Public Policy Forum
The Public Policy Forum is an independent, non-profit Canadian think tank for public-private dialogue. The organization's purpose is to connect diverse participants in the policymaking process and to work with them to inform policy discussions. The PPF is a registered charity in Canada.
Its current president and CEO is Inez Jabalpurwala who manages a staff of approximately 30.
History
The Forum was founded in 1987 by Shelly Ehrenworth, Geoff Poapst, Max B.E. Clarkson and a group of public and private sector leaders in Toronto. 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 since grown to include about 200 organizations from business, federal and provincial governments, academia, organized labour and the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors.
Governance
The PPF is a registered charity that is governed by a board of approximately 20 directors. The board is chaired by André Beaulieu.Activities
The PPF functions primarily as an independent, non-partisan facilitator of multi-sector dialogue.Convening
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.Research
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.Annual Awards
- Testimonial Dinner Award to honour distinguished Canadians who have made an outstanding contribution to the quality of public policy and public management
- Hyman Solomon Award to honour an outstanding Canadian journalist
- Emerging Leader Award to recognize a young Canadian who personifies leadership in public policy and civic discourse
- Frank McKenna Award, Atlantic Canada
- Peter Lougheed Award, Western Canada
| Year | # | Testimonial Dinner Award | Hyman Solomon Award | Emerging Leader 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 | Paul Wells | Raven Lacerte |
| 2023 | 36 | Harold Calla, John Risley, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, Janice Stein, the Hon. Lisa Raitt | Stephanie Nolen | Naila Moloo |
| 2022 | 35 | The Hon. John Manley, Clarissa Desjardins, Deepa Mehta, Chief Terrance Paul | Mark MacKinnon | Autumn Peltier |
| 2021 | 34 | |||
| 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 | — | Alika Lafontaine |
| 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 | Hannah Godefa |
| 2014 | 27 | Annette Verschuren, Mary Simon, Sheila Fraser, Heather Munroe-Blum | Susan Delacourt | 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: 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 | 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 | Claude Picher | — |
| 1996 | 9 | A.W. 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 | — | — |