downing Street, United Kingdom
• John Kim Bell
  Conductor; founder of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation
• James Blanchard
  US Ambassador to Canada; Governor of Michigan; and Congressman
• Ian Cameron
  Producer of ABC News Tonight with Peter Jennings
• Nelson Cunningham
  Managing Partner, McLarty Associates; Deputy Chief of Staff, The White House
• Senator Michael Fortier
  Senate of Canada
• Ed Greenspon
  Editor-in-Chief, The Globe and Mail
• Bob Kocher
  Special Assistant to President Barack Obama, National Economic Council
• Justice Harry LaForme
  Justice of the Ontario Court of Appeal
• Bernard Lord
  Premier of New Brunswick
• Hon. Pierre Pettigrew
  Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada
• Susan Rice
  U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
• Omar Samad
  Ambassador of Afghanistan to Canada
• Rory Stewart
  Chief Executive, The Turquoise Mountain Foundation
• Jennifer Welsh
  Professor at the University of Oxford and author of At Home in the World
• Ken Wiwa
  Globe and Mail columnist, author and special advisor to the President of Nigeria
   

A number of leading Canadian and international businesses, including Alcan, Bombardier, Bell Canada, Pfizer, Enbridge, Power Corporation and TD Bank Financial Group, have provided generous financial support over the years. The Forum also receives support from leading Canadian professional service firms in Law, Consultancy, and Accountancy. As a matter of Policy, the Banff Forum does not accept funding from any government.

 

Comments from past participants and speakers

“Excellent all around. Just the oration ability of your panellists inspires us to develop more clarity in our thinking and how we translate that into discussion and debate.”

“A provocative discussion that produced positive tension and good debates.”

“Perfect, provocative, insightful, entertaining.”

“Great panel! Congrats on attracting such articulate, high-profile panelists. They very effectively helped develop my own thinking on this critical issue.”

Anonymous feedback from 2008 participants

“[The Banff Forum is]…the best annual colloquy on contemporary issues in Canada, attracting fine minds and a galaxy of stars in law, medicine, business, politics, government, academe, journalism, and the voluntary sector. For the quality of those who attend and what they learn and whom they meet, this has become Canada's Renaissance Weekend, the dazzling confabulation Bill and Hilary Clinton organized every year before they went to the White House.”

Andrew Cohen
Columnist, The Ottawa Citizen
Professor of International Affairs, Carleton University

“Congratulations on a marvelous forum. You have created something that has clearly already become a vital tradition. As the years go by, and this group of talented people goes on to run Canada's private and public sectors - and I have no doubt many of them will do so - I look forward to saying 'I first met ___ among the autumn leaves in Banff.'”

Nelson Cunningham
Managing Partner, McLarty Associates

“The dialogue at Banff Forum inspired me to engage more actively in public life as a participant rather than an observer. I’m still not sure I’ve entirely forgiven those people for motivating me to give up my cushy academic life.”

Matthew Mendelsohn
Then Deputy Minister, Intergovernmental Affairs and Democratic Renewal, Government of Ontario, On leave from Queen’s University, Faculty of Political Studies