About the Frontier Centre for Public Policy

WHAT IS THE FRONTIER CENTRE FOR PUBLIC POLICY?

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy is an independent, western Canada based public policy "think tank" with offices in Winnipeg, Regina and Calgary. Our mission is to develop and popularize policy choices that will help Canada's prairie region live up to its vast but unrealized economic potential.

The Centre was founded by a group of individuals interested in making the prairie region a good place to live, work and prosper. Our advisory board includes both experienced community leaders and academic specialists. Charitable status as a registered educational organization was granted by Revenue Canada in April 1999.

WHAT IS A THINK TANK?

Think tanks are an expanding global phenomena and their influence is growing locally and worldwide. As ‘intellectual entrepreneurs’, think tanks are free to explore new ideas and policy initiatives unconstrained by the pressures political parties face to be popular at the polls. Unlike lobby groups, which often represent only the narrow interests of their members, think tanks advance policies for the good of the whole country. For these reasons, think tanks enrich public debate and strengthen democracy.

WHY AN INDEPENDENT THINK TANK?

The Frontier Centre addresses the prairie region's economic and social challenges and actively explores new solutions. The goal of our research and educational outreach is to broaden the scope of discussion in this region's stagnant public policy environment-to create a dialogue about ideas for the future.

Independent think tanks receive their funding exclusively from non-governmental sources. This insulates them from the political pressures that frequently discourage publicly funded research groups from exploring sensitive issues.

WHY DO WE NEED NEW IDEAS?

The Prairies, inherently a rich place, have their own set of unique issues.

Despite its diversified economy and hydro wealth, Manitoba has become ever more dependent on federal transfers and subsidies. Saskatchewan, with perhaps Canada’s richest resource endowment, still struggles with old debates about the proper role of government in the economy. Alberta, meanwhile, moves forward with little imagination, preferring to fund old policy models instead of re-inventing and reforming them.

The vast Prairie region will continue to contain the ingredients for being the most prosperous and successful region in the world: abundant natural resources, high quality public services and hardworking, spirited citizens.

The region has immense potential if it embraces new ideas in public policy. The Frontier Centre seeks to provide these ideas.

WHAT ARE THE FRONTIER CENTRE'S THEMES?

 

HOW DOES THE CENTRE SHARE ITS IDEAS?

The Frontier Centre has achieved high visibility and penetration of the public dialogue through:

• Policy Notes - Short, solutions-oriented articles published regularly in major Canadian newspapers. These one-page commentaries are also sent to 10,000 opinion leaders via fax and e-mail.
• Perspectives - Short policy commentary from the advisory board and invited guests.
• Backgrounders - Longer 5 page length analysis of topical policy issues.
• Policy Series - Longer reports of interest to researchers and opinion leaders.
• Conversations from the Frontier - Brief interviews with policy innovators.
• Meetings with Policy Experts - Short lectures and presentations by trend setting researchers and public officials.
• Charticles - A one page statistical and graphical discussion of prairie policy issues. Also circulated by fax and email.
• Lunch on the Frontier - High-profile, international policy modernizers relate their experiences to invited opinion leaders and decision-makers.
• Breakfast on the Frontier - A forum for regional policy modernizers to relate their experiences to invited opinion leaders and decision-makers.
• Board of Director Roundtables - By invitation-only meetings with top public policy leaders and decision-makers.
• Speeches and public presentations - Frontier Centre staff and advisory board members regularly address varied audiences, including service clubs, university students and business organizations.
• The Frontier Centre Website - The easy- to-navigate electronic repository of all our publications and materials, plus links to top think tanks are other resources, on the Internet at www.fcpp.org
• Frontier Radio Commentary - The Centre's weekly public policy commentary on the Golden West Radio network and 13 stations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. A fresh perspective on everyday issues which is also archived at www.fcpp.org
• Radio and TV- Centre personnel and advisors appear regularly on TV current affairs programs and radio talk shows. These video and audio appearances, including Lunch on the Frontier speeches and Meetings with Policy Experts lectures can be found on the Frontier Channel at www.fcpp.org.

WHAT MAKES US UNIQUE? EFFECTIVE?

Regional Focus - The Centre concentrates on prairie policy issues at all levels of government. Other independent think tanks, like the CD Howe Institute or the Fraser Institute, produce important and useful research, but their attention is focused primarily on national concerns - not local issues in individual prairie provinces.

The Average Person is Our Audience - The Centre strives to popularize important but complicated concepts by writing in a short, topical format that translates them into entertaining reading for a mass audience. Longer, more detailed materials are available for the limited numbers who want to delve deeper into issues.

A Large Audience - Frontier has become a prominent source of new policy thinking on the Prairies and Canada. Our publications receive wide coverage through daily and weekly newspapers and reach an estimated 58 million people on a regular basis (2009). Its material has been profiled in national media as well as prestigious international newspapers. Our state of the art website receives millions of hits monthly.

Economics Focus - The Frontier Centre's work focuses on emerging economic trends. We do not address issues with a controversial moral or political dimension like same sex marriage, abortion, censorship, capital punishment or national unity.

Non-partisan and Independent - The Frontier Centre is non-partisan and non-ideological. Committed to our independence, we neither seek nor accept government funding. By this definition we are the only truly independent think tank on the prairies.

Intellectual Strength / People - Our advisory board includes both experienced public policy innovators and academic specialists.

ENDORSEMENTS BY PUBLIC FIGURES AND COMMUNITY LEADERS

Hon. Duff Roblin, Premier of Manitoba 1958-1967:

"The Frontier Centre for Public Policy challenges conventional thinking and even popular opinion about important issues of public policy. This stimulation to public discussion and debate is a critical public service to an improving society. It deserves hearty applause."

Hon. Janice MacKinnon, Saskatchewan Finance Minister 1993-1997:

"The Frontier Centre is a fantastic forum to discuss innovative policy options, a critical ingredient in sound public policy and forward looking government."

Alvin Rabushka, David and Joan Traitel Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University:

David Seymour, director of the Frontier Center for Public Policy (Saskatchewan office), has written an important paper that should help frame the debate on tax policy for all of Canada’s provinces. "Five Single Rate Tax Thoughts," presents a compelling case that Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and the other provinces would benefit from enacting a low flat tax that has given Alberta the best investment and work climate in Canada.

Gordon Gibson, author and columnist:

"Commentaries which combine the twin virtue of solid public policy and a presentation understandable and persuasive to the ordinary reader..."

Angus Reid, Angus Reid Consultants:

"I'm very impressed by the work of your centre. Keep up the good work..."

Hon. John Messer, former Saskatchewan Agriculture and Transport Minister:

"Saskatchewan and Manitoba need bold ideas to prosper and succeed. The Frontier Centre has a big opportunity to help this process and to challenge conventional thinking."

Jerry L.Gray - I.H. Asper School of Business, The University of Manitoba:

"Innovation in public policy is the one area in which Manitoba could create a sustainable competitive edge that would set us apart from others and create economic growth and social development unparalleled anywhere else in Canada. The Frontier Centre is at the forefront of the issues we need to examine."

Scott Mackay, President, Probe Research Inc.:

"I was very impressed with the calibre of the speaker as well as the array of well recognized civic opinion leaders in attendance."

Geoffrey Hale, Assistant Professor, Political Science, University of Lethbridge:

"Frontier is provocative but rigorous in its analysis of public policy issues."

David Henderson, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University:

"I truly believe that the Frontier Centre, with a larger budget, could have a huge impact on Manitoba politics in the next few years. It has a rare ability to get policy makers to pay attention to its ideas. " 

Stephen Harper, Prime Minister of Canada:

"Over the last decade, the Frontier Centre has grown into a sturdy Manitoba Maple, with solid branches reaching into every major area of public policy research and advocacy and did it with without taking a nickel in government money.  Everyone associated with the organization should be proud of what you have accomplished.   Frontier's ongoing contribution to serious, informed public policy debate in Canada has been outstanding."

FRONTIER RADIO COMMENTARY

Broadcast weekly on 13 radio stations in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta - original and provocative "new ideas" commentary by the policy professionals at the Frontier Centre, the prairie’s only independent think tank. Click here for stations and broadcast times.

YOUR POLICY ORIENTATION?

Where do you fit on the political map? This link will take you to a site that tells you whether you are a liberal, a conservative, a statist, a libertarian, or a centrist.

Find out your policy orientation by clicking here