The key program of the institute has been the Guelph Lecture—On Being, which is now in its 23rd year. In 2009, the institute’s sister organization, Musagetes, which is an arts-based foundation in Guelph, Ontario, joined the lecture as a co-presenter and it is now the keystone event of Musagetes’ ArtsEverywhere Festival. Building on the success of the lecture series, the institute is seeking to expand its role as a non-partisan, non-polarizing, and research-based platform for thoughtful civic engagement. The institute will engage with topics of local, national, and international import, but the platform itself will prioritize engagement with the communities of Guelph-Wellington-Waterloo Region.
In an era characterized by misinformation, social media polarization, and “winner-takes-all” political discourse, the Eramosa Institute aims to help reestablish spaces for level-headed, fact-based public discussion. Topics of concern may include, but are not limited to, Canada’s economic resilience amid American protectionism and expansionism, the shifting narratives around Indigenous sovereignty and national identity, immigration and demographic change, the development and use of AI, the purpose of higher education, and the public’s response to international conflicts such as the war in Gaza.