The Collapse of the Laurentian Consensus - Video

[JohnyCanuck]

John Ibbitson, Ottawa bureau chief for The Globe and Mail, delivers a lecture on The Collapse of the Laurentian Consensus and the Rise of Ontario as a Pacific Province. This lecture was produced in collaboration with the Literary Review of Canada.

Published on: December 09, 2011 | Length: 53:21 |

John Ibbitson:

The voters certainly did not think of the last federal election as The Most Important Ever. The turnout was typically dismal. And yet I believe the election was one of the most significant in Canada’s history, because it signalled the eclipse of the Laurentian Consensus, and Ontario’s transformation into a Pacific province.

This may sound odd. You might never have heard of the Laurentian Consensus, making it difficult either to mourn or celebrate its passing. And Ontario a Pacific province? Was there an earthquake?

Today, I would like to tell you what the Laurentian Consensus was, and what happened to it. I will explain the shift of Ontario’s axis from Europe to Asia. And I will attempt to predict what this means for our nation, for its values, for its future.

http://ww3.tvo.org/video/169387/john-ibbitson-collapse-laurentian-consensus

Alternate link with audio only: http://dailysplice.com/directory/Big-Ideas-podcast/episode-892410#