Canada-US Relations: The Road Ahead
Directors Dinner with Ambassador Kelly Craft, Gary Doer and David MacNaughton
Sponsored by:
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
Ambassador Kelly Craft, former US Ambassador to Canada and the United Nations
Ambassador Kelly Craft was sworn in as the Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations on September 10, 2019 and held the position until January 2021. While leading the United States Mission to the United Nations, Ambassador Craft promoted peace, human rights, and human dignity for people around the globe. She worked tirelessly to secure lifesaving humanitarian assistance for the millions of refugees from Syria, South Sudan, Venezuela, and Yemen. Ambassador Craft also negotiated the resolutions of old and new conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, and the Caucasus, while promoting democracy, religious freedoms, and the protection of minorities in China, Iran, Myanmar, and other parts of the world.
The highest distinction of Ambassador Craft’s service to our country was the implementation of the historic and unprecedented Abraham Accords - the most significant turning point in the Middle East peace process in fifty years. The Accords normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. She fought daily against anti-Israel bias at the United Nations and continually sought opportunities to strengthen ties between the United States and Israel socially, economically, and diplomatically.
Ambassador Craft served as the United States Ambassador to Canada from October 2017 until assumption of her USUN role in 2019. During her time as Ambassador, she worked through the complex revisiting of the NAFTA treaty, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement or USMCA. This agreement was notable not only for its economic magnitude but also for its cutting-edge labor laws that protected the dignity of workers in all three countries.
With a deep commitment to education, 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. This organization promotes and defends the successful policies of recent years that yielded unprecedented prosperity at home and restored America’s strength abroad, while elevating traditional American values. Her position as ambassador to Canada was a perfect fit for her service on the Canadian American Business Council, promoting the relationship between Canada and the United States.
The Ambassador currently serves on the board of directors for the Institute for the Study of War, supporting real-time, objective, non-partisan open-source analysis of threats to vital American national interests and values, including Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the Chinese threat to Taiwan’s autonomy. Since February 2024, Ambassador Craft has served on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees’ Investment Committee as a Community Advisor member appointment. With Ambassador Craft’s expertise and experience in international affairs, she continues to speak at international forums including the Munich Security Conference, Doha Forum, and the GZero Japan Summit. She is a staunch defender of Taiwan and was honored to speak at the Ketagalan Forum emphasizing the importance of regional security issues in the Indo-Pacific. In 2023, Ambassador Craft led the United States delegation to Taipei for an audience with President Tsai.
Upon leaving her official post, the Chinese government imposed lifetime sanctions prohibiting Ambassador Craft from travel to and business with China, Hong Kong, and Macao. In January 2024, Ambassador Craft and Mr. Craft were chosen by the Republican National Committee to lead the Presidential Trust, which raises funds for the eventual 2024 Republican Nominee for President and Republican candidates for the United States Congress and the United States Senate.
Ambassador Craft is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and holds an Honorary Doctorate from Morehead State University. She and her husband, Joe Craft, who is also a native Kentuckian, share six children and twelve 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 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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