Canada-US Relations: The Road Ahead
Directors Dinner with Gary Doer and David MacNaughton
The Institute’s annual Directors’ Dinner is a premier event for discussion of major policy issues among Canadian business and thought leaders. This Dinner is our chance to recognize and thank our generous Directors, corporate members, donors and sponsors.
Please follow this link to register or contact events@cdhowe.org to purchase a table.
Early Bird Pricing
Member $199 | Guest $349 | Table of 8 $1,499
Gary Doer, Former Canadian Ambassador to US
Gary Doer was the 23rd Canadian Ambassador to the United States and former Premier of Manitoba.
Mr. Doer won three consecutive elections as Premier of Manitoba. In 2005, he was named by Business Week magazine as one of the top 20 international leaders on climate change. His government introduced balanced budgets during each of his ten years in office. As Premier, he led strategic investments in health care, education and infrastructure.
Mr. Doer was appointed as Canada's Ambassador to the United States in 2009. During his six year tenure, he worked with leaders in both Canada and the US at the state and federal level to ensure Canada's entry into the Trans-Pacific-Partnership and helped to negotiate a presidential permit for the construction of the DetroitWindsor Bridge. Mr. Doer worked to have hydro-electric power recognized as renewable energy in the US and assisted in ushering in a new cooperative approach to regulatory reform. As Canada's chief advocate in the US, Mr. Doer garnered support for harmonizing light vehicle emission standards and, as part of the Beyond the Border Action Plan, was directly involved in the signing of the border preclearance agreement in 2015, which enables the legitimate flow of trade and travel between Canada and the US.
In 2011, the World Affairs Council awarded Mr. Doer its distinguished diplomatic service award. He is currently volunteering as Co-Chair of the Wilson Centre's Canada Institute, based in Washington, DC. He hails from Winnipeg, Manitoba and is married with two daughters.
David MacNaughton, Former Canadian Ambassador to US
Mr. David MacNaughton was appointed as President of Palantir Canada in 2019, where he currently leads the Canadian operations of Palantir Technologies, the Denver-based data integration and analytics software giant.
Prior to his joining Palantir Canada, Mr. MacNaughton was Canada’s Ambassador to the United States of America. He presented his credentials to President Barack Obama on March 3, 2016.
In the 1980s, Mr. MacNaughton transformed the public affairs industry by building an organization that comprised government relations, public opinion research and public relations. After selling his business in 1989, Mr. MacNaughton became President of Canada’s largest government and public relations firm and subsequently North American President of the world’s largest public relations firm. From 1995 until 2003, Mr. MacNaughton was President of Strathshore Financial and was an advisor to one of Canada’s leading investment banks.
Mr. MacNaughton’s public sector experience includes work at both the federal and provincial levels, including as advisor to the Minister at the Departments of Transport, Industry and Foreign Affairs. He was principal secretary to the Premier of Ontario from 2003 to 2005 and the Chairman of StrategyCorp from 2005 until his appointment.
Active in community affairs, Mr. MacNaughton has served on the boards of the North York General Hospital, the Stratford Festival, the National Ski Academy, TV Ontario, the Toronto French School and the Toronto International Film Festival.
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