Canadian Studies Announcements

In this issue:

NEXT EVENT

Hildebrand Graduate Research Showcase

Tuesday, March 15 | 12:30 pm PT | 223 Moses Hall | RSVP here

Learn about the research Canadian Studies funds through our Edward Hildebrand Graduate Research Fellowships, as recipients present short overviews of their projects. This panel will have a special focus on the environment, development, and Indigenous resource sovereignty. This event will be held in-person as well as broadcast via Zoom.

Mindy Price, Ph.D. candidate, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

“New Agricultural Frontiers: Land, Labor and Sovereignty in the Northwest Territories, Canada”

Now more than 1º Celsius warmer than a century ago and warming at three times the global average, the Arctic and Subarctic are being reimagined as a new frontier for food production. Despite a growing body of evidence that climate change will enable new possibilities for agriculture in the North, much research remains agnostic about how northern agricultural development will affect communities and landscapes and the relations between them. Mindy uses archival research and ethnography in three extended case studies to examine the implications of agriculture development on the social relations of production and consumption in the Northwest Territories, Canada.

Aaron Gregory, Ph.D. student, City and Regional Planning

“Kinship Infrastructures: Indigenous Energy Autonomy and Regulatory Sea Change in Beecher Bay”

Aaron’s research explores the social, technical, and regulatory impacts of a renewable energy system developed by the Scia’new First Nation in Beecher Bay, British Columbia. He examines this project as an emergent approach to Indigenous environmental governance, an infrastructural solution responding to the problem of Indigenous energy sovereignty, and a regulatory provocation designed to challenge a provincial monopoly on energy production and distribution.

New Study Tracks Trends Among Canada’s LGB Voters

A new study co-authored by a UC Berkeley political scientist sheds light on political trends in Canada’s lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) population. Titled “The Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Vote in a More Tolerant Canada“, the forthcoming article in the Canadian Journal of Political Science examines the effects of political mainstreaming on what has traditionally been a solid left-of-centre voting block. Its authors are Eric Guntermann, a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Political Science at UC Berkeley, and Edana Beauvais, an assistant professor of political science at Simon Fraser University.

It’s no surprise that lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals overwhelmingly vote left-of-centre, and are on average less conservative than straight people. LGB policy priorities have traditionally been associated with progressive politics, and left-of-centre individuals were more likely to identify as LBG. These communities were traditionally very cohesive by virtue of forming around a strong shared experience of discrimination and persecution.

In recent decades, however, same-sex relationships have achieved widespread acceptance throughout Canada, with opponents being relegated to the political fringe. LGB political groups have also achieved many of their policy goals, most prominently same-sex marriage. Have these societal changes led to movement in individual political preferences? Guntermann and Beauvais hypothesize that the mainstreaming of LGB rights would lead to lower cohesion as a politically distinctive group.

The study partly confirms this expectation. While activism for same-sex marriage is historically tied to left-wing politics, the outcome of the push for gay marriage has moved some LGB individuals to the right. Guntermann and Beauvais’ estimates show that while marriage makes most people more conservative, it has a larger effect on gay men, bringing them roughly to the average ideological score of straight men.

However, when viewing the LGB community overall the study notes an important counterweight: bisexual women. This group is by far the most left-wing group as measured by self-identification, immigration preferences, and vote choice. While men are generally more conservative than women overall, bisexual women are not only more left-wing than gay men, but also significantly further left than lesbian women. This is important because data from the 2019 Canada Election Study show that the number of self-identified bisexual women increased fivefold from Gen X (born 1965-1980) to Gen Z (born 1997-2012). With over 20% of Gen Z women identifying as bisexual, this represents an extremely heavy counterweight to any movement among other groups in the LGB population.

The study’s conclusions? Despite some rightward movement among married gay men, the outsized increase in young bisexual-identified women suggests that the leftward tilt of the LGB community overall will persist for the foreseeable future.

Big Give is Next Thursday, March 10!

The big day is almost here! Join us next week for Big Give, Berkeley’s annual day of giving. Show your support for Canadian Studies by making a donation of any size in support of our program. Your generosity supports our public programs and student scholars. And a timely gift could help us earn $100s of dollars in matches at no extra cost to you – learn how here.

Applications closing for summer research funding

Deadline: Friday, March 11, 2022

The Canadian Studies Program is currently accepting applications for the Edward Hildebrand Graduate Research Fellowship for Summer 2022 and AY 2022-23. The application is open to any UC Berkeley graduate student whose work focuses primarily or comparatively on Canada. This fellowship is meant to cover direct research costs.

The deadline for summer applications is next Friday, March 11; applications for AY 22-23 must be submitted by May 6. Please visit our website for more information and full eligibility criteria, and help us share this information with your friends and networks!

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Canada and the United States in the New Quantum Tech Era

Wednesday, March 9 | 10:00 am PT | Online | RSVP here

Join the Wilson Center’s Canada Institute for a discussion on the emerging revolution in quantum technologies and how the governments of Canada and the United States are approaching the opportunities and challenges it presents.

Emerging quantum technologies will have significant economic and national security ramifications, setting off a global race for leadership in this field. Quantum computers hold the promise of infinitely greater processing power and the ability to crack today’s digital security protocols. They will transform industries from finance to pharmaceuticals to logistics. Quantum sensors and quantum imaging will change fields from mining to warfare. Moreover, a quantum internet, with ultra-high speeds and security is under development. This session will explore what the U.S. and Canada are doing in the quantum field and how they are thinking about closer collaboration in the years ahead.

This event will feature an expert panel drawn from top levels of government, science, and industry, and will be hosted by Canada Institute director and Berkeley Canadian Studies board member Chris Sands. This event is being hosted in partnership with the Embassy of Canada.

Canadian Studies Program

213 Moses Hall #2308

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