Canadian Studies Announcements

In This Issue:

Program News

• Undergraduate Nicholas Taplitz receives conference grant to present research on climate and development projects in Nunavut

• Former Sproul Fellow Heather Hudson publishes new book on digital connectivity in remote communities

External Events

• Conversations on Canada: “Party of Five”? Québec Politics in the 21st Century

• Québec-U.S. Relations: A Path Forward

PROGRAM NEWS

Undergraduate Nicholas Taplitz Receives Conference Grant to Present Research on Climate and Development Projects in Nunavut

The Canadian Studies Program is pleased to announce that undergraduate student Nicholas Taplitz has received a travel grant to present his research at the 2026 ArcticNet Annual Scientific Meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in December.

Nicholas is a junior at UC Berkeley, majoring in Global Studies with a concentration in Development and Political Economy. His current research looks at Arctic governance, climate policy, and decision-making across institutional and jurisdictional boundaries.

As a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow, Nicholas conducted a comparative study in Greenland and Nunavut examining how scientific, community, and administrative knowledge inform policy and planning decisions. That work has led to more focused research on adaptation planning and infrastructure development in the Kitikmeot region of the Canadian Arctic. Nicholas will present his research in two separate presentations:

From Knowledge to Plan: Community-Held Knowledge in Two Kitikmeot Adaptation Processes

Climate adaptation plans often bring together scientific information, government expertise, and the observations and experience of people who live in affected communities. This project compares climate adaptation planning in Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk, Nunavut, to see how those different forms of knowledge move through two local planning processes: who contributes them, who brings them together, how their roles change as priorities and recommendations are developed, and who is responsible for carrying those recommendations forward.

Beyond the Project Boundary: Governing Development Enabled by Grays Bay

The proposed Grays Bay Road and Port would create a deepwater port and all-season road in Nunavut’s Kitikmeot region, possibly allowing new mining, trucking, shipping, and other development. This project looks at how the environmental review accounts for those broader effects when many of the activities the project could enable would be developed and governed separately, and also asks a larger question: how can environmental assessment address development beyond a project’s formal boundary when responsibility for managing its effects is spread across many different actors?

In addition to his work on the Arctic, Nicholas also works as a research assistant to Professor Kristin Luker at Berkeley Law’s Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice. His broader interests include international public law, public policy, and cross-border regulation. His writing on documentary film and global development is forthcoming in Jump Cut and Film Matters.

Former Sproul Fellow Heather Hudson Publishes New Book on Digital Connectivity in Remote Communities

Dr. Heather Hudson, a former Canadian Studies Sproul Fellow, recently published a new book, From Rural Village to Smart Village: Digital Connectivity for Development. The book explores how digital technologies are transforming life in rural, remote, and Indigenous communities from the Far North to the Global South.

A graduate of the University of British Columbia and Stanford University, Dr. Hudson is currently affiliated with the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Her research focuses on the role of communications technology in economic and social development, with particular attention to Indigenous communities in northern Canada and Alaska. She received a Sproul Fellowship from the Canadian Studies Program in 2015.

Dr. Hudson advocates for better digital connectivity as a means of expanding access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities in remote areas. In Canada, Dr. Hudson has advised Indigenous organizations seeking to bring broadband access to remote communities. She has also consulted on Indigenous-led efforts to allow communities to develop and manage their own telecommunications infrastructure.

From Rural Village to Smart Village uses international case studies to examine how the expansion of the internet and mobile communications services has transformed life in remote and developing areas. Drawing on examples from Canada and elsewhere, Dr. Hudson offers policy suggestions for improving connectivity for communities that are increasingly reliant on the internet for essential services. Her research offers valuable insights into how investments in infrastructure and access can help ensure that rural and Indigenous communities benefit from an increasingly connected world.

Dr. Hudson’s book is available from Routledge. A 20% discount is available for books purchased directly from the publisher, using code 26AFLY3.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Wed., Oct. 21 | 1:00 pm PT | Zoom | RSVP

For well over a century, Québec politics were a two-party affair—if a third emerged, then it would replace the other one, and so on. Yet, times are changing, and the 2026 Québec general election might be considered a turning point. Five political parties are set to receive more than 12% of the votes and to elect members of the National Assembly of Québec. This is uncharted territory in Québec politics, and fertile ground for pundits and experts alike. Is the National Assembly able to sustain such a crowded house? Are we about to enter an era of fragmentation in Québec politics, around the sovereignty issue; left- and right-wing politics; regionalism; immigration; and the legacy of COVID-19? Or is this only a short parenthesis, as some of these parties may very well be on their way out? In the age of Trump, and under the (inter)national leadership of Prime Minister Mark Carney, what is to be expected from the next premier of Québec?

Alexandre Turgeon is an assistant professor of history at Lakehead University. A specialist in memory-related political issues, his current research focuses on the links between history, collective memory, and social media.

The conversation will be moderated by Dr. Christopher Kirkey, Director of the Center for the Study of Canada and Institute on Québec Studies at SUNY Plattsburgh.

This event is part of the “Conversations on Canada” series, hosted by the Center for the Study of Canada at SUNY Plattsburgh.

Québec-U.S. Relations: A Path Forward

Thurs., Nov. 5 | 2:00 pm PT | Zoom | RSVP

How will Québec’s 2026 election reshape its relationships with Canada, the United States, and the wider international community? The Center for Canadian-American Studies at Western Washington University will be hosting a virtual roundtable that brings together five scholars from Canada and the United States to examine Québec’s 2026 election campaign and results, their implications for Québec’s governance and intergovernmental relations, and the future of Québec’s engagement with the United States. The discussion will situate these developments within the broader North American political context, including the outcomes of the U.S. midterm elections, while exploring Québec’s commitments to cultural diplomacy and academic affairs and its evolving place in North America.

The event is brought to you by the Center for Canadian-American Studies at Western Washington University and the Foundation for WWU & Alumni, with support from Québec’s Ministère des relations internationales et de la Francophonie & the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS).

Canadian Studies Program

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