In Fall 2020, all universities in Alberta went with remote delivery of classes due to COVID-19 restrictions. This provided not only teaching challenges, but also opportunities. Professors at three Canadian universities teaching similar undergraduate courses in international political economy decided to use the challenges/opportunities of COVID-19 restrictions to experiment with a World Trade Organization (WTO) simulation across three campuses through remote delivery. Simulations are frequently used for teaching in political science, but what was unusual was doing it through remote delivery. This paper assesses the effectiveness of the experiment. It traces the origins/evolution of the idea, learning objectives for the students, preparation by the professors to design the WTO simulation, and the experience of the actual simulation. It also addresses the challenges (technological, timing, assignments, grading, student anxiety, etc.). In addition, it identifies the steps that were taken to reduce and mitigate the challenges. It also acknowledges the mistakes that were made by the professors in designing and implementing the assignment. These observations and reflections are informed by the materials that the professors prepared, their thoughts on the experience, and the feedback from participating students (through official student evaluations as well as a special survey instrument). It provides lessons for future online simulations.

AbstractThis chapter focuses on assessment and risk management of the site selection process for Canada’s permanent high-level waste management facility for used nuclear fuel. It also examines the risk management approach related to the development of the transportation routes that will be needed to carry used nuclear fuel to the permanent deep geological repository (DGR). There are several types of risks (technological, environmental, human health, political, security, and financial) and uncertainties (epistemic, semantic, and normative) that exist in this case. Our goal is to better understand how those different risks and uncertainties are assessed by different groups (in particular the lay public, stakeholders, and experts) and handled by the risk managers. The REACT (regulatory, economic, advisory, community-based, and technology) framework is used to assess risk management practices for siting a location for high-level nuclear waste. After a general introduction to the case, three descriptive sections provide the level of individuals’ affectedness, the types of risk management intervention tools, and the level of democratization in the case. A particular emphasis is on the public consultation process for communities interested in hosting the DGR.

Over the last few years, there has been growing interest in developing/deploying Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in many countries. This includes Canada which released a SMR roadmap (Fall 2018) and action plan (Fall 2020). At the provincial level, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick signed a MOU on SMRs in December 2019. Alberta later signed on. The role of federalism in the SMR case is fascinating from a number of political perspectives. It illustrates federal-provincial cooperation in the often-highly contested area of energy-environmental policy (i.e. interprovincial oil pipelines, carbon taxes, etc). For example, governments typically jealously guard their constitutional jurisdiction and political interests over energy and the environment. The fact that SMRs reveal cooperation between a Liberal federal government and four Conservative provincial governments is important. In addition, Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta unsuccessfully sued Ottawa over the federal carbon tax that, like SMRs, is designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the energy sector. This paper assesses the different motivations from the federal and key provincial governments to pursue SMRs. Through this process, this paper argues that the SMR case might provide a pathway for cooperation in energy-environment policy in Canada.

Alberta has historically been a one-party dominant system by electing a series of party dynasties from 1905 to 2015. However, Alberta started a transition to a two-party system when the NDP formed government following the 2015 election. This process was solidified with the 2019 election that saw the UCP and NDP as the only parties that won seats and received over 87% combined in the popular vote. The UCP (a consequence of a merger between the PCs and Wildrose Party) won a landslide election in 2019, but, unlike in previous Alberta elections, the former governing party did not disappear. The NDP won all but one seat in Edmonton, won seats in Calgary and Lethbridge, and re-elected Premier Rachel Notley and ten former Cabinet Ministers. Since the 2019 election, measures such as voter turnout, polling, fundraising, and the resilience of the UCP indicate the continuation of the two-party system.

In 2005, Prime Minister Paul Martin, like all of his predecessors, refused to join the American ballistic missile defence (BMD) system. However, recent events, most notably North Korea's nuclear weapons and ballistic missile testing, have put BMD back on the Canadian foreign policy agenda.

COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the relationship between Canada, China, and the United States. It has led to rising anti-China sentiment, calls for re-shoring essential products, and pledges to hold China “accountable” for the pandemic in both the United States and Canada. However, relations between China and Canada/United States were problematic before COVID-19. This chapter examines Canada’s economic, diplomatic, and security relations with China in the context of a series of clashes between the United States and China. It addresses the situation of Huawei and Canada’s 5G network; the arrest of Meng Wanzhou on a US extradition request; Chinese trade embargoes in pork, beef, and canola; the collapse of free trade talks; and the imprisonment of prominent Canadians in China.

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When Pierre Trudeau became Canadian Prime Minister in 1968, he was suspicious of the Department of External Affairs (DEA). His predecessor, Lester Pearson had been a former Secretary of State for E...

This paper examines the role of the Reform Party in the foreign policy of the Stephen Harper government. Through a comprehensive analysis of various Reform Party documents, called Blue Books, from the 1980s and 1990s, this paper assesses the degree to which the Harper government implemented these policy proposals in its foreign policy (foreign affairs, international trade, defense, foreign aid and immigration). It shows that, to a surprising degree, many of these Reform Party foreign policy proposals were implemented. An evaluation of the 10-year record of the Harper government shows that of the 31 priorities identified in the Blue Books, 15 were achieved, three were attempted, 11 were avoided, and two were not applicable.

This paper compares the Alberta and Saskatchewan governments’ public consultation process for the introduction of nuclear power in their provinces. While the goal was the same – to gauge public reaction on a continuous policy issue – the design of their respective consultation process was quite different. The paper analyzes the techniques of public consultation in the nuclear sector, especially the use of public hearings and multiple consultative tools. Finally, it assesses the impact that public consultation has on government decision-making.

Journal Article Dimitry Anastakis. Autonomous State: The Struggle for a Canadian Car Industry from OPEC to Free Trade. Get access Dimitry Anastakis. Autonomous State: The Struggle for a Canadian Car Industry from OPEC to Free Trade. Buffalo, N.Y.: University of Toronto Press. 2013. Pp. xvi, 549. $39.95. Duane Bratt Duane Bratt Mount Royal University Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar The American Historical Review, Volume 119, Issue 2, April 2014, Pages 506–507, https://doi.org/10.1093/ahr/119.2.506 Published: 01 April 2014