The Sir John A. Macdonald Dinner was initiated in Guelph to honour Canada’s first Prime Minister, who was the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation. He was also the only Canadian Prime Minister to win six majority governments, and the major proponent of the Canadian Pacific Railway, which linked Canada from coast to coast and forged a nation of sprawling geographic size.
Sir John A. was a lawyer who learned the arts of argument and persuasion by taking on dramatic cases. His communication skills served him well in politics and allowed him to become a strong Conservative voice. This event honours him by bringing strong Conservative voices to Guelph. It is held every January, as close as possible to Sir John A’s birth date.
Our guest speakers have been:
| 2002 | Senator Lowell Murray, PC |
| 2003 | Senator Consiglio Di Nino |
| 2004 | Gary Schellenberger, MP |
| 2005 | Gary Goodyear, PC, MP |
| 2006 | Senator Hugh Segal, CM |
| 2007 | Preston Manning, CC |
| 2008 | Ralph Klein, AOE |
| 2009 | Bill Carroll, Newstalk 1010 |
| 2010 | Rob Nicholson, PC, QC, MP |
| 2011 | Tim Hudak, MPP |
| 2012 | Senator Doug Finley |
| 2014 | Panel Discussion: Dr. Ross McKitrick (moderator); Mike Wallace, MP; Gary Schellenburger, MP; Joe Preston, MP |
