Ian Lupton MPP'24 was a member of the fifth cohort at Max Bell. A dual Canadian/US citizen originally from Vancouver, Ian has lived, studied and worked in both Canada and the United States. Ian has diverse public sector experience working in legislative, provincial and municipal governments and has a broad range of interests including housing, the design and use of public space, and strategic communications.
In my previous post, I delved into my fall coursework, but the core courses, complexity seminars, and case studies were rounded out with exposure to other incredible faculty, visiting professors of practice, subject matter experts, and special guests. There are too many to list here; but some include:
- Christiane Fox, Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, who spoke, at times quite candidly, about Canada’s immigration needs and targets.
- Thomas Juneau, Assistant Professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa who led a measured, thoughtful and nuanced discussion on Israel-Hamas-Palestine in late October.
- Max Bell faculty and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist David Shribman provided an insightful lecture series “US Politics and Why it Matters for Canada”
- The McGill Max Bell Lectures book launch and conversation with author Andrew Leach and Gerry Butts on “Between Doom and Denial” exploring challenges Canada faces in the climate change debates.
- Our cohort was fortunate to spend an evening with the Nordic Ambassadors, hearing them speak on issues facing Europe and the world, including the return of war in Europe with Russia’s attack on Ukraine; the fragility of the rules-based international order; the importance of NATO and further need in for Western and particularly American commitments to territorial sovereignty, from Signe Burgstaller (Sweden), Trine Jøranli Eskedal (Norway), Hanne Fugl Eskjær (Denmark), Hlynur Guðjónsson (Iceland), and Jari Vilén (Finland).
- Former Deputy Minster of Finance Paul Rochon shared invaluable insights on the federal budgeting process and fiscal policy, in a dynamic and memorable professional development day.
We also spent three very full days in Ottawa, meeting with elected officials, senior staff, Cabinet ministers, representatives from non-governmental organizations, government relations professionals and, in a rare moment of access made possible by lots of people, time with the Prime Minister after Question Period.
I also joined , Max Bell’s student newsletter about the complexity of making good public policy, as an assistant editor, writing, editing and collaborating with colleagues on broad range of policy topics. You can read my coauthored piece on the death of Harden Singh Nijjar and impacts to the Indo-Canadian relationship . I have had the opportunity to research, analyze and write about policy, and I look forward to more in the New Year.
This is, necessarily, a partial list. MBS has put an incredibly impressive array of people, ideas and opportunities in front of me – the only thing missing is more hours in the day, or days in the week!
Outside of McGill
In spite – and perhaps because! – of the intensive nature of the MPP program at Max Bell, there were golden opportunities for fun, friends old and new, and exploration of McGill, Montreal and a bit of Quebec.
I found, and created, community in Montreal, within the Max Bell School, among the broader McGill community, and outside of the school with the people of Montreal and in various pockets of the city.
One glorious weekend in October a group headed to Dunham for apple picking, cider and lunch. I have a newfound love of the Cortland apple, thanks to Clea Corman, and will forever associate the crisp Cortland with the orchards of Québec.
Another weekend was spent in the Eastern Townships, hiking Mont Orford and enjoying Coaticook / Barnston Ouest. I was gobsmacked at the natural beauty of Eastern Quebec; the landscapes are breathtaking and I hope to spend more time in the area.
For fun and sport, I attended several professional sports games in Montreal, watching the Habs play at Centre Bell and attending Alouettes games at the Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, and was delighted to cheer them on to their Grey Cup victory. A longtime fan of the Montreal Canadiens, my attendance at their games appears to have done little to impact their performance, and there was never enough bending of the twine; nevertheless it was always great fun to gather with tens of thousands of other fans and cheer on the Habs. I also resumed running (a habit I largely left behind in my undergraduate days) summiting the Mountain many mornings (before the weather turned). I also joined a recreational volleyball league with many of my classmates and we had plenty of good fun in addition to registering a handful of victories; everyone’s game improved and we got some good exercise at the Field House. I am looking forward to the Volleybelles returning to the court again in the winter term.
In keeping with my interest in historically significant purpose-built places of worship, I participated in the City of Montreal’s public consultation on religious heritage in my neighbourhood of Ville Marie. Montreal has a lot of of them; striking the balance between preservation and cost-effective appropriate re-use is a complex question for municipal policymakers, community members, industry and skilled trades. I also joined McGill’s Office for Religious and Spiritual Life (MORSL) on a walking tour of sacred sites.
I also had the opportunity to welcome loved ones who came for visits both professional and personal. Montreal is magical city filled with living history, cultures, amazing food, attractive and varied neighborhoods, vibrant cultural institutions, warm people and distracting amounts of music, nightlife and fun to be had!
Ian Lupton, MPP'24
Previous degree: Bachelor of Arts (Honors), Government, University of Texas Austin
Nationality: American; Canadian
Recent work experience:Â Executive Assistant to the Deputy City Manager, City of Cambridge;Â Executive Secretary, Ontario Heritage Trust;Â Production Assistant, Texas State Legislature
