Canada-US Relations: The Road Ahead
Directors Dinner with former ambassadors Kelly Craft, Gary Doer and David MacNaughton
Sponsored by:
No one is better placed to offer a substantive, ‘behind-the-curtains’ perspective on the present and future of the Canada-US relationship than our panel of three former ambassadors. Join us at the Fairmont Royal York on Wednesday, June 5th, an evening not to be missed.
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
Ambassador Kelly Craft, former US Ambassador to Canada and the United Nations
Kelly Craft was US ambassador to the United Nations on from September 2019 to January 2021. There, she worked to secure humanitarian assistance for the millions of refugees from Syria, South Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen. She also negotiated the resolutions of old and new conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and the Caucasus, and was part of the implementation of the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. She fought against anti-Israel bias at the United Nations and continually sought opportunities to strengthen ties between the United States and Israel.
Prior to the UN, Ambassador Craft served as Ambassador to Canada, appointed in 2017. During that time, she worked through the complex revisiting of the NAFTA treaty.
Ambassador Craft has served on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees and co-founded the Morehead State University Craft Academy for Excellence in Science and Mathematics. Ambassador Craft served on numerous boards including the Advancing American Freedom advisory board. Her position as ambassador to Canada was a perfect fit for her service on the Canadian American Business Council. She currently serves on the board of directors for the Institute for the Study of War, and joined the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee as a Community Advisor in February.
Ambassador Craft is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and holds an Honorary Doctorate from Morehead State University. She and her husband, Joe share six children and 12 grandchildren.
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 10 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 Gordie Howe Bridge between Windsor and Detroit. 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 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, 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 Canadian 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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