The Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management is pleased to announce that Dr. Émilie Foster has been appointed as an Adjunct Professor, effective May 1, 2023.
“After a busy political career, I wanted to return to academia with the opportunity to mobilize the practical knowledge I have gained from my professional career. As such, I am very pleased to be joining the prestigious Political Management graduate program at Carleton University,” says the former member of the Quebec National Assembly. Dr. Foster represented the riding of Charlevoix–Côte-de-Beaupré as a member of the Coalition Avenir Québec from 2018 until the 2022 provincial election.
Prior to serving as an elected official, Dr. Foster was a political advisor in Legault’s office in opposition from 2014 to 2018. She has also been part of the Coalition Avenir Québec since its creation in 2011. She was twice an electoral candidate (2014 and 2018), served as vice president of the party, and worked on the National Political Committee. In all, Dr. Foster has participated in and led 3 election campaigns and numerous by-elections as a candidate, press officer, or political advisor.
In addition to her experience in politics, Dr. Foster has professional and research expertise in media and public opinion research. She was a market research analyst with the polling firm Léger, a political columnist and news reader at a Bell radio station (Énergie 98.9), a political blogger at the Huffington Post, and a political analyst at ICI RDI (Radio-Canada-CBC) on the daily public affairs program Les Mordus de Campagne.
Asked about the program at Carleton, Dr. Foster said, “the Political Management program is making an important contribution to Canadian democracy by shaping the professionals who work directly alongside elected officials. We need people who are solidly qualified to contribute to well-informed policy decisions. I look forward to sharing with them about politics.”
Dr. Foster holds a PhD in public communication (Laval), a master’s degree in political science (Laval), and a bachelor’s degree in business administration (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi). From 2012 to 2014, and again in 2017, Dr. Foster taught courses in survey research, communications and politics as a lecturer at Laval University. She was also the coordinator of Laval’s Groupe de recherche en communication politique from 2010 to 2012.
Dr. Foster is the author of several publications on political marketing, democracy, and interest groups in national and international books such as Political Marketing in Canada and Routledge Handbook of Political Marketing. During her time at Carleton Dr. Foster will be continuing to pursue her research. “I plan to conduct research on political marketing, permanent campaigning, democracy, the interaction between parliamentary staff and the media, and the relationship between elected officials and political staff” she says.
The Director of the Program, Jennifer Robson, welcomed Dr. Foster saying “we’re delighted that Dr. Foster will be sharing her professional experience and academic expertise with the students and faculty in the MPM program. Our program continues to find ways to bridge the practitioner and academic worlds in Canadian politics and policymaking. Dr. Foster’s time with us is a terrific example of that.”
For more information, please contact the MPM program by email at mpm@carleton.ca or by phone at 613.520.3455.