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Presented in partnership with Vancouver Public Library. |
On October 19th, Albertans will vote on whether their province should remain part of Canada, or commence the legal process to hold a binding referendum on leaving. How did we reach this point? In On Treason: Alberta Separatism, Foreign Interference, and Canada’s Survival in a Revolutionary Age, author and former international security practitioner Patrick Lennox reveals how the separatist movement is not an organic political movement, but a plot conducted by individuals tied to the global far right, in an attempt to fracture the remaining liberal democracy in North America.
Lennox—who worked to counter foreign interference for over a decade with Canada’s security and intelligence community—explains in accessible terms how the movement has been aided and abetted by foreign actors and disinformation, and enabled by a Provincial Government more aligned with the Trump Administration than with its own Federal counterparts.
He will speak with Max Cameron, a Professor in the Department of Political Science and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at UBC. Cameron’s own forthcoming book, Divided We Fall, explores the history of polarization in Canada and the internal and external forces that threaten Canadian unity. Join us in-person or online for an urgent conversation about the future of our country.
About Incite
Presented by the Vancouver Writers Fest and Vancouver Public Library, Incite is a free quarterly series offering fascinating conversations with celebrated authors and emerging talents. Incite is open to all, in-person at the VPL’s Central Library or online. Books will be for sale at the event, and most events will have a signing after the talk. Can’t make the date? Sign up for the livestream to receive the recording in your inbox!
Participants and Speakers
Max Cameron
DR. MAXWELL A. CAMERON is a Professor in the Department of Political Science and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at UBC. Max is a specialist in comparative politics and has published extensively on problems of democratization. He co-founded the Institute for Future Legislators, a program to prepare citizens for public service. In 2022, Max was the recipient of the 2022 Guillermo O’Donnell Democracy Award and Lectureship by the Latin American Studies Association (LASA) for his work on democracy in Latin America, and in 2024 he was elected President of LASA. He lives in Vancouver.
Patrick Lennox
PATRICK LENNOX is an international relations scholar and former international security practitioner. He has commanded covert intelligence units and conducted national security investigations into malicious forms of foreign investment into Canada. He has been a member of the Five Eyes intelligence community and represented Canada on international law enforcement task forces. He has a deep knowledge of the intelligence cycle and the intelligence to investigations process, and throughout his career in Federal Policing specialized in national security, financial crime, transnational organized crime and threat convergence. Prior to joining the RCMP, he worked as a senior analyst with the Treasury Board Secretariat in the International Affairs and Security and Justice Division.