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The Centre for Canadian Studies is a long-standing, collaborative initiative that enhances the research and teaching activities of Indigenous Studies and Canadian Studies at ������Ƶ Allison and beyond.

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In collaboration with partners within and beyond the university, the Centre hosts events and speakers that showcase critical Canadian Studies perspectives. The Centre also supports the engaged learning and critical scholarship activities of faculty and students in the Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies programs.

We support activities that amplify and contribute to engaged learning, decolonization, justice, creativity, and collaboration in the Arts and Humanities.

The Centre for Canadian Studies is proud to be part of a national and international SSHRC-funded partnership called .

For inquiries about the Centre, contact the Director, Dr. Krista Johnston, at krjohnston@mta.ca.

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W.P. Bell Postdoctoral Fellowship in Canadian Studies

The Bell Postdoctoral Fellowship brings exceptional emerging scholars to teach and research at ������Ƶ Allison in a supportive and professional environment. Bell postdocs are invaluable members of the program, and former postdocs go on to important leadership roles in their fields.

The current W. P. Bell Postdoctoral Fellow is Dr. Courtney Mrazek.

Recent W.P. Bell Postdoctoral Fellows include:

• Dr. Sharifa Patel, her work examines the settler colonial histories of contemporary Canadian policies that aim to prevent immigrant Muslim families that participate in non-normative family formations from entering Canada.
• Dr. Lindsay Diehl, specialist in Asian Canadian Studies, now a professor at the University of Manitoba
• Dr. Jeremy Milloy, historian of work, violence, substance use, and capitalism in North America, now the Lead on climate justice with Sisters of Providence
• Dr. Lisa Binkley, specialist in Indigenous and settler women's histories and art history, now a professor at Dalhousie University
• Dr. Kait Pinder, scholar of Canadian literature and literary theory, now a professor at Acadia University

Past post-doctoral fellows

2021-23 - Dr. Sharifa Patel
2020-21 — Dr. Lindsay Diehl
2019-20 — Dr. Jeremy Milloy
2018-19 — Dr. Lisa Binkley
2017-18 — Dr. Kaitlyn Pinder
2015-17 — Dr. Elizabeth Jewett
2013-15 — Dr. Meaghan Beaton
2013-14 — Dr. Andrea Beverley

2011-13 — Dr. Jenny Ellison
2011-13 — Dr. Bart Vautour
2009-11 — Dr. Roberta Lexier
2007-09 — Dr. Kelly Harrison
2005-07 — Dr. Matthew Hayday
2003-05 — Dr. Jane Ku

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About the Centre's History

The Centre’s first director, the distinguished Dr. George Stanley, and Centre directors since, worked with colleagues from across campus, students, and visiting scholars to foster discussion and research about Canada at ������Ƶ Allison.

Some of the highlight activities resulting from these collaborations include an important series of studies on Canadian regionalism and cultural life; a popular and well-attended series of conferences on contemporary Canadian issues in the late 1990s; a ten-volume study of democracy in Canada; the Canadian Alternatives Project, and student activities. The Centre and the Canadian Studies program have also hosted many writers and guest speakers over the years.

Today, the former site of the Centre, The Anchorage, is one of ������Ƶ Allison’s small residences and the Centre for Canadian Studies is located with the Canadian Studies program in Hart Hall. 

Past directors

1969-75 — Director, Dr. George F. G. Stanley
1975-82 — Director, Dr. Douglas Lochhead
1982-85 — Associate Director, Dr. John Reid
1985-86 — Acting Director, Dr. Richard Knowles
1987-91 — Dr. Lawrence McCann
1988-89 — Associate Director, Dr. Carrie MacMillan
1990-91 — Acting Director, Dr. Carrie MacMillan
1992-93 — Acting Director, Dr. Terry Craig
1993-94 — Acting Director, Dr. John Stanton
1995-2000 — Director, Raymond Blake
2000-05 — Director, Dr. William Cross
2005-10 — Director, Dr. Andrew Nurse
2010-18 — Director, Dr. Christl Verduyn
2018-23 — Acting Director, Dr. Andrew Nurse
2023-Present - Acting Director, Dr. Karl Hele

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Edgar and Dorothy Davidson Chair of Canadian Studies

Established in 1969 and believed to be the first of its kind in Canada, the Edgar and Dorothy Davidson Chair of Canadian Studies has been generously endowed and is named in honour of Dr. Edgar Davidson and Dr. Dorothy Davidson of Ottawa.

Dr. Karl Hele (Anishinaabe, Member of Garden River First Nation) is the current Davidson Chair. Dr. Hele is a full Professor in Canadian Studies who specializes in Indigenous Studies. He joined ������Ƶ Allison in 2018.

Past Davidson Chairs

The following scholars have held the chair since its establishment:

1969-75   George F.G. Stanley, CC, CD, DPhil, DLitt, FRSC
1975-87   Douglas Grant Lochhead, BA, MA, BLS, DLitt, LLD, FRSC
1987-92   Lawrence D. McCann, BA, MA, PhD
2001-05   William Cross, BA, MPS, JD, MA, PhD
2005-10   Frank Strain, BA, MA, PhD
2010-20   Christl Verduyn, BA, MA, PhD, FRSC
2020-present  Karl Hele, Anishinaabe, member of Garden River First Nation, Professor, BA, MA, PhD