John Ralston Saul, Canadian author and philosopher, will speak at TRU on March 31.

An award-winning essayist and novelist, Saul is perhaps best known for his philosophical trilogy, Voltaire’s Bastards: The Dictatorship of Reason in the West, The Doubter’s Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense and The Unconscious Civilization.

Or, he may be known by many Canadians as a former vice-regal consort, the husband of former governor general Adrienne Clarkson.

Saul is also a supporter of numerous important social and political causes, including: bilingualism, democracy, environmental concerns, youth culture and concerns, and persons with disabilities.

In his recent, best-selling work, A Fair Country: Telling Truths about Canada, Saul contends that Canada is a Métis nation. He argues that Canada has been formed largely by aboriginal values, such as equity, a preference for negotiation over violence, and an understanding of the place of the individual within community.

Saul has won numerous literary awards, including the Governor General’s award for non-fiction for The Unconscious Civilization, and was named by the magazine Utne Reader as one of the world’s leading 100 visionaries and thinkers.

He was also recently elected as the first Canadian president of International PEN, the world’s leading freedom of expression organization.

He will speak at 7 p.m. in the Grand Hall of the Campus Activity Centre as part of the President’s Lecture Series. Tickets are not required but seating will be limited.