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Canadian Studies Announcements
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In This Issue:
Canadian Studies News
• Berkeley scholars take center stage at national Canadian Studies conference
Upcoming Events
• Panel: Canada at a Crossroads: Evaluating the Carney Government’s First Nine Months
External Events
• Fall 2025 International Student Travel & Immigration Updates |
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Berkeley Scholars Take Center Stage at National Canadian Studies Conference
Canadianists from all over North America converged in Seattle last week for the 27th Biennial Conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS). ACSUS is the major interdisciplinary network in the United States dedicated to advancing understanding of Canada’s politics, culture, and international relations, as well as the bilateral relationship between our two countries. This year’s ACSUS conference brought together scholars, students, and practitioners to exchange ideas in nearly fifty sessions showcasing cutting-edge research on Canada and the Canada-US relationship.
We are proud to report that Berkeley was an integral part of that effort. We sponsored a formal contingent of five attendees, including three Hildebrand Fellows, two of whom were official speakers. Several board members and affiliates also attended, many of whom either also spoke or helped moderate discussions. |
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On Friday, our own Britt Leake (PhD can., Political Science) opened Session 1, “Politics and Public Policy Student Colloquium”, with a presentation titled “The Charlottetown Accord, Strategic Ambiguity, and the Dangers of Excessive Specificity in Constitutional Compromise”. Based on political science theory that posits a tradeoff between broad acceptance and deep agreement, Britt argued that Canada’s failed attempt to create a constitution that addressed specific concerns by various groups within Canadian society paradoxically made it more difficult to get widespread agreement on the document. Instead, he argued that Canada should have focused on high-level values that were flexible enough to allow for nuanced, distinct interpretations. |
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Lydia Mathews (PhD student, History) presented during Session 2, “Student Colloquium: Reflections on Canada’s Past”. Her talk, “Pure Milk in Montreal: Scientific Mothering Across the US-Canadian Border” looked at the creation of milk stations for nursing mothers during the Progressive Era, as part of an effort to “modernize” mothering and combat infant mortality. Lydia’s presentation situated Canada within an international network of social reformers that stretched throughout the British Empire and United States. She also demonstrated how concerns about hygiene related to Anglo-Canadian and American anxieties about immigration, disease, and social class. |
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| Two Canadian Studies board members played a key role during the ACSUS Awards Luncheon and Enders Symposium on Friday. First, Dr. Christopher Sands (Johns Hopkins Center for Canadian Studies) received the 2025 ICCS Certificate of Merit for his “sustained, diverse, and significant contributions to the advancement of the understanding of Canada and the furtherance of Canadian Studies”. Afterwards, Dr. Kathrine Richardson, a professor of Geography and Urban & Regional Planning at San José State University, joined a panel discussing the current state and future of US-Canada relations under the second Trump administration. |
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Following lunch, Professor Richardson gave a talk as part of Session 4, “Cross-Border Relationships in the 21st Century”, titled “The Cascadia Innovation Corridor: The Role of Social Entrepreneurship in the Making of a North American Innovative Cross-border Region”. Drawing on her own research, she explored the extent to which an integrated economy does or could exist between the cities of the Pacific Northwest, with a special focus on Vancouver and Seattle. Integration between these dynamic economic centers would bring greater development to the entire region. However, despite efforts by local and regional governments and corporations such as Microsoft, she found that integration was still limited by borders and national policy. |
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| Our newest faculty affiliate, Professor Cheryl Suzack (Ethnic Studies), was scheduled to speak during Session 8 on Saturday, but was unfortunately unable to attend. |
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On Saturday evening, conference attendees enjoyed a reception sponsored by Canadian Studies at Berkeley through the generosity of our board members. We extend our profound gratitude to board chair emeritus David and Margaret Stewart; Dr. Kathrine Richardson and Dave S. Rayat; and Pavan Dhillon. Our program director, Professor Hidetaka Hirota, took the opportunity to introduce himself and our Berkeley community with a short speech. |
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On Sunday, Professor Hirota closed out the tenth and final session of the conference, “Immigration and Border Crossings”. In addition to moderating the panel, Professor Hirota gave the concluding talk, “American Immigration Restriction, Canadian Retaliation: Tension Over Migrant Labor between Canada and the United States in the Late Nineteenth Century”. He discussed how Canada tried to deal with US immigration policy that was hostile to Canadian workers on the theory that they depressed wages. Canada’s government walked a fine line between applying symbolic retaliatory measures against the United States, while at the same time being constrained by its dependence on immigration to maintain economic growth during the period. |
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| At a time when area studies programs broadly are facing new pressures, the vitality of our Berkeley community stands out. Our participation in this conference not only increased the visibility of our program, it also offered crucial professional growth opportunities, particularly for our student attendees. By meeting not only established scholars, but nearly 30 other young Canadianists just starting their careers, they planted the seeds of critical future relationships. And our student presentations, which received glowing feedback, helped demonstrate the program’s strength in fostering a new generation of young scholars. We return to Berkeley with new insights, connections, and a fresh enthusiasm for our work. We look forward to working alongside ACSUS to build an ever-broader network of Canadianists, and can’t wait for the next conference! |
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| Panel: Canada at a Crossroads: Evaluating the Carney Government’s First Nine Months
Tues., Dec. 2 | 12:30 pm | 223 Philosophy Hall | RSVP
When Mark Carney won the 2025 Canadian Federal election, he assumed leadership of a nation facing multiple structural problems and widespread discontent. Canadians had united against threats from the United States, but major debates remained over issues such as housing costs, immigration, and Canada’s stagnant economy. During the campaign, Carney distanced the Liberal Party from its Trudeau-era platform and promised to be a steady hand to deliver urgently needed reform. Nine months on, how well is the Carney government delivering on those promises? Join our panel representing Canada’s major political parties as they debate Carney’s performance in tackling the country’s most pressing challenges.
About the Panelists
Andrew Bevan is the CEO of the strategy firm Catalyze4. He was the campaign co-director for the Liberal campaign in the 2025 federal election. With over 30 years of public service experience, he previously served as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister, and Senior Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada.
Parm Kahlon is a founding partner and strategist at Core Firm. She served as Special Assistant to Alberta premier Rachel Notley, and worked with various MLAs with the BC NDP. She has also served as managing director for UFCW 1518, one of British Columbia’s oldest and largest unions.
Jordan Paquet is the vice-president of Bluesky Strategy Group. Over the course of his nearly 20-year career, he has worked in across multiple levels of Canadian government, including the Prime Minister’s Office under the Stephen Harper; as Principal Secretary to Conservative Opposition leader Rona Ambrose; and most recently as the Chief of Staff in Prince Edward Island’s Government Members Office. |
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| This event is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Bluma Appel Fund, the Consulate General of Canada in San Francisco, and The Porter O’Brien Agency.
This event will have a remote attendance option via Zoom. Please select the “virtual attendance” in the RSVP form to receive the link.
If you require an accommodation to participate fully in this event, please let us know with as much advance notice as possible by emailing canada@berkeley.edu. |
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| Fall 2025 International Student Travel & Immigration Updates
Wed., Nov. 19 | 3:00 pm | Online | RSVP
Join the Berkeley International Office’s Assistant Director for Student Services for a review of Fall/Winter Break Travel and current immigration updates.
- Travel: Learn about what to expect when traveling abroad and re-entering the U.S including: current concerns & risks, when a visa stamp is needed (and when it is not), documents you need to travel and re-enter the US, visa application process and timelines, security clearances, and travel to Canada and Mexico.
- Immigration Updates: This session also includes a brief year-end review of F/J immigration changes since January 2025 and looks ahead to what we know of the immigration policy agenda for 2026.
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Royal Canadian Legion, US Branch #25 