| Call for Papers: Journal of Canadian Studies special edition: “My Canada Includes an Extra Chromosome”
Deadline: 1 November, 2026
This special issue is about reflecting on Canada’s “excessive demand” laws, policies and professional and administrative practices that converge to exclude would-be migrant persons based on certain medical conditions, and the implications of these relations in everyday lives. The title is the name of an episode of political satirist Rick Mercer’s television program, referring to the exclusion of a child with Down Syndrome from Canada.
A central part of a Canadian immigration application process is the medical examination. The stakes of negative medical assessment are high: people can be screened out of being eligible for immigrating to Canada. Informed by 19th-century health reasoning, Canadian federal immigration law is organized to exclude people with certain chronic illness, disability, and genetic otherness from permanently settling, deeming them a burden and risk to Canadian society.
Ultimately, the medical logic of immigration exclusion in the Canadian context is not self-evident, making it ripe terrain for social inquiry. In this thematic issue, we seek submissions from scholars and practitioners whose contributions advance knowledge in the humanities, social sciences and creative disciplines.
For more information, please find the full call for papers here. |
Halfway through its anniversary year, the Legion’s membership has grown by 100,000 and now sits at well over 300,000 and counting, as existing members renew and thousands of new people join for free during 2026. 
Royal Canadian Legion, US Branch #25 