The Canada Program, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2007, seeks to examine Canadian social, cultural, economic, and political issues in their domestic and international dimensions, and to enhance an understanding of one of the United States’ closest allies and largest trading partners.

Working toward this goal, the program chair—the William Lyon Mackenzie King Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies, appointed annually by various departments and housed at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs—engages students at both graduate and undergraduate levels, faculty from all disciplines, and the greater Harvard community, by teaching courses and by chairing the program’s seminar series.

Founded in 1967, the visiting professorship has developed to include the Canada Seminar and an annual conference related to the research and teachings of the appointed chair.

The Canada Seminar offers presentations by public figures, scholars, artists, and experts in various fields, and provides a forum for the lively exchange of ideas on a wide range of issues. Guest speakers of the Canada Seminar have included former prime ministers Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney, and Jean Chrétien, as well as Hall of Fame hockey player and former Toronto Maple Leaf president Ken Dryden.

Richard Simeon, professor of political science and law at the University of Toronto, is the 2006-2008 William Lyon Mackenzie King Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies. In May 2007, Professor Simeon organized the conference “Managing and Accomodating Multiple Diversities: Recent Experience in the United States and Canada.” Beth A. Simmons, director of the Weatherhead Center, is the program’s faculty chair.

Upcoming Conference

Comparing the Democratic Deficit in Canada and the U.S.: Defining, Measuring, and Fixing

May 8–9, 2008