Frontier Centre For Public

General information

The Frontier Centre for Public Policy (FCPP) is an independent Canadian public policy think tank. Founded in Winnipeg in 1997, the Frontier Centre received charitable status in 1999 and currently has offices in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Our research aims to analyze current affairs and public policies and develop effective and meaningful ideas for good governance and reform. We provide a platform for public debate and engage with the public through our numerous publications and events.

The Frontier Centre employs a small, core group of staff and policy analysts who conduct research on a wide variety of issues at federal, provincial and municipal levels. We also seek out experts in specific fields to complete certain research projects, as well as invest in students through our internship program. Our respected Board and team of Expert Policy Advisors includes both experienced public policy innovators and prominent academic specialists from around Canada and the world.

As an organization, we do not subscribe to any political ideology. Our Board of Directors, Expert Advisory Panel and staff includes people of a wide variety of political persuasions and we regularly publish research that praises some government policies and criticizes others.

We have hosted speakers from across the political spectrum, including Prime Ministers Paul Martin and Stephen Harper, and former Premiers Mike Harris, Frank McKenna and Ed Schreyer. We also regularly invite to Canada experts like Russian President Vladimir Putin's chief economic advisor Andrei Illarionov, former Democratic Mayor of Milwaukee John Norquist, Nobel Laureate James Buchanan, Stockholm health reform advisor Johan Hjertqvist and Stefan Fantauzzo, president of America's most dynamic local union of public employees.

Unlike political or lobby groups, which often represent only the narrow interests of their members, we aim to advance the interests of the public as a whole. As a think tank, we are free to explore new ideas and policy initiatives unconstrained by the pressures that political parties face to be popular at the polls.

In order to protect our independence, and our reputation as a research group, the Frontier Centre neither seeks nor accepts any government funding whatsoever. Instead, we seek to diversify our funding base as much as possible to ensure that we are not beholden to any particular industry, interest or persons. This ensures that the Frontier Centre is insulated from the political pressures that often discourage publicly-funded research groups from exploring sensitive issues.