Former Ontario Premier and Liberal Party Leader Bob Rae will be speaking about the importance of community engagement on tough policy issues at the St. Thomas University Lecture in Public Engagement sponsored by TransCanada. The free public lecture, will take place on Thursday, March 12 at 4 pm in the Kinsella Auditorium.

In his lecture, “Beyond polling and ‘branding’ – why ideas and policy need to matter more in politics,” Rae will identify strategies and messages that build the capacity of advocates to move beyond local issues and more purposefully address system and policy change.

Bob Rae was elected eleven times to the House of Commons and the Ontario legislature between 1978 and 2013.  He was Ontario’s 21st Premier from 1990 to 1995, and served as interim leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2011 to 2013.

He is working now as a lawyer, negotiator, mediator, and arbitrator, with a particular focus on First Nations, aboriginal, and governance issues.  He also teaches at the University of Toronto School of Governance and Public Policy, and is a widely respected commentator.

An author of four books and many studies and reports, Rae is a Privy Councillor, an Officer of the Order of Canada, a member of the Order of Ontario, and has numerous awards and honorary degrees from institutions in Canada and around the world.

“We are very honoured to have Bob Rae deliver a lecture at STU,” said Dawn Russell, President and Vice-Chancellor. “The modern study of communications demands an understanding of the complex ways of engaging citizens rather than simply informing them, and this happens while policy is being developed and implemented. We want our students to gain a deep understanding of policy development and community engagement strategies and hearing about Mr. Rae’s experience will contribute to their understanding.”

The St. Thomas University Lecture in Public Engagementsponsored by TransCanada and is presented in collaboration with the Frank McKenna Centre for Communications and Public Policy.