In This Issue:

Program News

• Haikun Liu wins 2023 Ross Prize for project evaluating “altruism” of Canada’s foreign aid
• Dennis Song awarded honourable mention for paper on how Tibetan refugees paved the way for a multicultural Canada
• Check out our Fall 2023 course lineup!

Research Opportunities

• Call for Proposals: Association for Canadian Studies 50th Anniversary Summit

External Events

• Friends of Canada at SF Pride
• Commemoration Day Virtual Service
• Digital Moose Lounge Canada Day Picnic

PROGRAM NEWS

Haikun Liu Wins 2023 Ross Prize for Project Evaluating “Altruism” of Canada’s Foreign Aid

The Canadian Studies Program is pleased to award Haikun Liu the 2023 Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize in Canadian Studies. Named in honour of a longtime associate director of the program, the prize is awarded to an undergraduate who has produced an outstanding work of original Canadianist research for a UC Berkeley course or independent study. Haikun’s submission, “Altruism of Aid: Analysis of Canadian Official Development Assistance (ODA) into Sub-Saharan Africa”, assesses whether Canada’s foreign aid displays selfless or self-interested motives.

Haikun is a Chinese-Canadian international student, pursuing a dual degree in economics and business administration, alongside minors in politics, philosophy, and law. His family moved to Toronto when he was 12, and he credits his experience of Canadian multiculturalism and open-mindedness with shaping his personal values. Haikun’s interest in Canada-Africa relations started in high school, and he volunteered with international development organizations from a young age. However, it was his economics classes at UC Berkeley that showed him the possibilities of research in this discipline. “I want to thank Prof. Edward Miguel for enlightening my understanding of African development and opening my eyes towards translating research into real-world impact,” he notes.

Haikun’s winning paper is merely the first part of a substantial independent research project, which contributes to a long-running debate in political science over whether foreign aid is indeed altruistic, or merely serves a state’s geopolitical aims. Canada, in particular, has long claimed moral and altruistic motives for its foreign aid. Critics, however, frequently claim that wealthy nations use aid to buy political favours and access to resources from weaker countries. In contrast to great powers such as the United States and China, comparatively little research has been done to assess the efficacy and motives of Canada’s aid projects.

Haikun’s paper fits Canada’s aid program into an empirical standard for “altruism” that can be compared to other global players. By using GDP and ODA statistics from the World Bank, Haikun developed an algorithm that looks for “countercyclical donations”, periods where donations from Canada increased while the country’s GDP declined – essentially, evidencing a lack of financial return on the aid investment. Under this model, only about half of the recipient countries could be considered “altruistic” cases. Additionally, nearly 3/4 of the 21 countries receiving altruistic aid were coastal – perhaps hinting at larger strategic goals in Canada’s funding.

Still, this paper is only the beginning of Haikun’s work. In addition to his Ross Prize, Haikun has applied for a pilot undergraduate research grant to travel to Canada to do archival research over the summer. He plans to examine the rhetoric of official government ODA reports, to provide a holistic, rhetorical complement to his empirical analysis. And after graduating, he hopes to grow this project into a dissertation when he pursues a graduate degree in development economics.

“The Rita Ross Prize represents the culmination of my time here at Berkeley,” says Haikun. “As a Canadian student with minimal funding opportunities, the prize has encouraged me to further pursue research in an area that I am genuinely passionate about.”

Canadian Studies awarded an honourable mention to Ross Prize applicant Dennis Song, for his research into the history of a Cold War-era Tibetan refugee resettlement program and its impact on Canada’s immigration system.

Dennis is a Chinese-Canadian international student, majoring in conservation studies. His submission, “Cold War & Tibetan Resettlement Program: A Canadian Perspective”, examines the 1971-75 Canadian Tibetan Resettlement Program, which resettled 228 Tibetan exiles in the country. This project was the first major resettlement of non-Europeans in Canada, but has traditionally been viewed as a token gesture of moral leadership. However, Dennis argues that it played a notable role in setting the stage for Canada’s future refugee policies, and was a significant milestone on Canada’s transformation into a multicultural, immigrant society.

The resettlement issue brought together several sometimes-contradictory strands of Canada’s Cold War geopolitics; it balanced a desire for moral leadership, independence from US foreign policy, and the realities of international relations. Dennis charts how throughout the development of the program, leaders from Pearson to Trudeau shuffled between these priorities in a way that makes it difficult to speak of a unified Canadian approach to the geopolitics during the era. While the program demonstrated real initiative, the project was delayed several years, and its scope limited to about 10% of the initial number of refugees, due to fears of Chinese or US diplomatic reprisals.

The small number of Tibetans accepted was also a consequence of fears among Canadian leadership about integrating the refugees. With immigration laws having recently been liberalized, the government viewed the program as a test for how well immigrants from non-Western societies could assimilate. Many Canadian politicians saw Tibetan society as archaic, and were concerned that their pastoralist background and cultural isolation would severely hamper their ability to become self-sufficient citizens. But the speed with which the refugees integrated themselves into the workforce convinced officials that culturally-distinct migrants could successfully adapt to life in Canada. Concrete naturalization strategies gained from the program would go on to inform later, and significantly larger, refugee resettlements. Without this precedent, Dennis argues, we may not have seen the increased willingness for the country to accept more diverse groups of refugees and immigrants over the next decades.

And how did Dennis get interested in this project? “Taking (Canadian Studies Director, Professor Irene) Bloemraad’s course on immigration made me wonder, why did Canada learn to be more accepting of immigrants? I was surprised to find an answer in my Tibetan history class with Professor Van Vleet.” Dennis hopes to expand his paper further into an undergraduate honors thesis. “Receiving the honorable mention really made me feel the Canadian presence on campus! It feels strange to not have more campus academic engagement with the northern neighbor. The presence of this program will promote me further to do research about Canada.”

Each semester, Canadian Studies updates our list of Berkeley courses that engage in some way with Canada. These courses showcase the possibilities of Canadian Studies. As an interdisciplinary program, we encourage students to take classes across a variety of subjects, and these courses reflect that diversity. (Please let us know if you have any additions!) Courses offered this semester include:

• “The Seminar on Criticism: Canadian Songs 1960-1999”: This course engages with Canadian songwriting of the late 20th century, a period where Canada was redefining itself, both internally and to the world.
• “Encounter & Conquest in Indigenous America”: This class compares and contrasts histories of colonization and Indigenous resistance in three regions of North America, including the St. Lawrence River Valley.
• “Language and Identity”: This course will use Canada as a case study as it examines the role of language in the construction of social identities. Topics covered include the legitimization of a national language, the politics of language in nation-building processes, and the endangerment of Indigenous languages.

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Call for Proposals: Association for Canadian Studies

50th Anniversary Summit

Deadline: Saturday, June 17, 2023

The Association for Canadian Studies has issued a call for papers for a summit to mark its 50th anniversary. The theme of the summit is “Giving ‘Our’ Past a Future: Re-Building and Sharing Inclusive Narrative(s) for Canada.”

Over the past two decades, the rethinking of the Canadian history narrative has sought to address the glaring historic omissions of Indigenous peoples. Is real progress being made in that regard? To what extent is the broader public interested and engaged in the changing history narrative? Is there a growing rift in the history narrative changes being presented/proposed by many Canadian thought leaders and the acceptance and support for these changes by the wider public?

ACS invites proposals for workshops/panel presentation sessions, roundtables, and poster presentations on a range of topics such as migration and identity formation. The 50th anniversary summit will take place on October 2nd, 2023 at the Hilton Lac-Leamy Hotel, Gatineau, Quebec. Learn more here.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Friends of Canada at SF Pride

Sun., June 25 | 4:00 pm | San Francisco, CA | RSVP

Consul General of Canada Rana Sarkar cordially invites you to join Canadians marching in the 2023 San Francisco Pride Parade! The theme of this year’s parade is “Looking Back and Moving Forward.”

All are welcome to join the Consulate group on Sunday, June 25th with their families and friends to celebrate diversity and to support the LGBTQ2+ members of our communities here in San Francisco, at home in Canada, and abroad. The exact assembly location and time will be announced approximately one week prior to the parade. Please register via the link above to receive updates.

Commemoration Day Virtual Service

Sat., July 1 | 8:00 am PT | Online | RSVP

While July 1st is Canada Day, for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians it is also Memorial Day or Commemoration Day – a day when we remember the loss of over 700 Newfoundlanders on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in 1916. Observed since 1917, this tradition commemorates the sacrifices made by Newfoundlanders in the service of Canada’s armed forces.

US Branch #25 of the Royal Canadian Legion, representing the San Francisco Bay Area, invites you to join them and the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps – Arkansas Division for a virtual sunrise service honoring of Canada’s fallen soldiers. The service will be held exclusively on Zoom; please register above if you wish to attend.

Digital Moose Lounge Canada Day Picnic

Sat., July 1 | 11:30 am | Woodside, CA | Buy tickets

Celebrate Canada’s 156th birthday with your fellow Bay Area Canadians at the Digital Moose Lounge’s ever-popular Canada Day Picnic. Enjoy an afternoon under the redwoods, with fun activities & games to keep kids and adults alike entertained. Meet new friends and reconnect with old ones as we embrace our heritage and celebrate with patriotic pride.

Tickets are expected to sell out, so get your early!

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In This Issue:

Berkeley News

• Canadian triple-major combines love of sports with passion for advocacy

News from Canada

• BlackBerry case shows why Canada needs an updated innovation policy

External Events

• May 2-4 Happy Hour & Trivia
• Royal Canadian Legion Memorial Day Service
• Université de Montréal Alumni Cocktail Reception

BERKELEY NEWS

Canadian Triple-Major Combines Love of Sports with Passion for Advocacy

As part of its series on the class of 2023, Berkeley News profiled Canadian student Ben Coleman, who graduated Saturday with a triple degree in English, political science, and legal studies, and a minor in journalism.

Coleman’s academic career married several of his personal interests. Since childhood, Coleman has had a passion for sports, and he played hockey from the age of five through high school. But Coleman also loved reading and writing. At Berkeley, Coleman combined these interests in his work as a sports reporter for the Daily Cal, eventually being promoted to section editor.

Coleman also has a long interest of community outreach. In high school, Coleman and his sister founded the FANS (Full Access for Newcomers to Sports) Foundation, a non-profit registered in both the US and Canada that helps immigrant families access team sports and other youth activities. Coleman continues to be involved with the group, which has benefitted over 500 children since its foundation five years ago.

As the son of two lawyers, Coleman also understands the power of the law in changing people’s lives. As a student, Coleman held two summer internships with firms in Canada. And at Berkeley, he was a research apprentice with the Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality and Anti-Discrimination Law, addressing issues like the MeToo movement, disability rights, and diversity in education.

Coleman hopes to make community service a central pillar of his post-graduation career. For now, he has accepted a one-year position with the Minnesota Vikings as a social impact associate, working on projects such as youth events and nonprofit partnerships. He then plans to attend law school, to pursue either sports law or nonprofit law.

NEWS FROM CANADA

In a recent opinion piece, senior CBC business reporter Peter Armstrong argues that the problem largely lies in policies that discourage innovation. Pointing to Silicon Valley, he notes that when past crashes led to the collapse of major corporations, there were dozens of smaller corporations jockeying to take their place. In Canada, there were few local companies to fill the void, leading to Canadian assets being gobbled up by foreign multinationals like Huawei. Additionally, the lack of competition in most of Canada’s business sectors gives companies little reason to innovate.

Another hurdle is Canada’s close proximity to the United States. While Canada produces thousands of high-quality university graduates, less regulation and higher salaries frequently entice entrepreneurs south. While strict regulation helped Canada avoid disasters like the 2008 financial crisis, it can also reduce competitiveness. And getting Canadian officials to understand the needs of a knowledge-based economy is difficult, especially in an environment where the pace of innovation is constantly accelerating.

Nevertheless, business leaders are optimistic that these lessons are being learned. The Canadian government has made strengthening the tech sector a priority, both through immigration policy and direct support. It recently announced a new $2.6 billion dollar initiative, the Canadian Innovation Corporation, aimed at supporting entrepreneurs and start-up companies in Canada. While policy alone can’t guarantee a world-changing innovation, it can provide an environment where entrepreneurs feel safe to innovate without fear of failure.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

May 2-4 Happy Hour & Trivia

Wed., May 24 | 6:00 pm | San Francisco, CA | RSVP

The Digital Moose Lounge and SF Canadian Expat Meetup Group invite you celebrate May 24 with a happy hour for the Bay Area’s Canadian expat community. Join the fun as they kick off the summer season with cold drinks, poutine and Canadian trivia!

Doors open at 6:00 and trivia starts at 6:30. Cash bar. Bring your friends, all are welcome! Please RSVP on MeetUp if you plan to attend.

Royal Canadian Legion Memorial Day Service

Sat., May 27 | 11:00 am | Colma, CA

Join the Branch 25 of the Royal Canadian Legion, representing the San Francisco Bay Area, for their annual Memorial Day Service, supported by the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps (USNSCC) – Arkansas Division. The service will take place at the Royal Canadian Legion plot in the Greenlawn Memorial Park on 1100 El Camino Real in Colma.

If you are unable to attend in person, you can register for a livestream of the event here.

Université de Montréal Alumni Cocktail Reception

May 31/June 1 | San Francisco & Los Angeles, CA | RSVP

The Université de Montréal invites its California alumni to network with fellow alumni and UdeM senior leadership over cocktails at two special receptions. University rector Daniel Jutras will be in attendance, as will Michael Pecho, vice-rector for alumni relations and philanthropy. Attendance is free, but registration is required and limited to university alumni.

The San Francisco reception will be hosted by Wilson Sonsini (One Market Plaza Spear Tower, 19th Floor), at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, May 31.

For Los Angeles-based alumni, a second reception will take place at 6:30 pm on Thursday, June 1 at the official residence of the government of Quebec in Beverly Hills.

In This Issue:

Research Opportunities

• Last chance to apply for Canadian Studies research funding!
• Call for proposals: “(Up)Rooting the Study of Canada”

External Events

• Paul Storer Memorial Lecture: “Why Canadians (Mostly) Love Immigration, and Americans Aren’t So Sure”, feat. Irene Bloemraad
• Memorial University of Newfoundland Alumni Meetup
• Canadian authors at the Bay Area Book Festival
• BlackBerry film screening party
• May 2-4 Happy Hour & Trivia
• Université de Montréal Alumni Cocktail Reception

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Deadline: Friday, May 5, 2023

This Friday is the last chance to apply for Canadian Studies funding for the Fall 2023 semester. Funding is available for both graduate and undergraduate students. Please forward this information to any friends, students, or colleagues who may be interested!

The Edward E. Hildebrand Graduate Research Fellowship

Accepting applications for Fall 2023

Amount: Up to $5,000 per semester

This fellowship funds research that contributes to knowledge about Canada and/or the Canadian-U.S. relationship. Applications are open to UC Berkeley graduate students in any discipline and of any citizenship. This fellowship is meant to cover direct travel and research costs.

The Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize in Canadian Studies

Amount: $250

This prize recognizes undergraduates who have written a superior research paper or other project on a Canadian topic. The competition is open to any UC Berkeley undergraduate student in good academic standing, in any college or discipline. Submissions must be an original paper or project produced in a UC Berkeley class or independent study during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Undergraduate Research Funding

Accepting applications for Summer and Fall 2023

Amount: Variable

Funding is available for undergraduate students interested in conducting organized research for a UC Berkeley class or as part of an independent study project. Awards are made at the director’s discretion.

Deadline for abstracts: August 15, 2023

Deadline for articles: January 15, 2024

The journal New Area Studies is inviting submissions that (re)envision an updated research and teaching agenda for the study of Canada and for “New Canadian Studies.”

In recent years, scholars have redefined the academic study of Canada. Questioning a traditional area studies approach, they emphasise new perspectives that interrogate colonial, extractive, and nation-building designs. Comparative, trans-cultural and transnational perspectives have provided fresh ways of approaching the study of Canada. Likewise, others have integrated the experiences of groups who have been historically marginalized or excluded from the “mainstream” study of Canada such as Asian Canadians, Black Canadians, Francophones, and Indigenous Peoples.

Submissions are welcome from scholars at all stages in their careers, including students, and from any discipline. Click here for more information.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Paul Storer Memorial Lecture: “Why Canadians (Mostly) Love Immigration, and Americans Aren’t So Sure”

Monday, May 1 | 4:00 pm PT | Online | RSVP

The Canadian Studies Program is delighted to announce that our program director, Irene Bloemraad, will be in Washington State next week to deliver the annual Paul Storer Memorial Lecture on Canada-US Relations at Western Washington University. We invite community members to listen virtually.

Americans are deeply divided about migration policy and have limited appetite for increasing immigration. Canada’s government has, in contrast, increased its immigration targets, and the ruling Liberal Party’s leader, Justin Trudeau, won his first national election partly due to a campaign promise to resettle thousands of Syrian refugees. Why do Canadians seem to love immigration while Americans aren’t so sure?

Irene Bloemraad is the Class of 1951 Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley and the founding director of the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative (BIMI). She has been the faculty director of the Canadian Studies Program since 2012.

This lecture is sponsored by Western Washington University’s Center for Canadian-American Studies, Border Policy Research Institute, Department of Sociology, Department of Economics, and the WWU Alumni Association.

Memorial University of Newfoundland Alumni Meetup

Tuesday, May 2 | 6:30 pm | Palo Alto, CA | RSVP

Memorial alumni and friends in the Greater San Francisco Bay area are invited to join an evening of networking and socializing in Palo Alto. Attendees will enjoy light appetizers, raffle prizes and the opportunity to reminisce about all things Memorial University and Newfoundland and Labrador. The event is free, but advance registration is required.

Canadian Authors at the Bay Area Book Festival

May 6-7 | Berkeley, CA | Learn more

The Bay Area Book Festival is one of the world’s premier celebrations of writers, readers, and the written word, bringing together some of the best contemporary authors from across the globe. This year, the festival line-up includes two exciting debut literary voices from Canada, thanks to the generous support of the Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco.

Dazzling Debuts

May 6 | 12:30 pm | Learn more

Award-winning Tibetan-Canadian author Tsering Yangzom Lama joins a panel of debut authors from around the world to discuss their works and paths to publication, as well as give advice to aspiring authors.

Indigenous Perspectives in Genre Fiction

May 6 | 3:30 pm | Learn more

Cree author Jessica Johns joins a panel of Native American and First Nations authors with new works in the genres of mysteries, thrillers, and horror. How do these writers incorporate historical and modern traumas into their work, deal with literary stereotypes, and help shape perceptions of contemporary Indigenous communities?

We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies: In Exile from Tibet

May 7 | 11:30 am | Learn more

Tsering Yangzom Lama will discuss her debut novel, We Measure the Earth With Our Bodies, a finalist for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. The multi-generational epic draws on Lama’s own family history as it traces sixty years of a Tibetan refugee family and their journey to Canada.

Horror: History That Goes Bump in the Night

May 7 | 2:30 pm | Learn more

History comes back to haunt the living in this panel on contemporary horror, and Jessica Johns joins to discuss her debut novel, Bad Cree. In the novel, a young woman’s nightmarish dreams begin to manifest, and it soon becomes clear that the forces of industrial intrusion on Native land are not only relevant – they’re malevolent.

BlackBerry Film Screening Party

Fri., May 12 | 7:30 pm | Sunnyvale, CA | Buy tickets

The Digital Moose Lounge invites you to a private screening of the Bay Area theatrical premiere of the new Canadian film BlackBerry at the AMC 20 Mercado Theater in Sunnyvale.

Directed by Canadian Matt Johnson, BlackBerry recounts the meteoric rise and catastrophic demise of Waterloo’s Research in Motion from a scrappy startup to the maker of a world-leading global cell phone. The movie is an entertaining and humorous romp with a nostalgic Ontario backdrop. Johnson perfectly captures the heady creative period of the mid-’90s with this exuberant depiction of the rise and fall of the BlackBerry.

The film holds a 97% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a “universal acclaim” rating on Metacritic. It is nominated for Best Film at the Berlin Film Festival, and won the 2023 Sloan Science on Screen Prize at the SF Film Festival. Watch the trailer here.

A private networking party will precede the film at 5:30 pm at a nearby location TBD. Theater doors open at 7:00, and the film will start at 7:30. Be sure to stay and enjoy a light-hearted 30-minute panel discussion with Bay Area residents and former BlackBerry executives Don Lindsay and Andrew Bocking, who will discuss how well the film did at capturing this amazing Canadian story.

May 2-4 Happy Hour & Trivia

Wed., May 24 | 6:00 pm | San Francisco, CA | RSVP

The Digital Moose Lounge and SF Canadian Expat Meetup Group invite you celebrate May 24 with a happy hour for the Bay Area’s Canadian expat community. Join the fun as they kick off the summer season with cold drinks, poutine and Canadian trivia!

Doors open at 6:00 and trivia starts at 6:30. Cash bar. Bring your friends, all are welcome! Please RSVP on MeetUp if you plan to attend.

Université de Montréal Alumni Cocktail Reception

May 31/June 1 | San Francisco & Los Angeles, CA | RSVP

The Université de Montréal invites its California alumni to network with fellow alumni and UdeM senior leadership over cocktails at two special receptions. University rector Daniel Jutras will be in attendance, as will Michael Pecho, vice-rector for alumni relations and philanthropy. Attendance is free, but registration is required and limited to university alumni.

The San Francisco reception will be hosted by Wilson Sonsini (One Market Plaza Spear Tower, 19th Floor), at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, May 31.

For Los Angeles-based alumni, a second reception will take place at 6:30 pm on Thursday, June 1 at the official residence of the government of Quebec in Beverly Hills.

In This Issue:

Upcoming Events

• Hildebrand Graduate Research Showcase

Program News

• New Hildebrand Fellow, Allison Evans, studies efficacy of Toronto’s affordable housing policy

Research Opportunities

• Two weeks left to apply for Canadian Studies research funding!

External Events

• Paul Storer Memorial Lecture: “Why Canadians (Mostly) Love Immigration, and Americans Aren’t So Sure”, feat. Irene Bloemraad
• Memorial University of Newfoundland Alumni Meetup
• Canadian authors at the Bay Area Book Festival
• BlackBerry film screening party

UPCOMING EVENTS

Wednesday, April 26 | 12:30 pm PT | 223 Philosophy | RSVP

Learn about the research Canadian Studies funds through our Edward E. Hildebrand Graduate Research Fellowships, as recipients present overviews of their projects.

“Affordability for Whom? The Impacts of Foreign Buyer Taxes on British Columbia and Ontario Rental Housing Markets”

Taesoo Song, Ph.D. student, City and Regional Planning

During the mid-2010s, British Columbia and Ontario provincial governments implemented foreign buyer taxes (FBTs) to discourage foreign investment to promote affordability in the housing market. Although limited empirical evidence suggests that the taxes were effective in curbing house prices, there has been no significant discussion of their potential impacts on the rental market. Understanding this relationship would be crucial in meeting the housing needs of lower-income and immigrant households. Using empirical data from the Canadian Housing Mortgage Corporation and the Canadian Census, Taesoo examines how FBTs have impacted the regional rental markets and their implications for housing policy and planning.

“Exploring the Link between Climate Change and Mass Extinction: A Case Study of Late Ordovician Fossils from Anticosti Island, Quebec”

Joshua Zimmt, Ph.D. candidate, Integrative Biology

Joshua’s work uses a first-of-its-kind method to analyze the fossil record for links between climate change and faunal turnover. By applying this method to the exceptional fossil and rock records on Anticosti Island, he hopes to understand how climate change may have caused the Late Ordovician mass extinction, one of the largest known extinction events. Joshua’s research contributes to a better understanding of this critical interval in the history of life, and serves as a case study of global change that can help us better understand our rapidly-changing modern world.

PROGRAM NEWS

New Hildebrand Fellow, Allison Evans, Studies Efficacy of Toronto’s Affordable Housing Policy

It is with great pleasure that Canadian Studies welcomes Allison Evans as the program’s third and final new Hildebrand Fellow for Summer 2023.

Allison is a Ph.D. student in city and regional planning. Her work takes a critical approach to housing policy and land use planning. She examines the barriers to creating truly affordable housing, and how municipalities can deliver on their housing goals.

Allison’s Hildebrand Fellowship will enable her to study Housing Now, an affordable housing program in her home city of Toronto. Housing Now aims at developing affordable housing through public-private partnerships and surplus city-owned land. Allison’s research is motivated by the limited assessments of Housing Now’s progress, and to better understand the current critiques of the program. Through in-depth interviews, she hopes to learn about the program’s successes and what could be improved upon in the future.

Allison holds a B.E.S. and M.E.S. in planning from York University in Toronto, where she researched various housing-related topics and published peer-reviewed articles about the political economy of student housing and state ambiguities around tent encampments in the city.

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Deadline: May 5, 2023

The Canadian Studies Program is currently accepting applications for several funding opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. Please forward this information to any friends, students, or colleagues who may be interested!

The Edward E. Hildebrand Graduate Research Fellowship

Accepting applications for Fall 2023

Amount: Up to $5,000 per semester

This fellowship funds research that contributes to knowledge about Canada and/or the Canadian-U.S. relationship. Applications are open to UC Berkeley graduate students in any discipline and of any citizenship. This fellowship is meant to cover direct travel and research costs.

The Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize in Canadian Studies

Amount: $250

This prize recognizes undergraduates who have written a superior research paper or other project on a Canadian topic. The competition is open to any UC Berkeley undergraduate student in good academic standing, in any college or discipline. Submissions must be an original paper or project produced in a UC Berkeley class or independent study during the 2022-2023 academic year.

Undergraduate Research Funding

Accepting applications for Summer and Fall 2023

Amount: Variable

Funding is available for undergraduate students interested in conducting organized research for a UC Berkeley class or as part of an independent study project. Awards are made at the director’s discretion.

EXTERNAL EVENTS

Paul Storer Memorial Lecture: “Why Canadians (Mostly) Love Immigration, and Americans Aren’t So Sure”

Monday, May 1 | 4:00 pm PT | Online | RSVP

The Canadian Studies Program is delighted to announce that our program director, Irene Bloemraad, will be in Washington State next week to deliver the annual Paul Storer Memorial Lecture on Canada-US Relations at Western Washington University. We invite community members to listen virtually.

Americans are deeply divided about migration policy and have limited appetite for increasing immigration. Canada’s government has, in contrast, increased its immigration targets, and the ruling Liberal Party’s leader, Justin Trudeau, won his first national election partly due to a campaign promise to resettle thousands of Syrian refugees. Why do Canadians seem to love immigration while Americans aren’t so sure?

Irene Bloemraad is the Class of 1951 Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley and the founding director of the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative (BIMI). She has been the faculty director of the Canadian Studies Program since 2012.

This lecture is sponsored by Western Washington University’s Center for Canadian-American Studies, Border Policy Research Institute, Department of Sociology, Department of Economics, and the WWU Alumni Association.

Memorial University of Newfoundland Alumni Meetup

Tuesday, May 2 | 6:30 pm | Palo Alto, CA | RSVP

Memorial alumni and friends in the Greater San Francisco Bay area are invited to join an evening of networking and socializing in Palo Alto. Attendees will enjoy light appetizers, raffle prizes and the opportunity to reminisce about all things Memorial University and Newfoundland and Labrador. The event is free, but advance registration is required.

Canadian Authors at the Bay Area Book Festival

May 6-7 | Berkeley, CA | Learn more

The Bay Area Book Festival is one of the world’s premier celebrations of writers, readers, and the written word, bringing together some of the best contemporary authors from across the globe. This year, the festival line-up includes two exciting debut literary voices from Canada, thanks to the generous support of the Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco.

Dazzling Debuts

May 6 | 12:30 pm | Learn more

Award-winning Tibetan-Canadian author Tsering Yangzom Lama joins a panel of debut authors from around the world to discuss their works and paths to publication, as well as give advice to aspiring authors.

Indigenous Perspectives in Genre Fiction

May 6 | 3:30 pm | Learn more

Cree author Jessica Johns joins a panel of Native American and First Nations authors with new works in the genres of mysteries, thrillers, and horror. How do these writers incorporate historical and modern traumas into their work, deal with literary stereotypes, and help shape perceptions of contemporary Indigenous communities?

We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies: In Exile from Tibet

May 7 | 11:30 am | Learn more

Tsering Yangzom Lama will discuss her debut novel, We Measure the Earth With Our Bodies, a finalist for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. The multi-generational epic draws on Lama’s own family history as it traces sixty years of a Tibetan refugee family and their journey to Canada.

Horror: History That Goes Bump in the Night

May 7 | 2:30 pm | Learn more

History comes back to haunt the living in this panel on contemporary horror, and Jessica Johns joins to discuss her debut novel, Bad Cree. In the novel, a young woman’s nightmarish dreams begin to manifest, and it soon becomes clear that the forces of industrial intrusion on Native land are not only relevant – they’re malevolent.

BlackBerry Film Screening Party

Friday, May 12 | 7:30 pm | Sunnyvale, CA | Learn more

The Digital Moose Lounge invites you to join them for a private screening of the new Canadian film BlackBerry at the AMC Theater, Sunnyvale!

Director, writer, and actor Matt Johnson perfectly captures the heady creative period of the mid-’90s with this exuberant depiction of the rise and fall of the BlackBerry, the first smartphone.

The film holds a 96% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a “universal acclaim” rating on Metacritic. It also won the 2023 Sloan Science on Screen Prize at the SF Film Festival.

Tickets will go on sale soon – stay tuned for more information!