We can have equality of opportunity and excellence too

John McCall MacBain is proof. What he did with his undergraduate degree from McGill University is truly remarkable. Not only did John graduate with sterling grades, he also became a Rhodes scholar and earned post-graduate laurels from the University of Oxford and Harvard Business School. But that’s just the beginning. John returned to Montreal and built his publishing firm, Trader Classified Media into the world’s leading classified advertising company. Chances are you or a family member has found a job, bought a car or sold a home through a publication or website he created. In 2006, John, together, with his wife Marcy, set up the McCall MacBain Foundation. They subsequently used their philanthropic organization to donate tens of millions of dollars to fund several educational initiatives and many programs designed to improve human health and the health of our planet. John’s proof of excellence in Canada recently reached a new order of magnitude. On Feb. 13, the McCall MacBain Foundation revealed it will donate $200-million to McGill University to fund scholarships for Canadian and international scholars. The contribution is the largest of its kind in our history and promises to create the Canadian equivalent of the Rhodes and Fulbright scholarships. This remarkable gift is personal. I’ve known John since the late 1970s, when he was president of the McGill Students’ Society and I was the university’s principal. My enthusiasm also arises from the office I occupy now. As chairman of the Rideau Hall Foundation, a national charity focused on a better Canada, we prioritize learning initiatives that strive for excellence and promote equality of educational opportunity; strengthening Canada’s culture of innovation; widening the circle of giving and volunteerism; and building and celebrating excellence in Canadian leadership. This momentous gift supports each of these core priorities. Specifically, I have been thinking about what the gift means to education in Canada, to giving in our country, and to our place in the world as a nation of knowledge and innovation. In terms of the gift’s contribution to education in Canada, its impact is even more remarkable than it first appears. If a comparable gift were made to a private U.S. university, it would be equal to $2-billion because the revenue-to-student ratio in a private school such as Harvard is roughly ten times that of a public one such as McGill. The gift’s influence becomes clear if you imagine running a business with revenues that are one-tenth of your primary competitor. That is McGill’s situation when competing for students with institutions like Harvard, Stanford or Yale. John and Marcy’s contribution will enable McGill to attract the best scholars, researchers and scientists from across Canada and around the world. The remarkable contribution also promises to inspire philanthropy in Canada, particularly among young, affluent Canadians. This is a timely and essential outcome because the Baby Boomer generation, long the mainstay of giving is aging. The good news is that Canadians are finding innovative ways to reinvest their wealth as social capital, so more of our citizens share in the benefits of progress and prosperity. John and Marcy’s gift will encourage others to give according to their abilities and resources. Philanthropy is a vitally important lever—often with greater tolerance for risk—to advance knowledge. It also reminds us of the importance of Canada’s giving culture, which must be upheld and strengthened. Finally, John and Marcy’s gift profoundly enhances Canada’s place in the world as a nation of knowledge and innovation. This donation illuminates our country as a place that cherishes learning for all who seek knowledge. Their gift more solidly establishes Canada as a modern-day Athens—a centre of talent, scholarship and innovation that relies on the lever of soft power rather than the hammer of hard power wielded by the Romes of the world. We are a country of kind hearts and keen minds. We have worked for generations to extend opportunity to all our citizens so that they may climb to whatever heights their energies and ambitions take them. The time is now ripe for Canada to excel as never before—to reveal to the world and our selves that equality of opportunity and excellence are possible together. We can have them both. John and Marcy McCall MacBain have shown us how. David Johnston is Canada’s 28th governor general and chair of the Rideau Hall Foundation. The Hill Times