Department of Political Science

Political Science professor Dr. Megan Aiken, who joined the department this year, recently presented her research at the 2026 Prairie Political Science Association’s annual conference in Banff, from September 18-20.

Dr. Aiken presented her paper, “Inventing the Criminal Addict: The Birth of Involuntary Treatment & Representations of the ‘Drug Addiction’ Problem in Mid-Century Canada,” alongside colleagues from the University of Alberta’s School of Public Health and University of Saskatchewan’s Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy who presented their comparative policy research on shifting public health approaches to drug policy in the western provinces. Together as a panel, they discussed the historical and contemporary politics around Alberta and Saskatchewan’s Compassionate Intervention Acts, as well as policies advancing involuntary forms of treatment for substance use disorder in Manitoba and British Columbia. 

During the conference, Dr. Aiken was also elected as a Board Member of the Prairie Political Science Association for a 3-year term. 

In the Winter 2027 semester, she will be teaching POLI 2850 (Introduction to Canadian Political Economy) and POLI 3850 (Health Policy and Politics in Canada). 

University of Lethbridge alumni Indira Naidoo-Harris (Political Science) is an esteemed policymaker, journalist and human rights advocate whose career reflects intellectual rigour, ethical leadership and a deep commitment to social progress.

A political science graduate, Naidoo-Harris spent nearly two decades as a journalist and news anchor with CBC, CTV Newsnet, TVO and OMNI Television, interviewing human rights leaders, premiers and prime ministers. Her reporting was recognized for asking tough, fair questions and consistently examining equity, human rights and justice.

She later brought those convictions into government, serving as Director of Communications at Queen’s Park before being elected MPP for Halton in 2014. She subsequently served in Kathleen Wynne’s cabinet, including as Minister of Education and Minister Responsible for Early Years and Child Care, helping expand childcare access to more than 100,000 Ontario children.

Most recently, she served as Associate Vice-President, Diversity and Human Rights, at the University of Guelph, advancing equity, inclusion and human rights across the university community.

Dr. Jodi Bruhn of the Department of Political Science presented a paper on the role of the executive in invoking Section 33 (the notwithstanding clause) at the 2026 UBC Constitutional Workshop held on Sept. 3 and 4 in Kelowna. This year’s workshop hosted a mix of prominent legal scholars, superior court justices, and government officials for lively discussions of the proper balance of the judicial and legislative powers in Canada’s constitutional order. 

Former Supreme Court Justice Russell Brown delivered the keynote lecture, “Power, and its Separation,” followed by a private dinner at the Quail’s Gate winery in Kelowna. Dr. Bruhn received invaluable expert feedback on her paper, which she is now preparing for publication.   

Photo captions: 1- Dr. Bruhn (r.) and the Honourable Malcolm Rowe, Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada (l). 2 - The Honourable Russell Brown, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. 3 – Group photo, 2026 UBC Constitutional Workshop. 

The Department of Political Science is pleased to welcome Madalynn Guzowski as our new Executive and Administrative Support. 

Madalynn is happy to be joining the Political Science team and looks forward to getting to know the department's faculty and students. She is excited to support the department and become part of its community. 

Totalitarian regimes create problems for individuals, forcing a choice of how to act and react to their ever-growing claims. In terms of sheer power dynamics, the response of dissent appears a losing one. So why do people choose it? How does it emerge? What does it entail? On the other side: what draws people enthusiastically to build regimes that terrorize and oppress them? Why do people comply?   

This new course taught by Dr. Jodi Bruhn addresses resistance to totalitarian rule in Soviet Russia and Czechoslovakia. Third- and fourth-year students will explore incidents of resistance against Bolshevik and Stalinist regimes, classic theories of totalitarianism by Hannah Arendt and Eric Voegelin, and literary investigations by dissident authors Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Václav Havel. Students will also apply insights gained in the course to a contemporary movement or thinker of their choice. 

The course requires students to compare regimes across widely different contexts—and most important, imagine how they might face a regime demanding thoughtless obedience themselves

Political Science professor Dr. Yale Belanger appeared before the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples on April 22, 2026, offering expert testimony on Bill S-241, which would grant First Nations governing bodies the authority to conduct and manage their own gaming operations. Dr. Belanger's testimony provided crucial historical context, tracing how colonial-era assimilation policies barred gambling on First Nations lands and how Ottawa's 1985 transfer of gaming regulation to the provinces left reserve lands out of the equation entirely, forcing First Nations to negotiate gaming arrangements from the outside rather than exercise their own authority.

The Committee cited his testimony in its Fifth Report, released May 27, 2026, which endorsed Bill S-241 without amendment.

This marks Dr. Belanger's second appearance before a Senate committee. He previously testified before the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications in 2016, addressing barriers facing First Nations in resource and infrastructure development.

Dr. Jodi Bruhn will be teaching POLI 2511A Mondays and Wednesdays 9:00 - 10:15 a.m. and POLI 4511A Mondays and Wednesdays 3:00 - 4:15 p.m. 

Fall 2026
POLI 3221A
Pol. Canadian Federalism with Dr. Megan Aiken
Thurs 10:30-11:45

Dr. Stephanie Kerr will be on leave 2026-2027