The Walrus Foundation

ABOUT THE WALRUS FOUNDATION
The The Walrus Foundation is a charitable non-profit organization with a mandate to promote public discourse on matters vital to our country. The Foundation is dedicated to supporting Canadian writers, artists, readers, education and ideas.

We achieve these goals, first and foremost, by publishing The Walrus, the most awarded magazine in Canada, named Magazine of the Year at the National Magazine Awards in June 2007. The Walrus is a monthly publication of ideas, sophistication, and wit, and a place where readers, writers, and artists meet. It is supported by walrusmagazine.com, which offers both archives and original content.

In addition to the magazine, the Walrus Foundation runs an intensive editorial, art, and publishing internship program for aspiring editors, writers, designers, and digital media and publishing professionals selected from across Canada.

Through national public events, the Walrus Foundation is committed to the public square, to celebrating Canadian talent, and to increasing participation in our democracy through spirited and intelligent debate, by lifting the magazine off the page and onto the stage in public forums.

The Walrus Foundation is supported by individuals, foundations, partnerships, corporate sponsors, and public sector grants. The Walrus magazine is supported by advertisers, corporate donors, subscribers, and newsstand sales. The Walrus’s charitable status depends on its editorial content, which must make up 70 percent of the magazine’s pages; and is required to be 80 percent educational and 80 percent Canadian.

A volunteer Educational Review Committee composed of academics from universities across Canada assists the Foundation in fulfilling its mandate.

The Walrus Foundation and The Walrus magazine are grateful to both the Board of Directors and the Advisory Council for their support, expertise, and dedication.

We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Chawkers Foundation for its generous ongoing support. The Walrus also acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program and the Canada Magazine Fund, toward our mailing and editorial costs. The Canada Council for the Arts supports the capacitybuilding efforts of The Walrus Foundation.

» Back To Top



» Back To Top

---

Board Member Biographies

Allan Gregg, Chair
Allan Gregg is one of Canada's most recognized and respected senior research professionals and social commentators. Through the 1980s, Allan was the official pollster of the Progressive Conservative Party and since then he has participated in over fifty election campaigns. In 1995, he co-founded The Strategic Counsel, a partnership specializing in research-based consulting and communications advice to a wide range of public and private-sector companies. Allan is widely published and quoted, hosts Allan Gregg in Conversation on TVOntario, is a co-founder of YTV, past chair of the Toronto International Film Festival, and has produced TV documentaries, as well as recordings by Canadian artists such as The Tragically Hip.

---

Paul Cohen
Paul Cohen is Vice-President of Marketing and Sales for Cantech / Ralston. The privately held company employs over 400 people in six North American manufacturing facilities,producing a range of industrial and consumer plastic and packaging products. As a recent chair of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association, Paul worked with industry members to sponsor the construction of a massive living sculpture, The Elevated Wetlands, by wellknown Canadian artist Noel Harding.

---

Heather Conway
Heather Conway is Executive Vice President, Marketing, Creative Services & Public Affairs for Alliance Atlantis, responsible for all marketing programs, affiliate relations, as well as media and government relations and public affairs, sponsorships and donations, and internal communications. Prior to joining Alliance Atlantis, Heather was Executive Vice President, Corporate and Public Affairs at the TD Bank Financial Group — the first woman in the bank's history to hold the executive vice president title. She has worked for consulting groups including Hill & Knowlton, the Neville Group, and Public Affairs International, and with the federal minister of finance as Special Assistant, Fiscal and Tax Policy and Communications. In 2002, she was named one of Canada's Top 40 Under 40. She also serves as a director of the board of American Express Canada.

---

Michael Decter
Michael Decter is a leading health care authority. A Harvard-trained economist, he is also the former deputy health minister for the Ontario government. As chair of the Health Council of Canada, former chair of the board of the Canadian Institute for Health Information, and consultant to leading teaching hospitals, Michael has more than twenty-five years of experience in the public and private health sectors. He is president of Lawrence Decter Investment Counsel, an investment management firm that advises high net-worth individuals, trusts, estates, pension funds, corporations, and institutions.

---

Marina Glogovac
Marina Glogovac has over fifteen years of experience in publishing, advertising sales, consumer marketing, brand marketing, strategy development, and general management. She has new ventures in a variety of consumer platforms, and has overseen the development of some of Canada's most successful media brands. Marina was Vice-President/ Group Publisher at St. Joseph Media in Toronto, in charge of magazines such as Toronto Life and Saturday Night. She is currently the chief executive officer of Lavalife Corp., a leading North American provider of voice, web, and mobile products and services aimed at singles. Marina has an M.Ed. in organizational development from the University of Toronto.

---

Mark Kingwell
Mark Kingwell is a professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto and the author of many acclaimed books, including Dreams of Millennium (1996), Better Living (1998), The World We Want (2000), Practical Judgments (2002), and Nearest Thing to Heaven: The Empire State Building and American Dreams (2006). Educated at Yale and the universities of Toronto and Edinburgh, he is also a contributing editor for Harper's magazine and Descant, and is an active member of the Foundation for Ethics and Meaning in New York. He is a past columnist for Saturday Night, Adbusters, and the National Post, and a winner of National Magazine Awards for both essays (2002) and columns (2004). He lectures extensively to academic and popular audiences throughout the world. In 2000, he was awarded an honorary DFA by the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design for contributions to theory and criticism.

---

Gerald Lazare
Gerry Lazare holds a Ph.D. in human development and applied psychology with a special focus in cognition and emotion from the University of Toronto. Currently, he teaches psychology at the Ontario Institute in Studies in Education at the University of Toronto and instructs aboriginal teenagers at the Native Learning Centre, a satellite program of Jarvis Collegiate Institute. Gerry also sits on the board of the Chawkers Foundation, an organization which has generously supported The Walrus since the magazine's inception.

---

Richard (Dick) O'Hagan
A strategy and communications consultant, Dick O'Hagan has been an executive and adviser in business and government, serving two Canadian prime ministers -- Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau -- and, inter alia, two successive Chairmen\CEOs at the Bank of Montreal. He also served at the Canadian embassy in Washington where he helped develop and headed a broadened information and public affairs programme. He has been a director of corporations, public and private, and associated with various non-profit institutions and initiatives. A native of New Brunswick, his career began in Toronto as a daily newspaper reporter. He is writing his memoirs.

---

James O'Reilly
James O'Reilly has served as treasurer of the Canada Development Corporation in addition to his work at McDonald Currie, now part of PricewaterhouseCoopers, and in the printing, metal forging, and oil distribution industries. Educated at McGill University, where he completed his chartered accountancy degree, and now retired, James takes pride in his thoroughness and provides vital service to the board as chair of the Audit/ Finance Committee. James also sits on the board of the Chawkers Foundation.

---

Andrew Pringle
Andrew Pringle is President of the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research, chair of the PC Ontario Fund, and a Director of the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews and the Schmeelk Foundation. In 2002, he retired from positions at RBC Capital Markets as a Managing Director, Head of Global Fixed Income, and Executive Committee Member, following three decades in the financial sector. He is also a member of the independent review committee of Fidelity Investments Canada and an adviser to the Evergreen Foundation. Andrew attended Upper Canada College, where he has served as chair of the board, and the University of Western Ontario.

---

Helga Stephenson
Helga Stephenson is best known for her work as executive director of the Toronto International Film Festival, overseeing its major growth period from 1986 to 1995, and as recipient of William Kilbourn Lifetime Achievement Award. During her thirty-year career, she has worked for the Canada Council for the Performing Arts and the National Arts Centre of Ottawa and served on the boards of Viacom Canada, the John Labatt Company, the National Film Board of Canada, and the Gaming Commission of Ontario. She has also been involved with numerous not-for-profit boards including the Toronto committee for Human Rights Watch, where she is currently co-chair, the Toronto International Film Festival Group, the Toronto Downtown Jazz Festival, and the Stratford Festival Senate. Helga consults with clients such as Telefilm Canada and Time Warner Inc., among others.

---

Daren Trousdell
Daren brings extensive management, industry and technical expertise to his role of Chief Operating Officer at Isobar Canada, the #1 ranked global Digital Marketing Network owned by Aegis Media Plc. In this role, Daren leads all Canadian digital marketing efforts across the various Aegis Media Canada lines of business, covering national client strategy for digital media, creative and technical production, as well as managing the day-to-day operations of the agency. His leadership has been instrumental in establishing long-term and successful relationships with key clients such as The Home Depot, Sears, Citibank, Virgin Mobile, Mitsubishi Motors and eBay.

---

Aritha Van Herk
Aritha Van Herk is a professor of Canadian literature and creative writing in the Department of English at the University of Calgary. Her books include Judith, The Tent Peg, No Fixed Address: An Amorous Journey, Places Far From Ellesmere, and Restlessness. Her essays are collected in In Visible Ink and A Frozen Tongue. Both her creative and critical writing have been widely published, and her work has been translated into ten languages. She has lived in Edmonton, Vancouver, Australia and Spain.

» Back To Top

---

The Walrus launched in September of 2003 with a straightforward mandate: to be a Canadian general-interest magazine with an international outlook. We are committed to publishing the best work by the best writers from Canada and elsewhere on a wide range of topics for readers who are curious about the world.

Selected Contributors To Date:

Politics & Society
Michael Adams, Joan Bryden, Deborah Campbell, Wendy Dennis, Gwynne Dyer, Adam Gopnik, Allan Gregg, Mark Kingwell, Susan McClelland, Marci McDonald, Jeremy Rifkin, Chris Wood

Arts & Culture
Julia Dault, Charles Foran, Alexander Gelfand, Don Gillmor, David Gilmour, Pico Iyer, Marni Jackson, John Bentley Mays, Lisa Moore, Timothy Taylor, Clive Thompson

Fiction & Poetry
Margaret Atwood, Randy Boyagoda, Dionne Brand, Leonard Cohen, Douglas Coupland, Wayne Johnston, Jane Urquhart, Guy Vanderhaeghe

Photography
Edward Burtynsky, Rita Leistner

Fine Art
Shary Boyle, Damien Hirst

Illustration
Gary Panter, Yuko Shimizu

Design
Bruce Mau

» Back To Top

---

Since launching in 2003, The Walrus has won more awards than any other Canadian periodical. Here are some of our recent laurels:

The Walrus Foundation also runs an intensive editorial, art and publishing internship program for aspiring editors, journalists, designers, digital media and publishing interns selected from across Canada.

Through national public events, lectures and conferences, The Walrus Foundation is committed to the public square, to celebrating Canadian talent and to increasing participation in our democracy through spirited and intelligent debate, by lifting the magazine off the page and onto the stage in public forums.

The Walrus Foundation is supported by individuals, foundations, partnerships, corporate sponsors, and more. The Walrus magazine is supported by advertisers, corporate donors, subscribers, and newsstand sales. The Walrus's charitable status depends on its editorial content, which must make up to 70% of the magazine's pages; it is required t be 80% educational and 80% Canadian.

A volunteer Educational Review Committee composed of academics from universities across Canada assists the Foundation in achieving its educational goals and mandate.

The Walrus Foundation and The Walrus magazine are grateful to both the Board of Directors and the Advisory Council for thier support, expertise, and dedication.

We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Chawkers Foundation for its generous, ongoing support. The Walrus also acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publication Assistance Program and the Canada Magazine Fund, toward our mailing and editorial costs.

» Back To Top

---

“A magazine such as The Walrus promises to be the missing link in the cultural and intellectual life of this country.”


“My god, a critical discussion of intelligent issues! What will these Canadians think of next?”


"The Walrus is one of the most intelligent magazines to have entered the Canadian scene in some time. It has shown great courage; its standards are high and its success noteworthy. I would ask that you give generously to ensure the survival of this very important publication. The Canadian literary landscape will be better for it."


“The Walrus is one of the best things that has happened in Canada. It’s very rare, an outfit like this, informed by integrity, vision and dedication. Please help the Walrus survive. We need it.’


“Intelligent, long-form journalism that encourages thoughtful debate is not – as you have likely noticed – easy to come by in this era of sound bites, tabloids and “journalism” designed to sell us goods and gossip. Then there is The Walrus – a sophisticated magazine with a mandate to engage Canadians in issues of national importance.”


“The country does need a high quality magazine that talks up to its readers, and which brings humour, anger, and real passion to Canadian public debate.”


» Back To Top

---

John Macfarlane was editor of Toronto Life from 1992 to 2007. Previously, he has been managing director of news at CTV (1991-92); publisher and editor-in-chief of The Financial Times (1987-90); publisher of Saturday Night magazine (1980-87); editor of Weekend (1976-80); and executive editor of Maclean’s (1975-76). He was educated at the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta, Calgary, and is a graduate of the Rotman School of Management. He is a member of the advisory board of St. Joseph Communications, which owns Toronto Life. In 2007, he received the Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement from the National Magazine Awards Foundation.

---

The Educational Review Committee analyzes The Walrus's art and editorial content to ensure that it meets The Walrus's educational mandate. The committee believes that "articles must engage and inform the reader and provide him/her with a learning experience. They should evoke thoughtful consideration.… The content of each article, essay, review, etc., must be meaningful, relevant, and useful from a social, political, cultural, and/or scientific perspective. All articles must also strive for excellence in written communication."

» Back To Top

The Walrus Editorial Internship is designed to introduce aspiring writers and editors to the magazine industry and to train them to work to the standards of one of North America's finest general-interest publications. Walrus editorial interns are responsible for fact checking, general research, writing the magazine's Outlook section, proofreading cop, and assessing unsolicited pitches. They also take part in production and story meetings, occasionally shadow-edit articles alongside staff editors, and assist with Walrus Foundation events.

The Walrus Art Internship gives aspiring designers, photographers, and artists the opportunity to work alongside members of the magazine's award-winning art department. Interns learn skills including layout, typesetting, graphic design, and assigning, and apply them to the highest standards of the magazine industry.

Walrus editorial and art interns have gone on to positions at Azure, Brick: A Literary Journal, Chatelaine, Maclean's, Modern Painters, Seed, and The Walrus, among others.

Praise from former interns:

"I really can't think of a better hands-on program for young journalists wishing to learn how a magazine operates and how the people who produce a magazine perform their jobs. I am certain that this experience has increased my chances of building a successful career in Canada's media industry."

---

"I can't think of any better introduction to the world of independent/non-profit publishing. I feel extremely lucky to have worked with such a dedicated and talented team of people so early in my career."

---

“I doubt there's another magazine where editors value and trust interns as much as they do at The Walrus. During my time there I was ordered to edit stories, pipe up during editorial meetings, correspond with some of the country's best writers, and even write for one of the country's most influential publications."


» Back To Top

---

Events

Fifth Anniversary Gala
Toronto, January 2009
Celebrate five years of The Walrus at The Walrus Foundation Gala in Toronto’s Distillery District. Tickets are $500, table of 10 $5,000. Tax receipt for maximum amount allowed.

2008

The Arctic
November 2008
Join Arctic scholar Franklyn Griffiths and others at the University of Waterloo for a fascinating conversation about the land of our third coast.


Fifth Anniversary Gala
Toronto, January 2009
Celebrate five years of The Walrus at The Walrus Foundation Gala in Toronto’s Distillery District. Tickets are $500, table of 10 $5,000. Tax receipt for maximum amount allowed.


The Walrus is Coming to Calgary
Calgary, October 27, 2008, 7:00pm

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

The fifth anniversary of The Walrus is fast approaching, and we’re celebrating by taking the magazine off the page and putting it on the stage at Theatre Calgary, in the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts.

A fundraiser for the Walrus Foundation, the evening will offer a unique blend of conversation, readings and music. Hosted by author and former Calgary Herald columnist Catherine Ford, it will feature performances by six-time JUNO Award winner Colin James, as well as a provocative discussion between University of Calgary professor Aritha van Herk and Walrus writer Chris Wood about monetizing clean water and the global green shift, and readings by Jaspreet Singh and other Walrus authors.

Your ticket includes great food and drink at the pre- and post-event receptions, which will boast goodie bags and a very special silent auction.

Show your support for The Walrus by joining us for this unique event. Tickets are just $125, and tax receipts are available from the Walrus Foundation.

Buy your tickets today at Ticketmaster.ca or by phoning 403-777-0000.

Presented with the generous support of RBC, Enbridge, the Calgary Herald, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Pilsner Urquell, Pages Bookstore and Bullfrog Power.


International Festival of Authors
October 2008
The Walrus is the official magazine of the IFOA in Toronto – a gathering of international and Canadian authors rivaling no other festival in the world.


Past Events

Film Screeing, CJFE
August 26, 2008
The Walrus is the co-sponsor of the CJFE screening of An Independent Mind at the Innes Theatre in Toronto. The film was directed by documentary filmmaker Rex Bloomstein, whose previous film, Kz, was a nominee for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006. Our event will be the North American premiere. The film consists of a series of interviews with various people from around the world who have faced oppression and censorship for expressing unpopular or radical opinions.


The Dark City
Toronto, June 2008
In association with Luminato, The Walrus presented The Dark City. The noir novel has long been a staple of urban American fiction. But what about Canada? The Walrus asked Canadian novelists to sketch their cities as grittier, sexier and darker than you might ever have imagined. Appearances were made by award-winning actor Nicholas Campbell, authors Austin Clarke, Heather O’Neill and Greg Hollingshead. Molly Johnson provided the jazz stylings.