妻友's MacEachen Institute听has relaunched its flagship speaker series and introduced several new initiatives this fall, expanding its capacity to connect researchers, decision makers, and communities on pressing national and regional issues.听
The Halifax-based policy institute, created in 2015, enters this next chapter under new leadership from Dr. Jerry Bannister, an associate professor at 妻友. 听
Dr. Bannister joined the institute as director in summer 2025 and has led its renewal over the past year, overseeing the appointment of a new external advisory council, hiring of staff, and 鈥� fresh this year 鈥� the naming of a team of research fellows. 听
"As we write the next chapter of the MacEachen Institute, we're grateful to have such strong support across 妻友 and from our community, government, and corporate partners," says Dr. Bannister. "We're excited to pursue new opportunities to research and debate key public policy challenges facing Canada today."
A speaker series reborn
The centre鈥檚 new era swings into high gear next Friday (Sept. 18) with the first of five panels planned for this fall in its popular Policy Matters speaker series, back after a few quiet years.听
Next week鈥檚 event centres on energy policy in Nova Scotia, with some of Atlantic Canada鈥檚 top experts in the field coming together to discuss offshore wind, the oil crisis, future technologies, and more. 听 听
A file photo of a Policy Matters panel on Indigenous child welfare in 2019.
The discussion, free and open to all with a ticket reservation, will be hosted by The PIER on the Halifax waterfront. A livestream will also be available. 听听
Other panels lined up for this fall include:听
- Data Sovereignty and Low-Earth Orbit Satellites (Oct. 16) examines the unexpected costs of the space race.
听 - Cannabis Coverage (Oct. 23) looks at media framing of Indigenous treaty rights in today's policy environment. 听
- The Broken System (Nov. 13) investigates challenges in child and youth justice reform. 听
- The Atlantic Economic Panel Report (Nov. 27) discusses policymaking in a time of crisis.听
Learn more and reserve your free tickets here.听
Bridging academia and public policy
This fall also brings the launch of the MacEachen Paper Series, another avenue by which the institute aims to spark dialogue and inspire work on research-driven policy for Atlantic Canada and beyond.听
The series will put the most current and up-to-date research in front of policymakers and, conversely, provide a forum for policymakers to present the pressing issues on their plates.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 about opening lines of communication and getting experts talking," says Hilary Doda, project coordinator at the centre. 听
The series will feature discussion papers, long-form briefing notes, or pre-publication works-in-progress. Authors will include the institute鈥檚 new research fellows, community practitioners, policy professionals, and an in-house team of research assistants, among others.听
Clockwise from top left to bottom right: Alex MacIsaac, Trina Roache, Dr. Larry Hughes, Dr. Claudine Bonner, and听Zia Zaman, new MacEachen Institute research fellows.
"Something we鈥檝e heard on multiple occasions is how difficult it has become to access academic research from outside the university system, and the impact it has on policy development,鈥� says Doda. 鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping to help change that.鈥澨�
One paper planned for this fall 鈥� based on research from the centre鈥檚 in-house research team 鈥� explores mainstream and social-media reactions to the 2025 Nova Scotia wildfires and communication patterns surrounding public emergencies. 听
Learn more about the series and the institute鈥檚 new research fellows听
Building the radical centre听
These new initiatives showcase how the MacEachen Institute 鈥� now settling into its second decade 鈥� is broadening and deepening the scope of its work in the spirit of Allan J. MacEachen, its namesake.听
And it does so outside the 鈥渂urn it all down鈥� ethos that鈥檚 all too common on the left and right these days, says Dr. Bannister. 听
"We are committed to giving voice to the 'radical centre' of Canadian politics,鈥� he says.听
Teresa Marques during a Friends of the MacEachen Dinner and Relaunch this past April in Halifax. (Kelly Clark Fotography)
It鈥檚 a message that was mirrored by Teresa Marques, president and CEO of the Rideau Hall Foundation and one of the members of the institute鈥檚 external advisory council, during a MacEachen event in Halifax this past spring.听
鈥淭he MacEachen Institute stewards something increasingly rare and valuable: multi-partisan engagement,鈥� she told the crowd. 鈥淣ot neutrality for its own sake 鈥� but a commitment to creating space where Canadians can engage without immediately being sorted into sides."