Dennis M. Pilon
Professor
Chair
Office: Ross Building, S667
Phone: (416) 736-2100 Ext: 44212
Email: dpilon@yorku.ca
Primary website: https://yorku.academia.edu/DennisPilon
Secondary website: http://poprockrecord.com
Media Requests Welcome
Accepting New Graduate Students
Dennis Pilon received his Bachelor (Sociology/History) and Masters (History) from Simon Fraser University and his PhD from York University (Politics). In 2005/06 he was the Canada Research Chair Postdoctoral Fellow in Canadian Studies at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. From 2006 to 2011 he was an Assistant Professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Victoria. In 2011 he was hired as an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at York. In 2023 he was promoted to Full Professor.
His research has focused primarily on issues of democratization and democratic reform in western countries in both contemporary and historical contexts. His published work includes articles in Representation, the Canadian Political Science Review, the Journal of Canadian Studies, Studies in Political Economy, the Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law, Inroads, and the Socialist Studies Bulletin (now Socialist Studies), reviews in the Canadian Journal of Political Science, the Canadian Parliamentary Review, Socialist Studies, Labour/Le Travail, and BC Studies, as well as reports for the Law Commission of Canada, the Centre for Social Justice, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. In 2007 he published The Politics of Voting: Reforming Canada’s Electoral System, in 2009 co-edited (with Michael Howlett and Tracy Summerville) British Columbia Politics and Government, and in 2013 published Wrestling with Democracy: Voting Systems as Politics in the Twentieth Century West.
Over the past decade, Professor Pilon has done considerable public speaking and media work commenting on many aspects of politics with reporters from print, radio and television, particularly on topics relating to elections and political parties. He is presently a member of the National Advisory Board of Fair Vote Canada, a citizens’ group focused on gaining more proportional methods of voting for Canadian elections, and is a member of the editorial board of Canadian Dimension magazine. He has also acted as a consultant on election issues for various legal firms, political parties, trade unions, community groups, and the Auditor General of Canada.
Aside from all things political, his interests include distance running, record collecting, vintage clothes, science fiction, and his husband Dann, daughter Ryann, and son Jessie. He also writes a music blog at poprockrecord.com.
Degrees
PhD Political Science, YorkMA History, Simon Fraser
BA History/Sociology, Simon Fraser
Diploma of Technology Broadcasting, BC Institute of Technology
Appointments
Faculty of HealthResearch Interests
Wrestling with Democracy: Voting Systems as Politics in the Twentieth Century West, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013), 394pp.
Politics and Government in British Columbia, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2009), co-edited with Michael Howlett and Tracy Summerville, 404pp.
The Politics of Voting: Reforming Canada’s Electoral System, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2007), 209pp.
“Working-Class Politics Matters: Identity, Class, Parties,” co-written with Larry Savage, in G. Albo and A. Zuege (eds.), State Transformations: Class, Strategy, Socialism, (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2021), 76-97.
“The Search for Canadian Democracy: Transnational Insights into Democratization,” in Julien Mauduit and Jennifer Tunnicliffe (eds.), Constant Struggle: Histories of Canadian Democratization, (Montreal-Kingston: McGill-Queens’ University Press, 2021), 33-57.
“The Electoral System: The Gendered Politics of Institutions,” in Manon Tremblay and Joanna Everitt (eds.), Palgrave Handbook of Gender, Sexuality, and Canadian Politics, (Houndsmill: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), 273-95.
“A Reconnaissance of Everyday Working Class Ideology in British Columbia,” in David Laycock (ed.), Political Ideologies in Parties, Policy, and Civil Society, (Vancouver, UBC Press, 2019), 187-204.
“Electing LGBT Representatives and the Voting System in Canada,” in Manon Tremblay (ed.), Queering Representation: LGBTQ People and Electoral Politics in Canada, (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2019), 124-53.
“Assessing Gordon Campbell’s Uneven Democratic Legacy in British Columbia,” in Tracy Summerville and Jason Lacharite (eds.), The Campbell Revolution? Power, Politics and Policy in British Columbia from 2001 to 2011, (Kingston-Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2017), 37-60.
"Voting Systems and Party Politics," In Alain-G. Gagnon and A. Brian Tanguay (eds.), Canadian Parties in Transition: Recent Trends and New Paths for Research, 4th edition, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017), 217-49.
“Occupy Democracy: Exploring Democracy as a Relationship,” in Les Samuelson and Wayne Antony (eds.), Power and Resistance: Critical Thinking about Canadian Social Issues, Sixth Edition, (Halifax: Fernwood, 2017), 195-215.
“The Personal Dimension,” in Cy Gonick (ed.), Canada Since 1960: A People’s History, (Toronto: Lorimer, 2016), 524-48.
“British Columbia: Right-wing Coalition Politics and Neoliberalism,” in Bryan M. Evans and Charles W. Smith (eds.), Transforming Provincial Politics: The Political Economy of Canada's Provinces and Territories in the Neoliberal Era, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015), 284-312.
Excerpts from The Politics of Voting, in Peter H. Russell, Francois Rocher, Debra Thompson, and Amanda Bittner (eds.), Essential Readings in Canadian Government and Politics, Second Edition, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2015), 152-8.
“Labour and the Politics of Voting System Reform in Canada,” in Stephanie Ross and Larry Savage (eds.), Rethinking the Politics of Labour in Canada, (Halifax: Fernwood, 2012), 88-100.
“Democracy, BC-style,” in Michael Howlett, Dennis Pilon and Tracy Summerville (eds.), Politics and Government in British Columbia, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2010), 87-108.
“Introduction,” co-written with Michael Howlett and Tracy Summerville, in Michael Howlett, Dennis Pilon and Tracy Summerville (eds.), Politics and Government in British Columbia, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2010), 3-12.
“Understanding Electoral Systems,” in Heather McIvor (ed.), Election, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2009), 35-56.
“Elections and Electoral Reform,” in Joan Grace and Byron Sheldrick (eds.), Canadian Politics: Democracy and Dissent, (Toronto: Pearson, 2006), 229-50.
“The Uncertain Path of Democratic Renewal in Ontario,” in Henry Milner (ed.), Steps Toward Making Every Vote Count: Electoral System Reform in Canada and its Provinces, (Peterborough: Broadview, 2004), 249-66.
“The History of Voting System Reform in Canada,” in Henry Milner (ed.), Making Every Vote Count: Reassessing Canada’s Electoral System, (Peterborough: Broadview, 1999), 111-21.
Review of Neoliberal Parliamentarism: The Decline of Parliament at the Ontario Legislature, by Tom McDowell, Canadian Journal of Political Science, 55: 1 (March 2022), 251-3.
Review of The Routledge International Handbook of Working Class Studies, edited by Michele Fazio, Christie Launius, and Tim Strangleman, Labour/Le Travail, 89 (Spring 2022), 352-5.
Review of Dissenting Traditions: Essays on Bryan D. Palmer, Marxism, and History, edited by Sean Carlton, Ted McCoy, and Julia Smith, The British Columbia Review, August 14, 2022.
Review of Reviving Social Democracy: The Near Death and Surprising Rise of the Federal NDP, edited by David Laycock and Lynda Erickson, Labour/Le Travail, 77 (Spring 2016), 293-5.
Review of Inside the NDP War Room: Competing for Credibility in a Federal Election, by James S. McLean, Canadian Journal of Political Science, 47:1 (March 2014), 197-99.
Review of She’s So Fine: Reflections on Whiteness, Femininity, Adolescence and Class in 1960s Music, edited by Laurie Stras, Topia, 27 (Spring 2012): 309-15.
Review of The Politics of Electoral Reform, by Alan Renwick, Canadian Journal of Political Science, 45:1 (March 2012), 248-50.
Review of In and Out of the Working Class, by Michael Yates, Socialist Studies, 6:1 (Spring 2010), 187-9.
Review of In Search of Canadian Political Culture, by Nelson Wiseman, BC Studies, 159 (Autumn 2008), 152-5.
Review of Elections, by John Courtney, Canadian Parliamentary Review, 28:3 (Autumn 2005), 52-3.
Review of Paradigm Shift: Globalization and the Canadian State, by Stephen McBride, Canadian Journal of Political Science, 36:2 (June 2003), 445-7.
Review of The End of Parliamentary Socialism, by Leo Panitch and Colin Leys, Labour/Le Travail, 44 (Autumn 1999), 253-6.
Review of Homo Economics, edited by Amy Gluckman and Betsy Reed, Labour/Le Travail, 42 (Autumn 1998), 300-2.
“Reform and Reaction: Voting System Reform in Canadian Cities: A Response to Lucas,” Representation, 57:1 (2021).
“Beyond Codifying Common Sense: From an Historical to Critical Institutionalism,” Studies in Political Economy, 102: 2 (2021), 101-18.
"The Struggle Over Actually Existing Democracy," Socialist Register 2018, (London: Merlin, 2018), 1-28
"Review Essay: Democratic Leviathan - Defending First Past the Post in Canada," Canadian Political Science Review, 12:1 (2018), 24-49.
“The Contested Origins of Canadian Democracy,” Studies in Political Economy, 98: 2 (2017), 1-19.
“Confederation and Democracy,” Canada Watch, Spring 2016: 18-20.
"Researching Voter Turnout and the Electoral Subaltern: Utilizing 'Class' as Identity," Studies in Political Economy, 96 (Autumn 2015), 69-91.
"Canada's Voting System in Comparative Perspective," Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law, 8, (July 2015), 53-64.
"Electoral Reform: Here’s Your Evidence Mr. Trudeau," Inroads, 37 (Summer/Fall 2015), 51-60.
“Review Essay: The Long Lingering Death of Social Democracy,” Labour/Le Travail, 70 (Fall 2012), 245-60.
“Solidarity Revisited: Organized Labour and the New Democratic Party,” with Stephanie Ross and Larry Savage, Canadian Political Science Review, 5:1 (January 2011), 20-37.
“The 2005 and 2009 Referenda on Voting System Change in British Columbia,” Canadian Political Science Review, 4: 2-3 (June-September 2010), 73-89.
“Investigating Media as a Deliberative Space: Newspaper Opinions about Voting Systems in the 2007 Ontario Provincial Referendum,” Canadian Political Science Review, 3: 3 (September 2009): 1-23.
“Explaining Voting System Reform in Canada: 1874 to 1960,” Journal of Canadian Studies, 40: 3 (Autumn 2006), 135-61.
“Democratic Struggle: What Role for Marxism?” Socialist Studies Bulletin, Fall 2003, 5-22.
“Are Canadian voting system reform ‘trade-offs’ really trade-offs? Operationalizing voting system values, assessing the evidence, and recasting the debate,” Paper prepared for the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, Toronto ON, May 30-June 2, 2023.
“Is Class Political? Challenges to Studying the Working Class and Politics in Canada,” prepared for the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, Zoom, May 30, June 3, 2022.
“Remaking Mass Politics in Canada: Relearning History’s Lessons Anew,” Paper prepared to the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, Zoom, June 7-10 2021.
“Canadian Democracy and Critical Dermocratization Studies,” Realities in Canadian Democracy / Réalités de la démocratie Canadienne Workshop, L.R. Wilson Institute for Canadian History, McMaster University, Hamilton ON, May 1-2, 2019.
“A Reconnaissance of Working Class Politics in Canada,” Re-Working Class: Setting A New Agenda for Canadian Labour and Working-Class History Conference, St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan, October 13-14, 2018.
"Dethroning Democratic Theory: Researching Actually Existing Democracy in Capitalist Societies," Paper prepared for the Socialist Studies Conference, Ryerson University, May 30-June 2, 2017.
“Defining Democracy Historically,” Presentation to the Power, Politics and the State in Canadian History Conference, University of British Columbia, September 29-30, 2017.
“The Struggle over Actually Existing Democracy,” Historical Materialism Conference: London, SOAS, November 9-12, 2017.
“Occupy Democracy: Exploring Democracy as a Relationship,” Paper prepared for the Society for Socialist Studies at the Congress of the Humanities, University of Calgary, May 31-June 3, 2016.
“Electing LGBT representatives and the voting system in Canada,” Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, University of Calgary, May 31-June 2, 2016.
“A Working Class Ideological Reconnaissance: Using Auto-Ethnography to Explore Everyday Working Class Ideology in British Columbia,” Presented to the Ideologies and Cross-Border Conceptual Travel Workshop, Simon Fraser University, July 4-5, 2016.
"Critical Institutionalism: Recovering the Lost Social Core of Institutionalism," Paper presented to the Annual General Meeting of the Association for Institutional Thought (Economics), Western Social Science Association Conference, Portland, OR, April 8-11, 2015.
"From Dominion to Democracy: Canada's Democratization Process," Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, Brock University, May 27-29, 2014.
"The Role of the Franchise in Canadian Democratization," Political Mobilization and Citizen Engagement in Canada Conference, University of Quebec at Montreal, October 2-4, 2014.
“Assessing Gordon Campbell's Democratic Legacy in British Columbia,” Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, University of Victoria, Victoria, June 4-6, 2013.
“The Electoral Subaltern: Utilizing ‘Class’ as Identity,” Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, University of Alberta, Edmonton, June 13-15, 2012.
“Contextualizing Democracy: Voting System Reform as Democratic Struggle,” Paper prepared for 18th International Conference of Europeanists, Barcelona, Spain, June 20-22, 2011, 37pp.
“The 2005 and 2009 Referenda on Voting System Change in British Columbia,” Paper prepared for BC Political Studies Conference, University of Victoria, Victoria, May 7-8, 2010, 11pp.
“Decidedly Different Democratic Reforms: The Political Fate of Fixed Election Dates Versus Voting System Reform in Ontario,” Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, Carleton University, Ottawa, May 27-29, 2009, 11pp.
“Voting System Reform in the Twentieth Century West: A Comparative Historical Approach,” Paper presented to the European Consortium for Political Research, Lisbon 2009 Joint Sessions of Workshops, Lisbon, Portugal, April 14-19, 2009, 42pp.
“Facts or Rhetoric? Elite Media Debate about Voting Systems in the 2007 Ontario Referendum Campaign,” Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, June 4-6, 2008, 27pp.
“BC-STV and the Representation of Women: Popular Debate, Academic Insights, and the Evidence from Comparative Experience – A Research Note.” Paper presented to the BC Political Studies Association, Capilano College, North Vancouver, May 4-5, 2007, 19pp.
“Local Members and the Size of Canadian Legislatures,” Paper presented to the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, York University, Toronto, June 1-3, 2006 (co-authored with David Docherty), 15pp.
“Voting System Reform and the Left: An International Comparison,” Paper presented to the CPSA, Learneds, University of Toronto, Toronto, May 29, 2002, 36pp.
“Voter Registration in Ontario: Is There a Bias?” Paper presented to the CPSA, Learneds, Laval University, Quebec City, June 2, 2001 (co-authored with Robert MacDermid and Jon Carson), 21pp.
“Making Voting Reform Count: Evaluating Historical Voting Reform Strategies in British Columbia,” Making Votes Count Conference, Vancouver B.C., May 13, 2000, 20pp.
“Democracy, Social Movements and the State: Towards an Interactionist Mode of Representation,” Paper presented to the CPSA, Learneds, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, June 2, 1998, 41pp.
“Proportional Representation in Canada: An Historical Sketch,” Paper presented to the CPSA, Learneds, Memorial University, St. Johns, Nfld., June 10, 1997, 39pp.
“Social Credit and the Transferable Ballot; Demystifying the 1952 and 1953 B.C. Provincial Elections,” Qualicum Conference, Parkesville, BC, February 1996, 9pp.
“Myths, Damn Myths, and Voting System Change: How Canadian Political Scientists Misrepresent Democratic Reform,” Canada Watch, Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, York University, Fall 2022, 1-21.
"Canada's Minority Governments: Know Your History," in Chris Terry (ed.), Working Together: Lessons on How to Share Power, (London: The Electoral Reform Society of the United Kingdom, March 2015), 46-52.
Canada's Democratic Deficit: Is Proportional Representation the Answer? Toronto: CSJ Foundation for Research and Education, 2001, 35pp.
STV - The Electoral Option for Canada, Submission to the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing, April 1990, 50pp.
Left Turn in Canada? The NDP Breakthrough and the Future of Canadian Politics, with Murray Cooke, New York: Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, October 2012, 19pp.
Renewing Canadian Democracy: Citizen Engagement in Voting System Reform. Phase One: Lessons from Around the World, Law Commission of Canada, March 2002, 69pp.
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2023 | GS/POLS6110 6.0 | A | Canadian Government and Politics | SEMR |
Dennis Pilon received his Bachelor (Sociology/History) and Masters (History) from Simon Fraser University and his PhD from York University (Politics). In 2005/06 he was the Canada Research Chair Postdoctoral Fellow in Canadian Studies at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. From 2006 to 2011 he was an Assistant Professor in the Political Science Department at the University of Victoria. In 2011 he was hired as an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at York. In 2023 he was promoted to Full Professor.
His research has focused primarily on issues of democratization and democratic reform in western countries in both contemporary and historical contexts. His published work includes articles in Representation, the Canadian Political Science Review, the Journal of Canadian Studies, Studies in Political Economy, the Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law, Inroads, and the Socialist Studies Bulletin (now Socialist Studies), reviews in the Canadian Journal of Political Science, the Canadian Parliamentary Review, Socialist Studies, Labour/Le Travail, and BC Studies, as well as reports for the Law Commission of Canada, the Centre for Social Justice, and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. In 2007 he published The Politics of Voting: Reforming Canada’s Electoral System, in 2009 co-edited (with Michael Howlett and Tracy Summerville) British Columbia Politics and Government, and in 2013 published Wrestling with Democracy: Voting Systems as Politics in the Twentieth Century West.
Over the past decade, Professor Pilon has done considerable public speaking and media work commenting on many aspects of politics with reporters from print, radio and television, particularly on topics relating to elections and political parties. He is presently a member of the National Advisory Board of Fair Vote Canada, a citizens’ group focused on gaining more proportional methods of voting for Canadian elections, and is a member of the editorial board of Canadian Dimension magazine. He has also acted as a consultant on election issues for various legal firms, political parties, trade unions, community groups, and the Auditor General of Canada.
Aside from all things political, his interests include distance running, record collecting, vintage clothes, science fiction, and his husband Dann, daughter Ryann, and son Jessie. He also writes a music blog at poprockrecord.com.
Degrees
PhD Political Science, YorkMA History, Simon Fraser
BA History/Sociology, Simon Fraser
Diploma of Technology Broadcasting, BC Institute of Technology
Appointments
Faculty of HealthResearch Interests
All Publications
“Working-Class Politics Matters: Identity, Class, Parties,” co-written with Larry Savage, in G. Albo and A. Zuege (eds.), State Transformations: Class, Strategy, Socialism, (Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 2021), 76-97.
“The Search for Canadian Democracy: Transnational Insights into Democratization,” in Julien Mauduit and Jennifer Tunnicliffe (eds.), Constant Struggle: Histories of Canadian Democratization, (Montreal-Kingston: McGill-Queens’ University Press, 2021), 33-57.
“The Electoral System: The Gendered Politics of Institutions,” in Manon Tremblay and Joanna Everitt (eds.), Palgrave Handbook of Gender, Sexuality, and Canadian Politics, (Houndsmill: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), 273-95.
“A Reconnaissance of Everyday Working Class Ideology in British Columbia,” in David Laycock (ed.), Political Ideologies in Parties, Policy, and Civil Society, (Vancouver, UBC Press, 2019), 187-204.
“Electing LGBT Representatives and the Voting System in Canada,” in Manon Tremblay (ed.), Queering Representation: LGBTQ People and Electoral Politics in Canada, (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2019), 124-53.
“Assessing Gordon Campbell’s Uneven Democratic Legacy in British Columbia,” in Tracy Summerville and Jason Lacharite (eds.), The Campbell Revolution? Power, Politics and Policy in British Columbia from 2001 to 2011, (Kingston-Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2017), 37-60.
"Voting Systems and Party Politics," In Alain-G. Gagnon and A. Brian Tanguay (eds.), Canadian Parties in Transition: Recent Trends and New Paths for Research, 4th edition, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017), 217-49.
“Occupy Democracy: Exploring Democracy as a Relationship,” in Les Samuelson and Wayne Antony (eds.), Power and Resistance: Critical Thinking about Canadian Social Issues, Sixth Edition, (Halifax: Fernwood, 2017), 195-215.
“The Personal Dimension,” in Cy Gonick (ed.), Canada Since 1960: A People’s History, (Toronto: Lorimer, 2016), 524-48.
“British Columbia: Right-wing Coalition Politics and Neoliberalism,” in Bryan M. Evans and Charles W. Smith (eds.), Transforming Provincial Politics: The Political Economy of Canada's Provinces and Territories in the Neoliberal Era, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015), 284-312.
Excerpts from The Politics of Voting, in Peter H. Russell, Francois Rocher, Debra Thompson, and Amanda Bittner (eds.), Essential Readings in Canadian Government and Politics, Second Edition, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2015), 152-8.
“Labour and the Politics of Voting System Reform in Canada,” in Stephanie Ross and Larry Savage (eds.), Rethinking the Politics of Labour in Canada, (Halifax: Fernwood, 2012), 88-100.
“Democracy, BC-style,” in Michael Howlett, Dennis Pilon and Tracy Summerville (eds.), Politics and Government in British Columbia, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2010), 87-108.
“Introduction,” co-written with Michael Howlett and Tracy Summerville, in Michael Howlett, Dennis Pilon and Tracy Summerville (eds.), Politics and Government in British Columbia, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2010), 3-12.
“Understanding Electoral Systems,” in Heather McIvor (ed.), Election, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2009), 35-56.
“Elections and Electoral Reform,” in Joan Grace and Byron Sheldrick (eds.), Canadian Politics: Democracy and Dissent, (Toronto: Pearson, 2006), 229-50.
“The Uncertain Path of Democratic Renewal in Ontario,” in Henry Milner (ed.), Steps Toward Making Every Vote Count: Electoral System Reform in Canada and its Provinces, (Peterborough: Broadview, 2004), 249-66.
“The History of Voting System Reform in Canada,” in Henry Milner (ed.), Making Every Vote Count: Reassessing Canada’s Electoral System, (Peterborough: Broadview, 1999), 111-21.
Review of Neoliberal Parliamentarism: The Decline of Parliament at the Ontario Legislature, by Tom McDowell, Canadian Journal of Political Science, 55: 1 (March 2022), 251-3.
Review of The Routledge International Handbook of Working Class Studies, edited by Michele Fazio, Christie Launius, and Tim Strangleman, Labour/Le Travail, 89 (Spring 2022), 352-5.
Review of Dissenting Traditions: Essays on Bryan D. Palmer, Marxism, and History, edited by Sean Carlton, Ted McCoy, and Julia Smith, The British Columbia Review, August 14, 2022.
Review of Reviving Social Democracy: The Near Death and Surprising Rise of the Federal NDP, edited by David Laycock and Lynda Erickson, Labour/Le Travail, 77 (Spring 2016), 293-5.
Review of Inside the NDP War Room: Competing for Credibility in a Federal Election, by James S. McLean, Canadian Journal of Political Science, 47:1 (March 2014), 197-99.
Review of She’s So Fine: Reflections on Whiteness, Femininity, Adolescence and Class in 1960s Music, edited by Laurie Stras, Topia, 27 (Spring 2012): 309-15.
Review of The Politics of Electoral Reform, by Alan Renwick, Canadian Journal of Political Science, 45:1 (March 2012), 248-50.
Review of In and Out of the Working Class, by Michael Yates, Socialist Studies, 6:1 (Spring 2010), 187-9.
Review of In Search of Canadian Political Culture, by Nelson Wiseman, BC Studies, 159 (Autumn 2008), 152-5.
Review of Elections, by John Courtney, Canadian Parliamentary Review, 28:3 (Autumn 2005), 52-3.
Review of Paradigm Shift: Globalization and the Canadian State, by Stephen McBride, Canadian Journal of Political Science, 36:2 (June 2003), 445-7.
Review of The End of Parliamentary Socialism, by Leo Panitch and Colin Leys, Labour/Le Travail, 44 (Autumn 1999), 253-6.
Review of Homo Economics, edited by Amy Gluckman and Betsy Reed, Labour/Le Travail, 42 (Autumn 1998), 300-2.
Wrestling with Democracy: Voting Systems as Politics in the Twentieth Century West, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013), 394pp.
Politics and Government in British Columbia, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2009), co-edited with Michael Howlett and Tracy Summerville, 404pp.
The Politics of Voting: Reforming Canada’s Electoral System, (Toronto: Emond Montgomery, 2007), 209pp.
“Reform and Reaction: Voting System Reform in Canadian Cities: A Response to Lucas,” Representation, 57:1 (2021).
“Beyond Codifying Common Sense: From an Historical to Critical Institutionalism,” Studies in Political Economy, 102: 2 (2021), 101-18.
"The Struggle Over Actually Existing Democracy," Socialist Register 2018, (London: Merlin, 2018), 1-28
"Review Essay: Democratic Leviathan - Defending First Past the Post in Canada," Canadian Political Science Review, 12:1 (2018), 24-49.
“The Contested Origins of Canadian Democracy,” Studies in Political Economy, 98: 2 (2017), 1-19.
“Confederation and Democracy,” Canada Watch, Spring 2016: 18-20.
"Researching Voter Turnout and the Electoral Subaltern: Utilizing 'Class' as Identity," Studies in Political Economy, 96 (Autumn 2015), 69-91.
"Canada's Voting System in Comparative Perspective," Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law, 8, (July 2015), 53-64.
"Electoral Reform: Here’s Your Evidence Mr. Trudeau," Inroads, 37 (Summer/Fall 2015), 51-60.
“Review Essay: The Long Lingering Death of Social Democracy,” Labour/Le Travail, 70 (Fall 2012), 245-60.
“Solidarity Revisited: Organized Labour and the New Democratic Party,” with Stephanie Ross and Larry Savage, Canadian Political Science Review, 5:1 (January 2011), 20-37.
“The 2005 and 2009 Referenda on Voting System Change in British Columbia,” Canadian Political Science Review, 4: 2-3 (June-September 2010), 73-89.
“Investigating Media as a Deliberative Space: Newspaper Opinions about Voting Systems in the 2007 Ontario Provincial Referendum,” Canadian Political Science Review, 3: 3 (September 2009): 1-23.
“Explaining Voting System Reform in Canada: 1874 to 1960,” Journal of Canadian Studies, 40: 3 (Autumn 2006), 135-61.
“Democratic Struggle: What Role for Marxism?” Socialist Studies Bulletin, Fall 2003, 5-22.
“Are Canadian voting system reform ‘trade-offs’ really trade-offs? Operationalizing voting system values, assessing the evidence, and recasting the debate,” Paper prepared for the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, Toronto ON, May 30-June 2, 2023.
“Is Class Political? Challenges to Studying the Working Class and Politics in Canada,” prepared for the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, Zoom, May 30, June 3, 2022.
“Remaking Mass Politics in Canada: Relearning History’s Lessons Anew,” Paper prepared to the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, Zoom, June 7-10 2021.
“Canadian Democracy and Critical Dermocratization Studies,” Realities in Canadian Democracy / Réalités de la démocratie Canadienne Workshop, L.R. Wilson Institute for Canadian History, McMaster University, Hamilton ON, May 1-2, 2019.
“A Reconnaissance of Working Class Politics in Canada,” Re-Working Class: Setting A New Agenda for Canadian Labour and Working-Class History Conference, St. Thomas More College, University of Saskatchewan, October 13-14, 2018.
"Dethroning Democratic Theory: Researching Actually Existing Democracy in Capitalist Societies," Paper prepared for the Socialist Studies Conference, Ryerson University, May 30-June 2, 2017.
“Defining Democracy Historically,” Presentation to the Power, Politics and the State in Canadian History Conference, University of British Columbia, September 29-30, 2017.
“The Struggle over Actually Existing Democracy,” Historical Materialism Conference: London, SOAS, November 9-12, 2017.
“Occupy Democracy: Exploring Democracy as a Relationship,” Paper prepared for the Society for Socialist Studies at the Congress of the Humanities, University of Calgary, May 31-June 3, 2016.
“Electing LGBT representatives and the voting system in Canada,” Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, University of Calgary, May 31-June 2, 2016.
“A Working Class Ideological Reconnaissance: Using Auto-Ethnography to Explore Everyday Working Class Ideology in British Columbia,” Presented to the Ideologies and Cross-Border Conceptual Travel Workshop, Simon Fraser University, July 4-5, 2016.
"Critical Institutionalism: Recovering the Lost Social Core of Institutionalism," Paper presented to the Annual General Meeting of the Association for Institutional Thought (Economics), Western Social Science Association Conference, Portland, OR, April 8-11, 2015.
"From Dominion to Democracy: Canada's Democratization Process," Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, Brock University, May 27-29, 2014.
"The Role of the Franchise in Canadian Democratization," Political Mobilization and Citizen Engagement in Canada Conference, University of Quebec at Montreal, October 2-4, 2014.
“Assessing Gordon Campbell's Democratic Legacy in British Columbia,” Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, University of Victoria, Victoria, June 4-6, 2013.
“The Electoral Subaltern: Utilizing ‘Class’ as Identity,” Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, University of Alberta, Edmonton, June 13-15, 2012.
“Contextualizing Democracy: Voting System Reform as Democratic Struggle,” Paper prepared for 18th International Conference of Europeanists, Barcelona, Spain, June 20-22, 2011, 37pp.
“The 2005 and 2009 Referenda on Voting System Change in British Columbia,” Paper prepared for BC Political Studies Conference, University of Victoria, Victoria, May 7-8, 2010, 11pp.
“Decidedly Different Democratic Reforms: The Political Fate of Fixed Election Dates Versus Voting System Reform in Ontario,” Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, Carleton University, Ottawa, May 27-29, 2009, 11pp.
“Voting System Reform in the Twentieth Century West: A Comparative Historical Approach,” Paper presented to the European Consortium for Political Research, Lisbon 2009 Joint Sessions of Workshops, Lisbon, Portugal, April 14-19, 2009, 42pp.
“Facts or Rhetoric? Elite Media Debate about Voting Systems in the 2007 Ontario Referendum Campaign,” Paper prepared for the Canadian Political Science Association Annual General Meeting, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, June 4-6, 2008, 27pp.
“BC-STV and the Representation of Women: Popular Debate, Academic Insights, and the Evidence from Comparative Experience – A Research Note.” Paper presented to the BC Political Studies Association, Capilano College, North Vancouver, May 4-5, 2007, 19pp.
“Local Members and the Size of Canadian Legislatures,” Paper presented to the Annual General Meeting of the Canadian Political Science Association, York University, Toronto, June 1-3, 2006 (co-authored with David Docherty), 15pp.
“Voting System Reform and the Left: An International Comparison,” Paper presented to the CPSA, Learneds, University of Toronto, Toronto, May 29, 2002, 36pp.
“Voter Registration in Ontario: Is There a Bias?” Paper presented to the CPSA, Learneds, Laval University, Quebec City, June 2, 2001 (co-authored with Robert MacDermid and Jon Carson), 21pp.
“Making Voting Reform Count: Evaluating Historical Voting Reform Strategies in British Columbia,” Making Votes Count Conference, Vancouver B.C., May 13, 2000, 20pp.
“Democracy, Social Movements and the State: Towards an Interactionist Mode of Representation,” Paper presented to the CPSA, Learneds, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, June 2, 1998, 41pp.
“Proportional Representation in Canada: An Historical Sketch,” Paper presented to the CPSA, Learneds, Memorial University, St. Johns, Nfld., June 10, 1997, 39pp.
“Social Credit and the Transferable Ballot; Demystifying the 1952 and 1953 B.C. Provincial Elections,” Qualicum Conference, Parkesville, BC, February 1996, 9pp.
“Myths, Damn Myths, and Voting System Change: How Canadian Political Scientists Misrepresent Democratic Reform,” Canada Watch, Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, York University, Fall 2022, 1-21.
"Canada's Minority Governments: Know Your History," in Chris Terry (ed.), Working Together: Lessons on How to Share Power, (London: The Electoral Reform Society of the United Kingdom, March 2015), 46-52.
Canada's Democratic Deficit: Is Proportional Representation the Answer? Toronto: CSJ Foundation for Research and Education, 2001, 35pp.
STV - The Electoral Option for Canada, Submission to the Royal Commission on Electoral Reform and Party Financing, April 1990, 50pp.
Left Turn in Canada? The NDP Breakthrough and the Future of Canadian Politics, with Murray Cooke, New York: Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, October 2012, 19pp.
Renewing Canadian Democracy: Citizen Engagement in Voting System Reform. Phase One: Lessons from Around the World, Law Commission of Canada, March 2002, 69pp.
Current Courses
| Term | Course Number | Section | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall/Winter 2023 | GS/POLS6110 6.0 | A | Canadian Government and Politics | SEMR |
