There have been rumours for a couple of years about a merging of Historica (the history foundation founded by big donations from Charles Bronfman and Lynton "Red" Wilson), Canada's National History Society (the foundation midwifed by the Hudson's Bay Company principally known for publishing The Beaver), and The Dominion Institute (the brash upstart foundation launched by a savvy gang of twenty-somethings and committed to giving historical policy flash and flair).
Word was, the feds wanted the merger, since all these orgs are interested in public money, and the feds always prefer one big partner to several independent ones. Various efficiency arguments were floated. But the foundations seemed so different in what they did that a merger seemed most likely to make one big, bloated, directionless mess.
But it must be going again. Yesterday Rudyard Griffiths, impresario of the Dominion Institute, published an op-ed calling for the merger. Rudyard's so connected and savvy that if he's going public, there must be something in the works.
