As The Globe and Mail’s former Queen’s Park columnist, a past Ottawa political affairs correspondent, and as former bureau chief in both Washington and Ottawa, Ibbitson draws on a long career and unparalleled experience in his must-read columns and landmark books. His latest, Stephen Harper, offers an insider’s look at how our last PM changed the country, for better or for worse. His particular expertise lies in being able to tie any trend, politically or economically, to any industry—making him an invaluable keynote speaker for all audiences or fields, in Canada or the United States.

In the wake of an incredibly unpredictable election, our Q&A was suitably crowded with commentary and queries. Throughout, Ibbitson talks on Harper, Trudeau, Mulcair, proportional representation, the future leader of the Conservatives, the Liberals’ support, and much more. Read the transcript below to get a sense of our half-hour conversation.

Now, we’re excited to announce that our next #AskASpeaker guest will be Kavita Shukla—the groundbreaking social entrepreneur behind FreshPaper, one of Forbes’ “30 under 30” and Fast Company’s “7 Entrepreneurs Changing the World.” Our chat begins on Thursday, November 12th, and will take place from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. EST. As always, please join in with your own questions. Use the #AskASpeaker hashtag, and follow @thelavinagency and @KavitaFresh.

With an acumen honed from years analyzing and writing on the most important issues of the day, John Ibbitson is one of our most trusted political authorities. To hire John Ibbitson for your event, contact The Lavin Agency speakers bureau.