Join us for the book launch and discussion of the Trudeau Formula, featuring author and investigative journalist Martin Lukacs.
This workshop is co-sponsored by the Department of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, the Courts & Politics Research Group, and the research cluster for Indigenous Peoples, Decolonization and the Globe at the Balsillie School of International Affairs.
Sabrina Lei is currently a Visiting Scholar with the Department of Poltiical Science from School of Public Affairs, Xiamen University, China. Sabrina's research theme focus is “Diplomatic Positioning of the States: A Comparison between China and Canada”, and she is currently working on the book “Consensus and Control: Analysis of Human Political Life”.
As Canada prepares itself for a federal election, we can all expect to hear a list of promises from each political party that deep down we know will never be kept. Why can't political parties keep their promises?
PhD Candidate, Sociocultural Anthropology, Arizona State University
In this lecture, the speaker will discuss the marginal space she now inhabits as a linguistic anthropologist, indebted to the oftentimes cruel and violent history of anthropological and linguistic research inflicted upon Indigenous Nations, and her own Tribe, in the name of Science. She will discuss her own journey through an academic system built on the oppression and subjugation of her people, and how she has had to rely upon extractive and exploitative research on her path to reclaiming her Indigeneity.
Associate Professor; Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Governance and Freshwater Fish Futures
Drawing on various scholars, Dr Zoe Todd critiques the push to 'braid' Indigenous and settler paradigms in conservation. As a Red River Métis scholar, Dr Todd advocates for the radical refusal of systems based on white possession and individualism, urging western institutions to embrace Indigenous practices and global anti-imperialist solidarities.
In this talk, Rowland will interrogate the phenomenon of false Indigenous identity claims and their corrosive effects on Indigenous communities. Drawing on personal experience, historical precedents, and critical Indigenous scholarship, he situates these practices within the broader logic of settler colonialism and its drive toward self-indigenization. In particular, he will focus on the drive to consume and assume historical Indigenous suffering in the effort to cohere false claims.
Canada's official maternal mortality statistics are incomplete to the extent that the World Health Organization applies an amplifier of 60%. This problem has been known for at least 100 years with no lasting progress to address it at a national level. Through the lens of reproductive justice, this presentation chronicles the historical trajectory and interrogates the public policy failure to prioritize the critical issue of maternal mortality.
Canada is the only country with complete decriminalization of abortion: no gestational duration limitations, no parental consent obligations, and no waiting periods. In recent years, other countries (New Zealand, Colombia, Uruguay, Mexico) have made strides toward this, while the United States has notoriously lost ground. Amidst the tumult, nurse and scholar Martha Paynter uses historical context and contemporary issues to explain why experts advocate against laws governing abortion.
Dr. McCulloch will be speaking on her upcoming book Gender, Peace, and Power-Sharing (University of Toronto Press, June 2026), coauthored with Siobhan Byrne (University of Alberta). The book explores how power-sharing and the women, peace, and security agenda intersect in peacebuilding practices. It offers a feminist “alternative telling” that captures the tensions and potential of these frameworks