MacKenzie Institute

The MacKenzie Institute is a conservative think tank based in Ontario, Canada. Its website states that it was founded in 1986 as an independent non-profit organization concerned with issues related to political instability and organized violence, including terrorism, political extremism, warfare and organized crime. The website boasts that the MacKenzie Institute has established and maintained a reputation for courage and forthrightness "in dozens of papers, hundreds of lectures and thousands of media interviews around the World".

Funding & Personnel
On its website the institute states that its is "sustained by individual donors and charitable foundations alone -- it does not accept grants from any government or government agency." While not explicitly mentioning corporate supporters, its policy does not preclude their funding.

A funding disclosure with a 1997 institute report was a little more expansive stating that "all funding comes from individuals, businesses and foundations - these being known as the Friends of the Mackenzie Institute." 

On its website the institute says that "(for obvious reasons) the Institute reveals neither its funding sources, nor the identity of its board." 

The spokesperson for the MacKenzie Institute appears to be John Thompson, who refers to himself as "a security specialist", without specifying what his qualifications are. Authors whose articles appear on the site also include Joe Turlej and Emerson Vermaat. The focus of their work seems to be political Islam, presented in a very negative way, with the intent of raising fears of a Jihad terrorist attack in Canada.

Immediately after the charging in June 2006 of 17 alleged terrorists in Toronto, Canada, Thompson predictably was invited by Canadian Press to comment, and in keeping with the fear-mongering agenda of the MacKenzie Institute, he proclaimed, "We knew it was coming and also that there's probably more cells out there that haven't been busted up yet". 

Contact details
The Mackenzie Institute P.O. Box 338, Adelaide Station Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 2J4 Phone: 416-686-4063 Email: mackenzieinstitute AT bellnet.ca Web: http://www.mackenzieinstitute.com/contact.html

Other SourceWatch Resources

 * Atlantic Institute for Market Studies
 * Fraser Institute
 * Frontier Institute for Public Policy