Canadian Studies Program

Established in 1982, the Canadian Studies Program at the University of California, Berkeley is the preeminent U.S.-based program of its kind west of the Rockies.  A vibrant academic center, it supports research and teaching about Canada and presents intellectually rigorous public programming. The Program seeks to deepen academic and public understanding of Canada and of relations between the U.S. and Canada. It enjoys particular strength on issues of immigration, the Arctic, the environment, energy and native peoples. The Program serves as a nexus for Canadians and friends of Canada in the Bay Area and beyond, including UC Berkeley’s growing population of Canadian students, as well faculty, policy-makers, technology leaders, and members of the public who seek a “beyond the headlines” analysis of issues in Canada.

The Canadian Studies Program is active in the following areas:

• Organizing public symposia and conferences, attended by a wide audience of Canadians and friends of Canada in the San Francisco Bay area. These events have included a US-Canada constitutional law conference that included former Supreme Court Justice Ian Binnie; a symposium on public higher education featuring former UC Berkeley chancellor Robert Birgeneau and former McGill University principal Heather Munroe-Blum; and a conference on modernizing the Columbia River Treaty that recommended policies later adopted by the US State Department. In 2022, Canadian Studies will host a policy conference on the influence of bureaucrats on international migration policy.
• Hosting an average of five public lectures per semester, bringing scholars and public figures to expand public knowledge of Canada and its people. Notable peakers have included Governor General of Canada, David Johnston; Canadian Green Party leader Elizabeth May; and former Clerk of the Canadian Privy Council, Kevin Lynch. In addition, Canadian Studies partners with other on- and off-campus programs on events that highlight Canadian issues and perspectives.

The Canadian Studies program also administers an undergraduate prize and two grant programs.

• The Rita Ross Undergraduate Prize in Canadian Studies honors the student who has written the best undergraduate research paper or produced the best original project that engages with topics, people or events related to Canada.  Recipients receive a certificate and monetary prize.
• The Edward Hildebrand Fellowship supports graduate student research related to Canada, awarding research grants for summer, fall and spring semesters.  These are competitive, merit-based awards.
• The John A. Sproul Research Fellowship program provides modest stipends to visiting scholars whose research or work speaks directly to Canadian Studies themes.  Visitors are at UC-Berkeley for one month to one academic year.  Sproul Fellows share their research in the program’s luncheon colloquium. 

The Canadian Studies Program is directed by the Thomas Garden Barnes Chair in Canadian Studies, established in 2005 to recognize the late Professor Thomas Barnes’s long service to the Program. The distinguished Canadianist Nelson H.H. Graburn, Professor of Anthropology at Berkeley and Co-Director of the Canadian Studies Program from 1986 to 2012, was the first holder of the Barnes Chair. In 2012, Irene Bloemraad, Professor of Sociology, assumed the Barnes Chair and Directorship.

The program is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2022. Details about the program’s history, its events and past conferences can be viewed on the website.