Ottawa

Jean Chrétien in conversation with Paul Wells: Maclean’s Live

The former PM sits down for a candid chat with one of Canada’s best political analysts. Watch it here.

Twenty-five years after he was first elected prime minister in 1993, Jean Chrétien sat down for a live interview with Maclean’s senior writer Paul Wells at the recently renovated National Arts Centre in Ottawa on Dec. 4—the ninth of a monthly series of conversations presented by the Canadian Bankers Association in partnership with the NAC and CPAC. Watch their conversation right here. Tweet along with the hashtag #MacleansLive, and follow our liveblog below for all the highlights. CPAC will broadcast the conversation at a later date. Also! Sign up for our daily politics newsletter, a morning must-read in the nation’s capital.

Why are we doing this, anyway?

It was a quarter-century ago that Chrétien scored his first majority win, besting a fractured right and confronting a new challenge in the Bloc Québécois. The little guy from Shawinigan won two more elections before retiring from office in 2003. From time to time, he’s reemerged in the public eye, most recently to attack Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s controversial intention to invoke the constitution’s notwithstanding clause. Now, Chrétien has published a new series of essays, My story, My Times, in which he recounts tales from his long career—and even explains when, as a teenager, he complained to then-Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis “about the food at his seminary.”

This is the ninth of a monthly series of conversations Wells is conducting with leading Canadian political figures. On Nov. 28, he sat down with Alberta Premier Rachel Notley. In October, he chatted with renowned Canadian artist Edward Burtynsky. In September, he sat down with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In June, he sat down with Jane Philpott, minister of Indigenous services. In May, he sat down with Jason Kenney, leader of Alberta’s United Conservative Party. In April, he sat down with Katie Telford, chief of staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In March, he sat down with Conservative leader Andrew Scheer. And in February, he sat down with NDP leader Jagmeet Singh. Watch those conversations below.

WATCH: Rachel Notley in conversation with Paul Wells

WATCH: Edward Burtynsky in conversation with Paul Wells

WATCH: Justin Trudeau in conversation with Paul Wells

WATCH: Jane Philpott in conversation with Paul Wells

WATCH: Jason Kenney in conversation with Paul Wells

WATCH: Katie Telford in conversation with Paul Wells

WATCH: Andrew Scheer in conversation with Paul Wells

WATCH: Jagmeet Singh in conversation with Paul Wells

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