Institute for Canadian Citizenship

The Institute for Canadian Citizenship was founded by the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson in 2005 as her legacy project at the conclusion of her mandate as Canada's 26th Governor General.

The Institute for Canadian Citizenship CREATES projects that generate discussion and understanding of the rights and responsibilities associated with Canadian citizenship and that bring together new and established Canadians.

The objectives of the Institute are: to create a community of new Canadians that is more informed AbOUT Canada - its history, culture and values - more engaged in Canadian society, and more committed to "giving back" to their local communities and to the country as a whole; to foster a national conversation on the significance of citizenship and to increase the awareness and understanding of the importance of citizenship in the minds of all Canadians; and to encourage all citizens to participate actively in welcoming new Canadians into our society.

Programs

Citizenship Committees: More than 30 Citizenship Committees across Canada promote citizenship in their own communities and organize enriched citizenship ceremonies wherein new Canadians engage with community leaders at roundtable discussions before they are sworn in.

Cultural Access Pass: The Cultural Access Pass is a program that enables new citizens to become more familiar with Canadian culture by giving new citizens complimentary access to prominent cultural institutions across Canada.

LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture Series: Since 2000, this program has been Canada's premier lecture series on issues concerning the public good. Organized in partnership with the Dominion Institute, the lecture includes a sustained public conversation, as well as book and press publications and national television and radio partnerships, all in both official languages.

Research, Lectures, Public Policy: The Institute seeks to engage in collaborative partnerships with other like-minded organizations to gather research and cooperate on joint efforts that will make our country stronger by ensuring that new Canadians are fully integrated as committed and contributing members of Canadian society, and that the larger community of established Canadians is fully engaged in this process.

The Institute was granted letters patent as a national, non-profit corporation on October 5, 2005 with a six-member Board of Directors which Mme. Clarkson co-chairs with essayist and novelist John Ralston Saul.