Over the past decade, trust in our institutions has declined – from public institutions like the courts and legislatures to non-state institutions like families, churches, unions, and corporations. This year, we want to understand the causes of this decline while exchanging our best ideas on how to rebuild trust.

At Cardus, we believe in a hopeful future. This animates our confidence that institutions can be strengthened and trust can be rebuilt. We want to spark the public imagination with ideas about how we can renew our institutions.

Cardus Exchange Sessions:

• Session I: Public Attitudes toward Institutions | Wednesday, April 9 – 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM
• Session II: Has Liberalism Destroyed Institutions? | Thursday, April 10 – 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM
• Session III: Keynote – Rebuilding Trust in Government | Thursday, April 10 – 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM
• Session IV: Marriage as a Foundational Institution | Friday, April 11 – 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM

Cardus in Conversation: 

• Conversation I: Trust in Healthcare | Thursday, April 10 – 2:00 to 3:00 PM
• Conversation II: Trust in Education | Thursday, April 10 – 4:30 to 5:30 PM
• Conversation III: Trust in the Economy | Friday, April 11 – 9:30 to 10:30 AM

How much confidence do Canadians and Americans really have in their institutions? We partnered with the Angus Reid Institute in a major survey of 5,000 Canadians and 5,000 Americans to help answer that question. What are the differences north and south of the Canada-U.S. border? Our survey also applies the Spectrum of Spirituality, tracking the religious commitments and attitudes of respondents from the religiously committed to the completely non-religious. What can we learn from these results and what opportunities exist to rebuild public trust?

Moderator: Ray Pennings (Executive VP and Co-founder, Cardus)

Speakers:

• Shachi Kurl (President, Angus Reid Institute)
• Christine Emba (Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute)
• Lisa Richmond (VP Research, Cardus)

Liberal political philosophy emphasizes individualism, freedom, and choice. But some critics of liberalism have argued that these principles ultimately undermine institutions like marriage, the family, schools, churches, and charities. They argue that we now have an enervated citizenry that is dependent on a bureaucratic state. Are the critics right? How can we reinvigorate the non-government institutions that make up the fabric of our society? As scholars who study these trends in Canada and the United States, our panelists will explore what good we might be able to conserve from our experience with liberalism.

Moderator: Brian Dijkema (President – Canada, Cardus) 

Speakers:

• Dr. Ian Brodie (Professor, University of Calgary)
• Christine Emba (Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute)
• Caylan Ford (Documentary Filmmaker and Writer)

Join us for informal conversations in the lounge on Cardus’s 7th floor. We will provide 10 minutes of opening comments and then open the floor to discussion with attendees. Our goal is to offer a space where people can engage in substantial, but informal, conversations about Cardus programs. 

• Does MAiD erode our trust in healthcare?
• Cardus in Conversation hosted by Dr. Rebecca Vachon (Health Program Director, Cardus)

Join us for informal conversations in the lounge on Cardus’s 7th floor. We will provide 10 minutes of opening comments and then open the floor to discussion with attendees. Our goal is to offer a space where people can engage in substantial, but informal, conversations about Cardus programs. 

• How does educational pluralism build trust?
• Cardus in Conversation hosted by Joanna Van Hof (Education Program Director, Cardus)

While the daily cut and thrust of electioneering will dominate headlines this year, this keynote from Dr. Ian Brodie will refocus us on the work that comes next – governing. Drawing on his knowledge both as a former chief of staff to Prime Minister Harper and a professor of political science, he will discuss causes for the declining trust in our government institutions. Can we use the parts of our system that work well to fix the parts that are failing? Looking closer at how government really functions, Dr. Brodie will point to concrete ways we can rebuild trust in government.

Speaker: Dr. Ian Brodie (Professor, University of Calgary)

Interviewer: Michael Van Pelt (CEO, Cardus)

Join us for informal conversations in the lounge on Cardus’s 7th floor. We will provide 10 minutes of opening comments and then open the floor to discussion with attendees. Our goal is to offer a space where people can engage in substantial, but informal, conversations about Cardus programs. 

• Can workers trust the labour market?
• Cardus in Conversation hosted by Renze Nauta (Work & Economics Program Director, Cardus)

We form institutions and institutions form us – starting with the family. But declining trust in marriage as an institution has reduced the strength and stability of families in Canada. Join authors of the recent book “I…Do? Why Marriage Still Matters” for a discussion on why marriage remains the core foundation for a thriving society. Drawing on social scientific and public policy research, our panelists will make the case for why this institution is fundamental to rebuilding trust across society.

Moderator: Brian Dijkema (President – Canada, Cardus)

Speakers:

• Peter Jon Mitchell (Family Program Director, Cardus)
• Andrea Mrozek (Senior Fellow, Cardus)