CFLSE Ottawa Beaver Lectures with Scott Gilmore

Canadian Friends of LSE Ottawa invite you to the Beaver Lectures. Our speaker series, launched in 2023, puts a spotlight on Ottawa’s notable and hardworking alumni, a nod to LSE’s beaver emblem.

Please join us on Tuesday, November 24, 2026, at Rockcliffe Park Community Centre for an evening with Scott Gilmore, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of Canada. A former diplomat who served in Jakarta and with the UN in East Timor, Mr. Gilmore founded Building Markets, a non-profit that helps local entrepreneurs in conflict-affected economies win international contracts, and received the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. He wrote a weekly Maclean’s column from 2014 to 2022 and joined the Prime Minister’s Office in 2025 as senior advisor on foreign, defence and security policy. He holds a master’s in international history from the LSE.

The evening’s discussion, From the Field to the Centre: Shaping Canada’s Foreign and Defence Policy, will look at how foreign and defence advice reaches a Prime Minister, from the field to the centre of government. Mr. Gilmore will speak about his earlier diplomatic and field career and how it informs his current role.

Schedule

• 6:30–7:00 pm: Arrival & Registration

• 7:00–8:00 pm: Discussion with Scott Gilmore, moderated by Christopher Wilkie, Fellow at Queen's University's Centre for International and Defence Policy, followed by Q&A

• 8:00–9:00 pm: Reception

Other Important Information

• Tickets are limited to the first 50 registrants.

• Cost: $30

• Dress Code: Business Casual