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The annual Hurtig Lecture was launched by the Department of Political Science in the Faculty of Arts (University of Alberta) in 2006 by special guest Peter C. Newman CC CD to mark Alberta's Centennial Year and honour Mel Hurtig OC, an outstanding Edmontonian and exemplary Canadian citizen.
The prestigious Hurtig Lecture on the Future of Canada reflects the value educated Albertans place on interdisciplinary research, and, suiting the local demographic, underscores the national importance of having an interdisciplinary
Canadian Studies Program in every region of the country.
The indomitable Canadian Filmmaker, Anne Wheeler OC, gave the Hurtig Lecture in 2022.
The Annual Hurtig Lecture
on the Future of Canada
In 2006 the Department of Political Science, University of Alberta, launched the annual Hurtig Lecture on the Future of Canada. Conceived of in 2005, the lecture marked Alberta's Centennial Year, and the first guest lecturer was Peter C. Newman CC CD (1929–2023). Like Newman was, Hurtig lecturers are captivating, chronicling, and even at times, contentious. Newman had faith in the viability of a prestigious, interdisciplinary, Canadian-focused lectureship, hosted in Western Canada. Peter Newman showed us the importance of speaking out. He was not just a contrarian, but also a visionary. "The Hurtig" is a flagship lecture of the University of Alberta.
An indomitable trailblazer and Canadian filmmaker,
Anne Wheeler OC gave the Hurtig Lecture in 2022
2006 - Present
2006 - 2017
2018
It takes a team.
Those interested in Canadian ideas and proud of our outspoken, engaged citizens are likely to agree with founding donors and annual supporters Dr. Susan Minsos, author, former head of the Canadian Studies Program (main campus, University of Alberta), and Mr. Ove Minsos KC, and their family, about the vital importance of alumni support. The Minsos family knows this institution: Immediate family alumni of U of A are proud to have earned diverse degrees, a total of ten, (in Arts, Biological Sciences, Education, Law, Medicine, Social Sciences).
The Hurtig Lecture on the Future of Canada was designed and headed by distinguished Professor Emerita Dr. Janine Brodie CM FRSC.
The Hurtig Lecture series is headed by the indefatigable champion of displaced Palestinian students, Dr. Yasmeen Abu-Laban, a Political Science Professor and Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Politics of Citizenship and Human Rights, University of Alberta.
Dr Brodie CM FRSC
Dr Abu-Laban
Upcoming Lecture
Topic:
In an uncertain age –– Nuclear Arms Proliferation and Canada
Speaker: Ambassador Troy Lulashnyk
Date: University Days, Hurtig Lecture
September 17, 2026 at 7:00 PM MST
Location: TBA.
Ambassador Lulashnyk has held senior leadership roles overseeing various vital programs, which address weapons of mass destruction and global security threats. Mr. Lulashnyk served as Canada’s Permanent Representative to international organizations in Vienna until 2025, including the International Atomic Energy Agency, where he led work on nuclear security and non-proliferation.
He currently serves as Director General at Global Affairs Canada and previously served as Former Canadian Ambassador to Austria, Ukraine and Egypt.
A valued speaker at major international forums, Mr Lulashnyk is conversant on modernity's worrisome issues, such as nuclear terrorism and challenges to international norms, and we very much anticipate his address.
Mel Hurtig
1932 - 2016
About Mel Hurtig
Mr Mel Hurtig OC, former owner of Hurtig Books (Audrey's Books) and Hurtig Publishers Ltd, published the first print Canadian encyclopedia in 1985. Premier Peter Lougheed and the Government of Alberta underwrote a large part of the cost of production; Lougheed said the Hurtig encyclopedia was a gift to the Canadian people from Alberta. Find more information about the University of Alberta, past lecturers, and Mr Hurtig's many contributions to our nation's heritage and culture here.
