Public Policy Forum

Canadian think tank

The Public Policy Forum

Abbreviation| PPF
Formation| 1987; 38 years ago (1987)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Type| Public policy think tank
Headquarters| Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Key people

| Inez Jabalpurwala
President & CEO
Staff| 31 (2021)
Website| ppforum.ca

The Public Policy Forum (PPF) is an independent, non-profit Canadian think tank for public-private dialogue. The organization's stated vision is "good policy for a better Canada, where everyone has an opportunity to flourish individually and together"[1]

The Forum was founded in 1987 by Shelly (Sheldon) Ehrenworth, Geoff Poapst, Max B.E. Clarkson and a group of public and private sector leaders. The inaugural board meeting took place in Toronto, where members endorsed what became the Forum's credo: that the business of government is too important to leave in the hands of government alone.

In its early years, the Forum brought together leaders from business, the trade union movement, academe and the not-for-profit sector for meetings in cities across Canada. The idea was to share perspectives on public sector management questions and discuss ways to build a more collaborative approach to policy making.

The PPF has grown to more than 200 members from business, federal and provincial governments, academia, organized labour and the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors.[1][2]

Its current president and CEO is Inez Jabalpurwala.[3]

## Activities

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The PPF functions primarily as an independent, non-partisan facilitator of multi-sector dialogue.

### Convening

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In conjunction with members and partners from all sectors, the PPF convenes dialogues aimed at producing actionable outcomes in key policy areas, such as: innovation, public engagement, public service and governance.[4][5]

### Research

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The PPF regularly produces and publishes research and reports in areas related to its policy dialogues. The Forum also conducts original research in areas such as public service innovation, government leadership, and media.[6]

### Annual Events & Awards

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Throughout the year the PPF hosts gatherings of senior leadership from all sectors to celebrate excellence in public policy leadership. Four events run annually across Canada:

* The Testimonial Dinner (Toronto, April)
* The Gordon Osbaldeston Lecture (Ottawa, November)
* The Western Dinner
* Atlantic Dinner & Awards

Since 1988 the Testimonial Dinner Awards pay tribute to distinguished Canadians who have made an outstanding contribution to the quality of public policy and public management. As of 1992 the Hyman Solomon Award is giving to an outstanding journalist and in 2005 the Emerging Leaders Award was introduced.[7][8] These Testimonial Dinner Awards are adjudicated by the PPF, based upon submissions by member organizations.

Year  | #  | Testimonial Dinner Award  | Hyman Solomon Award  | Emerging Leaders Award

|
|
|
|

2025  | 38  | Anil Arora, Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Chief Crystal Smith, Marc-André Blanchard | Steve Paikin | Alfred Burgesson
2024  | 37  | Jayna Hefford, Janice Charette, Murad Al-Katib, Jean Paul Gladu, Marc Garneau[9] | Paul Wells | Raven Lacerte
2023  | 36  | Harold Calla, John Risley, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Janice Stein, the Hon. Lisa Raitt[9] | Stephanie Nolen | Naila Moloo
2022  | 35  | The Hon. John Manley, Clarissa Desjardins, Deepa Mehta, Chief Terrance Paul[9] | Mark MacKinnon | Autumn Peltier
2021  | 34  | (Awards postponed to April 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic)  |  |
2020  | 33  | Elyse Allan, Sen. Peter Harder, Anne McLellan, Sen. Murray Sinclair | Rob Russo  | Shingai Manjengwa
2019  | 32  | Rona Ambrose, Alan Bernstein, George A. Cope, Pierre-Marc Johnson, Farah Mohamed | Karyn Pugliese | Maayan Ziv
2018  | 31  | Mark Carney, The Right Hon. Beverley McLachlin, Michael Donovan, Mary Walsh, Richard Dicerni  | Francine Pelletier | Caitlin Tolley
2017  | 30  | Louise Arbour, Yaprak Baltacıoğlu, Dominic Barton, Johann Koss, Margaret MacMillan, Naheed Nenshi (30th Anniversary Event)[10] | —  | Alika Lafontaine (Indigenous Emerging Leader)
2016  | 29  | Francoise Bertrand, Jack Mintz, Robert Prichard, Wayne Wouters | Peter Mansbridge | Taylor Owen
2015  | 28  | Ed Clark, Peter Herrndorf, Roberta Jamieson, Michael Sabia | Serge Chapleau and Aislin (Terry Mosher)[11] | Hannah Godefa
2014  | 27  | Annette Verschuren, Mary Simon, Sheila Fraser, Heather Munroe-Blum | Susan Delacourt[12] | Erin Freeland Ballantyne
2013  | 26  | Honouring former Clerks of the Privy Council of Canada: Kevin Lynch, Alex Himelfarb, Mel Cappe, Jocelyne Bourgon, Paul Tellier | —  | —
2012  | 25  | Honouring former Prime Ministers of Canada:[13][14] The Right Hons. Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Joseph Clark, Paul Martin, Brian Mulroney, John Turner | —  | —
2011  | 24  | William G. Davis, Gordon Nixon, Monique F. Leroux, Jim Stanford | André Picard  | Victor T. Thomas
2010  | 23  | Tony Dean, Phil Fontaine, Preston Manning, Carole Taylor | Bernard Derome | Gabriel Bran Lopez
2009  | 22  | Jim Balsillie, Mike Lazaridis, L. Jacques Ménard, Georgina Steinsky-Schwartz  | Craig Oliver | Sara Ehrhardt
2008  | 21  | David A. Dodge, Gerri Sinclair, Sheila Watt-Cloutier | Alain Dubuc | Peter MacLeod
2007  | 20  | 20th Anniversary Event (no awards given)  | Eric Reguly | Parker Mitchell and George Roter
2006  | 19  | Georges Erasmus, Louise Frechette, Bob Rae | Chantal Hébert | Alison Loat and Andrew Medd
2005  | 18  | Monique Bégin, Bob White, Michael Wilson | Don Newman | Taylor Gunn
2004  | 17  | Rita Burak, Denis Desautels, Roy Romanow, Allan Shaw  | Mary Janigan  | —
2003  | 16  | Guy Colombe, Purdy Crawford, Henry Friesen, Chaviva Hosek, Don Mazankowski | Jim Travers | —
2002  | 15  | Nellie Cournoyea, Pierre Lortie, Monica Patten, Milton Wong | Edward Greenspon | —
2001  | 14  | Al Hatton, Hon. Peter Lougheed, Eric Newell, Manon Vennat  | Madeleine Drohan  | —
2000  | 13  | Allan Blakeney, Raymond Garneau, Margaret Norrie McCain, Lynton "Red" Wilson | Bruce Little  | —
1999  | 12  | Jean Bernard, Thomas Edward Kierans, Donald Savoie, Thomas Shoyama | Jim Meek  | —
1998  | 11  | Jim Gray, Gaetan Lussier, Jean Pigott, Hon. Gordon Robertson  | Vaugn Palmer  | —
1997  | 10  | Sheldon Ehrenworth (10th Anniversary Event)  | Claude Picher  | —
1996  | 9  | A.W. (Al) Johnson, Guylaine Saucier, James D. Fleck  | Jeffrey Simpson | —
1995  | 8  | Jean-Claude Delorme, Claire Morris, Bill Blundell, Leo Gérard  | Jason Moscovitz  | —
1994  | 7  | Allan Taylor, Louise Roy, Reg Basken, Bruce Rawson  | Andrew Coyne | —
1993  | 6  | Bertin Nadeau, Mickey Cohen, Judith Maxwell, James McCambly  | Giles Gherson | —
1992  | 5  | Guy Saint-Pierre, Chris Evans, Huguette Labelle, Arden Haynes  | Graham Fraser | —
1991  | 4  | Trevor Eyton, Claude Castonguay, Sylvia Ostry, Jack Munro  | —  | —
1990  | 3  | Gordon Osbaldeston, Edward Stewart, Gérard Docquier, Michel Bélanger  | —  | —
1989  | 2  | Arthur Kroeger, Robert Carman, David Golden, Jean de Grandpré  | —  | —
1988  | 1  | Allen Lambert, Robert Bryce, Ted Newall, Paul Tellier | —  | —

## References

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1. ^ a b "About". Public Policy Forum.
2. ^ "Membership Booklet (2016)" (PDF).
3. ^ "PPF Team". Public Policy Forum. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
4. ^ "Sell immigration as a driver of economic growth, minister urges Liberals, businesses | Toronto Star". thestar.com. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
5. ^ "Naylor report lays the groundwork to renew basic research in Canada | University Affairs". University Affairs. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
6. ^ "What's the public interest in the future of Canadian media?: Public Editor | Toronto Star". thestar.com. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
7. ^ "Annual Testimonial Dinner & Awards". Public Policy Forum.
8. ^ "Past Award Recipients | Public Policy Forum". www.ppforum.ca. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
9. ^ a b c "Testimonial Dinner Award | National". Public Policy Forum. Retrieved 2025-04-07.
10. ^ "Terence Corcoran: I (barely) survived a night inside the Liberal party's undrained Public Policy swamp". Financial Post. 2017-04-25. Retrieved 2017-07-30.
11. ^ "Aislin, Chapleau win Hyman Soloman Journalism Award". Montreal Gazette. 2015-03-03. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
12. ^ "Star journalist Susan Delacourt wins Hyman Solomon Award | Toronto Star". thestar.com. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
13. ^ "Who Has Been Canada's Best Prime Minister?". The Huffington Post. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 2017-04-15.
14. ^ "Brian Mulroney is back". Macleans.ca. 2013-01-21. Retrieved 2017-04-15.

## External links

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* Official website

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF

National|

* United States