About Us
Mad River Institute for Political Studies
The Mad River Institute for Political Studies, established in October 2003, is a national, federally-chartered, non-partisan, non-profit organization. Our funding support comes exclusively from our members, foundations, and the educational seminars and research we conduct. The Mad River Institute is dedicated to changing the way which government, at all levels, is run, and to re-awakening public interest in politics and the "public good".
We are founded at a time when many Canadians are losing their belief in the efficacy of government, and when it seems politicians are not willing to act for the public good rather than for the influential, when they have failed to seek consensus amongst citizens, and when they have taken unflinching ideological or policy positions that isolate people and divide society.
The key reasons for the founding of the Mad River Institute are embraced in our goals, which are part of our constitution. However, we also wish to provide an affordable, challenging educational opportunity for all to see what politics and government are really about, and how just a little change could strengthen our democratic system.
We have three primary focuses: education; research; and advocacy. Our educational workshops and seminars are directed to everyone, from ordinary citizens who feel a desire to increase their knowledge of politics and government, to organizations who want to understand their place within the governmental and political context, to those seeking, or already in, elected office who want to expand their knowledge and prepare themselves to be better public representatives. Our courses are conducted by highly qualified individuals, whose experience is both academic and practical. Our seminars include subjects such as the political structure and process of government, public policy, parliamentary tradition, elections, political theory and culture in a Canadian context, ethics, conflict of interest, dedication to the public good, accountability and responsibility in public service.
We also offer for sale research publications on these same topics. While this is not a primary focus of the Institute, we use these in order to act as a catalyst for informed debate amongst the public, media, politicians, government officials, and scholars.
Our third focus is to act as citizen advocates, to lobby politicians, government officials, and society at large to demand an improvement in the quality of political representation in Canada, in order to meet our stated goals. To do this, we contact politicians directly and through their parties, to challenge them to learn about and meet these objectives. We contact municipal councils, organizations affected by government decisions, and citizen groups. We contact the media to push our message in order to stir public opinion and create pressure to bring about political change.
For background on our founders, click here.
Membership
Mad River Institute for Political Studies
We offer four levels of individual and enterprise memberships and benefits:
Basic ($20.00)
- 10% discount on Institute events and seminars
- Mad River Institute's annual report
- 1 vote at any general meeting
Gold ($100.00)
- Receive all Basic benefits
- 20% discount on all books and monographs
- Read about our latest activities in "Clarion Call", our newsletter
Platinum ($250.00)
- Receive all benefits of Gold
- Invitation to our annual special event
Diamond ($1,000.00)
- Receive all Platinum benefits
- Sponsorship of an Institute event
NB: Periodically, these benefits many change after review by the Board of Directors.
All memberships are reviewed by the Executive prior to approval. Should a member break their commitment to any of our eight goals, the Executive has the right to cancel any membership without reimbursement of the membership fee.
All membership information is confidential and will not be shared with, nor sold to, any other organization, under any circumstances.
The Mad River Institute for Political Studies is federally incorporated with Industry Canada as a non-profit corporation with Letters Patent under the Canada Corporations Act. As a result, donations to the Mad River Institute are not tax deductible.
What must I do to become a member? Just fill out our online application.
What if I would like to make a donation? Check out our online form.