Biography of Nikita (Nik) Nanos, CM, FCRIC, FCMC, ICD.D
Nik Nanos is a leading authority on public opinion, renowned for his expertise in politics, populism and democracy. As the Chief Data Scientist and Founder of Nanos Research, one of Canada’s most respected public opinion and research firms, Nanos is a trusted voice in national and international media, regularly featured in outlets such as The Globe and Mail, Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and The Economist. His insights shape discourse on critical issues, and his academic research is published in journals like the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, PS: Political Science & Politics (Cambridge) and the Journal of Professional Communication.
Nanos is also an Adjunct Research Professor at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in Washington, D.C. and an Executive Fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary. He chairs the Advisory Board for the Positive Energy Program at the University of Ottawa.
Between 2008 and 2021, Nanos served as a Research Professor at the State University of New York (SUNY Buffalo), specializing in Canada–U.S. relations. He is the author of The Age of Voter Rage: Trump, Trudeau, Farage, Corbyn & Macron – the Tyranny of Small Numbers (2016).
In addition to his academic and professional work, Nanos volunteers as an Honorary Captain (Navy) in the Royal Canadian Navy, serves as Chair of Atlantik-Brücke Canada—an organization that advances the Canada–Germany relationship—and chairs the Canadian Research and Insights Council, the governing body for market and public opinion research in Canada.
Nanos previously served on Carleton’s Board of Governors, including as Chair from 2018 to 2022, where he played a key role in shaping the university’s strategic direction. On July 1, 2025, he was appointed Chancellor of Carleton University.