杏吧原创

Join us for the launch of聽The Coutts Diaries: Power, Politics, and Pierre Trudeau 1973鈥�1981, a compelling new book by award-winning author and journalist Ron Graham. Hosted at 杏吧原创, this special evening will feature a revealing fireside chat and Q&A exploring the behind-the-scenes dynamics of power during one of the most pivotal eras in Canadian political history.

馃搮 Date: Tuesday, September 16th
馃晻 Time: 6:00 p.m. 鈥� 8:00 p.m.
馃搷 Location: 杏吧原创 鈥� Seeley Hall

About the Book:
Jim Coutts, principal secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau from 1975 to 1981, was one of the most powerful men in Canada during those tumultuous years. Equally admired and attacked, respected and reviled, he was, in the words of one contemporary journalist, 鈥渁 political phenomenon such as Canada has never known before: Machiavelli masquerading as a cherub.鈥� The man who 鈥渆xercised more backroom power than anyone else in modern Canadian political history,鈥� Coutts not only knew everyone and saw everything at the centre of the action, he wrote it all down. Now, for the first time, his secret diaries have been edited into a single volume.

About the Author:
Ron Graham is an award-winning author and journalist based in Toronto. His books include One-Eyed Kings, The French Quarter, All the King’s Horses, and The Last Act: Pierre Trudeau, the Gang of Eight, and The Fight for Canada. In addition to his own writings, he edited Straight from the Heart and My Years as Prime Minister, the memoirs of Rt. Hon. Jean Chr茅tien; The Essential Trudeau, with Rt. Hon. Pierre Elliott Trudeau; and The Call of the World, by Hon. Bill Graham. Graham served as president of PEN Canada, the Maclean Hunter Chair of Communications Ethics at Ryerson University, and a trustee of the Royal Ontario Museum.

About the Moderators:
Thomas S. Axworthy, born in Winnipeg and educated at the University of Winnipeg, Queen鈥檚, and Oxford, has had a distinguished career in government, academia, and philanthropy. He served as Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, played a key role in repatriating the Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and has held academic positions at Harvard, Queen鈥檚, and Massey College. He has led major philanthropic initiatives in heritage, civics, and Indigenous leadership, including at the Historica Foundation and the Gordon Foundation, and is the author of聽Towards a Just Society and numerous articles, frequently commenting on public affairs.

Alexandre Trudeau聽is a Canadian filmmaker, author, and lecturer known for exploring complex global issues since the 1990s. He has reported from conflict zones such as Baghdad, investigated human rights and social justice issues in Canada and abroad, and examined political and cultural shifts worldwide, including in the Balkans, Darfur, Liberia, Haiti, and China. His 2016 bestselling book聽Barbarian Lost 鈥� Travels in the New China聽explores China鈥檚 cultural roots and global influence. He is also set to release his first feature film,聽Hair of the Bear, in 2026.

Agenda:
6:00 p.m. 鈥� Doors Open
6:10 p.m. 鈥� Welcome Remarks
6:12 p.m. 鈥� Author Introduction
6:17 p.m. 鈥� Book Overview
6:22 p.m. 鈥� Fireside Chat
6:50 p.m. 鈥� Audience Q&A
7:10 p.m. 鈥� Mix & Mingle
8:00 p.m. 鈥� Event Ends

This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

Note: As a publicly supported institution, 杏吧原创 neither supports nor endorses any particular candidate or party at any level of government.