Canadian Politics
This concentration encompasses the study of federal and provincial political institutions, including Parliament, the public service, political parties, elections, federalism and the courts, and important themes and questions in Canadian politics and public policy. These may include Settler-Colonial/Indigenous relations, national unity, political economy, environmental politics, and broader social relations such as gender, race, and class. Students explore how our political system works, recent and proposed reforms of some of its prominent features, as well as deeper questions about what it means to be Canadian in a globalized and networked society.
In their second year of the program, students in this concentration earn 1.0 credit in the following two courses:
PSCI 2002 [0.5 credit]: Canadian Politics and Civil Society
An examination of the cultural, social, and economic context of Canadian politics, including interest groups and social movements, regionalism, language, ethnicity, and gender.
PSCI 2003 [0.5 credit]: Canadian Political Institutions
An examination of Canadian political institutions, including federalism, Parliament, the constitution, political parties and the electoral system.
In their third and fourth years of the program, students take an additional 2.5 credits in Canadian politics, such as:
PSCI 3007 – Constitutional Politics in Canada
PSCI 3109 – The Politics of Law and Morality
PSCI 3407 – Public Opinion and Public Policy
PSCI 3607 – North American Security and Defence Policy
PSCI 4005 – Canadian Federalism
PSCI 4006 – Legislatures and Representation in Canada
PSCI 4009 – Quebec Politics
PSCI 4109 – The Politics of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
PSCI 4206 – Indigenous Politics of North America
For the full list of course options in Canadian politics, and the specific degree requirements for your program, consult the Undergraduate Calendar. Please note that not all courses in this list are offered each year.