Canadian Network Created to Promote High Standards of Trust and Political Leadership

A unique partnership among five universities, funded in part by Montreal philanthropist Stephen Jarislowsky, has created what’s believed to be a first-of-its-kind network in Canada to promote ethics and high standards of ethics, trust, and political leadership. In this article, the authors describe the program’s aims and outline past and planned events and activities. The authors conclude with a call to parliamentarians, political staff, and non-partisan parliamentary employees to share ideas with and make requests to the program’s chairs.

Alex Marland, Cristine de Clercy, Susan Dieleman and Michael MacKenzie

Alex Marland, Cristine de Clercy, Susan Dieleman and Michael MacKenzie are Jarislowsky Chairs in Trust and Political Leadership.

How can we nurture better political leadership in Canada? How can we increase the trust that Canadians place in leaders and our democratic system? Where can aspiring political leaders go to get training to prepare them for such important roles? Five universities across Canada are working on the answers to those questions.

Montreal philanthropist Stephen A. Jarislowsky has partnered with five universities across Canada to fund endowed Jarislowsky Chairs in Trust and Political Leadership. The Chairholders are tasked with developing training programs for the next generation of political leaders and nurturing scholarship about democratic leadership and trust. This path-breaking network brings together scholars at smaller to mid-size universities in each region of Canada to connect with students, lifelong learners, politicians, community activists, and the attentive public outside large political centres. The Jarislowsky Foundation’s $10 million donation, matched by partnering universities, has funded the creation of Chairs at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia; Université du Québec à Trois- Rivières in Quebec (UQTR) in collaboration with l’École Nationale d’Administration Publique (ÉNAP); Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario; the University of Lethbridge in Lethbridge, Alberta; and Vancouver Island University, in Nanaimo, British Columbia. As the program’s namesake puts it: “There are schools to train doctors, engineers and lawyers. Why isn’t there customized training for aspiring politicians?”

The Jarislowsky Network is a unique setup. Normally, endowed chairs operate on their own; but the network design represents a purposeful, coordinated effort to promote ethics and fiduciary responsibilities in public officeholders across the country. While there are many institutional challenges to navigate, such as negotiating agreements so that students can seamlessly take courses at each university, senior administrators at each institution ranging from presidents to deans are actively involved in supporting the Network’s objectives.

Since being appointed in mid-2023, the four Chairholders at English-speaking universities—Alex Marland (Acadia), Cristine de Clercy (Trent), Susan Dieleman (Lethbridge) and Michael MacKenzie (Vancouver Island)—have been creating new courses, planning local events, and investigating the intricacies of national programming. A fifth scholar, Stéphane Paquin (UQTR/ ÉNAP) joined the Network in January.

The Chairholders are in the early stages of developing a signature Certificate in Democratic Leadership that will be accessible to students at each institution and beyond. It will provide participants with robust theoretical training in democratic theory and leadership practices, as well as practical experience working with elected representatives, public officials and community activists who are playing leadership roles in public life. The Certificate will feature courses that draw on the expertise of each chairholder as well as courses from a variety of disciplines at each institution. A core introductory course about trust and leadership is envisioned alongside courses on types of leadership, ethical governance, and election campaigning. Students will be required to complete a capstone experiential learning course that ensures that they engage with the broader community.

At Acadia University, students were recently brought on a field trip to visit the constituency offices of MP Kody Blois (Kings—Hants) and MLA Keith Irving (Kings South). New courses are being developed about leadership in Atlantic Canada, leaders, and cabinets in Canada, how to get elected in Canada, and political management.

At Trent University, as of September 2023 students can take select courses towards an Option in Leadership. A new “Leadership and Democracy Lab” course will offer them the chance to learn and practice key political leadership skills within a small-group environment.

At the University of Lethbridge, pedagogical resources are being developed to help students, citizens and practitioners make sense of the role that trust and distrust play in democratic societies. This includes understanding declining trust in institutions and among citizens, along with the rise of extremism.

At Vancouver Island University (VIU), a course on political trust and leadership will be offered in Spring 2024 exploring the roles of trust and distrust in democratic life. Students will examine the theoretical dimensions of leadership, with a focus on what makes leaders and leadership approaches democratic or undemocratic. Other courses in development at VIU include one on “future-regarding” governance and leadership, as well as one on anti-democratic thought, which will explore the arguments for undemocratic responses to pressing challenges such as climate change or budget deficits. The courses will equip future leaders in Canada with the arguments they will need to defend democracy against its critics.

The Chairholders are planning a series of events for 2024 that will engage scholars, politicians, youth, and community members. In Nova Scotia, a leadership workshop for current politicians will be held in Wolfville next summer. In Quebec, a panel on leadership and the media is planned for the Canadian Political Science Association annual conference, to be held in Montreal in June. In Ontario, next year a leadership and learning forum will be held in Peterborough that will bring together people interested in studying, researching, and teaching leadership. The forum will be organized in partnership with Business faculty members, former politicians, and local community leaders. Its focus will be on how to recruit and train tomorrow’s democratic leaders within a context of ethical behaviour and trust. The goal is to bring together young, new, and experienced leaders to exchange ideas and build leadership capacity.

In Alberta, a workshop about extremism will be held at Lethbridge in 2024 that emphasizes how trust and distrust can motivate extremist positions. The Chair will participate in Ethics Bowl Canada, lending support to high school teams in Southern Alberta, to provide opportunities for future public leaders to learn and practice skills in ethics, communication, and critical thinking. In British Columbia, the BC Political Science Association conference will take place May 4-5, 2024, with a theme of trust and leadership, featuring two Jarislowsky Chairs in Trust and Political Leadership as keynote speakers.

Diversity and reaching out to people who might not ordinarily take university courses are important considerations. Financial supports made available by RBC Foundation, Scotiabank and other private donors will increase access and opportunities for marginalized students. The Chairs also plan on developing learning videos that are freely available via social media platforms. The snappy videos will be accessible to anyone who is interested in becoming a political leader or who is keen to hold leaders to high ethical standards.

Finally, on the research front, a book series on democratic leadership in Canada is being organized, which will be supported by a series of public talks.

Four of the Chairs are contributing studies to a collection of new research on “Ethics, Democracy and Political Leadership,” forthcoming in the journal Politics and Governance. They are also applying for an international research grant to study trust and leadership in advanced democracies, including Canada.

The Network is supported by a national advisory council comprised of Gordon Campbell, former Premier of British Columbia, and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom; Pierre Marc Johnson, former Premier of Québec; David Johnston, former Governor General; Frank McKenna, former Premier of New Brunswick; Beverley McLachlin, former Chief Justice of Canada; Anne McLellan, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada; and Murray Sinclair, former Judge and Senator. As well, each university has its own advisory committee that includes outside experts.

The Chairholders are open to ideas and opportunities to collaborate or share knowledge. We would love to hear from parliamentarians, political staff, and employees at Canadian legislatures with suggestions and requests to share knowledge about democratic trust and political leadership.