Beyond Admiring the Problem: Solutions for a Stronger Canada
On October 7, 2026, the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy and the Confederation Centre’s Palmer Institute for Canadian Leadership co-hosted Beyond Admiring the Problem: Solutions for a Stronger Canada, a half-day public forum focused on finding practical pathways to greater Canadian resilience, economic competitiveness and unity. The event brought together former first ministers, senior military leadership, national business figures and leading political commentators for a series of panels before an audience of 100 fellow citizens in Calgary.
Each panellist pitched one concrete idea to strengthen Canada in ten minutes and the thirteen ideas that follow emerged from their presentations and the ensuing exchanges with the audience. They offer a set of practical starting points for building a stronger country, organized under three priorities: Better Governance, Getting Things Done, and Strengthening Sovereignty. Remarkably, despite no prior coordination between the speakers, one cross-cutting theme emerged for building a stronger country: Canadians need to understand one another better.
The partnership behind this forum reflects this theme in both its origin and its purpose. Both the School and Institute were made possible through the generosity of the Palmer Family. Bringing the two institutions together in Calgary built on the family’s journey from Prince Edward Island to Alberta and gave expression to the power of the enduring personal relationships that traverse and bind this country. Our collaboration honoured the late Jim Palmer’s legacy by putting into practice the national connection he championed throughout his life. While marking the Palmer Institute’s first new and off-island event, the partnership also continued a long tradition of east-west collaboration at the Confederation Centre. Opened in 1964 on the centenary of the Charlottetown Conference, a living memorial to the country’s founding was the brainchild of an Albertan, businessman Eric Harvie, and an Islander, academic Frank MacKinnon. Their shared conviction that Canada is stronger when its people and regions are connected remains a fitting foundation for bringing Canadians together to consider the country’s future.
By convening in Calgary during a period of debate about Alberta’s place in Confederation, we sought to affirm the strength of the relationships that bind Canadians and create space to work through the challenges we share. The ideas collected here are offered in that spirit: as practical proposals to discuss, develop and act upon in building a stronger Canada, coast to coast to coast.