George R.M. Anderson has been President and CEO of the Forum of Federations since 2005. He served over thirty years in Canada’s federal public service, where his positions included Deputy Minister of Natural Resources (2002-2005) and Deputy Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs in the Cabinet office (1996-2002) He held assistant deputy minister level positions in the energy, finance and foreign ministries. He has degrees in political science from Queen’s University and Oxford University, and a diploma from the École nationale d'administration in Paris. He was a fellow at Harvard University's Center for International Affairs in 1992-93. He is the author of Federalism: An Introduction (Oxford University Press: 2008) and is a trustee of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

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Forum President on Federalism

Forum of Federations President George Anderson, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Canada, writes on world events and developments involving federal countries. Included below are some of his writings, which were published in major newspapers or were the subject of keynote speeches to international gatherings.

The Political Relevance of Federalism in the Twenty-First Century
Presentation by George Anderson at the Conference on  “The Federalization of Spain—Deficits of Intergovernmental Cooperation”
Saragossa, Spain, March 25-26, 2009

Forum President George Anderson delivered the keynote address at the 2008 Annual Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association where he spoke on How Federalism Accommodates Diversity and Strengthens the Constitution.

Nigerian Fiscal Federalism Seen from a Comparative Perspective
Forum President George Anderson's speaking notes for a Governor's Forum in Abuja, Nigeria on October 28, 2007.

Encounters with Ron Watts - October 2007

Canadian Fiscal Federalism
Forum President George Anderson's speaking notes for Fiscal Federalism conference at Beunos Aires, 20 March 2007.

Federalism in the 21st Century - Powerpoint presentation


Shaping a new Iraq

This piece, written before the Dec. 15, 2005, elections in Iraq, asserts that the conflict in Iraq is more than a simple struggle among Shias, Sunnis and Kurds. Solutions being advanced to provide for the long-term stabilization for the new Iraq include uniting common elements across each community and having them agree to adopt a decentralized form of federalism. The difficulty - and the solution - may lie in sharing power and in sharing oil.

Markets, Geopolitics, Energy Security and Sustainability

A view from 50,000 feet discusses the market forces and geopolitical events that affect energy supply and demand from the rise of OPEC and the two oil crises in the last 35 years to the phenomenal growth of India and China and the resulting search for energy sustainability.

Quebec's Model, Myths and Mood

Different visions of Quebec's future have been explored in the works of prominent French Canadian writers. In this paper, Mr. Anderson reviews books written by two Quebec thinkers, André Pratt and Alain Dubuc of Montreal's La Presse newspaper. These books are an important contribution, writes Mr. Anderson because even if Canada avoids another constitutional crisis, the search for solutions to the Quebec quandary is of considerable significance to the future of Canada.