01/14/2026
*DEADLINE EXTENSION* *DEADLINE EXTENSION* *
CALL FOR PAPERS
Annual Two Days of Canada Conference
Brock University | March 26 and 27, 2026
____
Two Days of Canadian Sovereignty
NEW DEADLINE to submit – January 25, 2026
https://brocku.ca/humanities/canadian-studies/two-days-of-canada-conference/
The Centre for Canadian Studies at Brock University, in collaboration with the Departments of History, Political Science, and Communication, Popular Culture, and Film, invites submissions for Two Days of Canadian Sovereignty, to be held on March 26 and 27, 2026.
This transdisciplinary conference, part of the Centre’s annual Two Days of Canada conference series, will bring together students, scholars, and researchers from diverse fields to deliver presentations, take part in workshops and roundtables, and attend events in an inclusive and collaborative atmosphere. This year’s conference addresses the issue of Sovereignty in Canada and of Canadian Sovereignty.
Two Days of Canadian Sovereignty will feature two keynote speakers:
• Dr. P. Whitney Lackenbauer is a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in the Study of the Canadian North and a Professor with the School for the Study of Canada at Trent University. One of Canada’s foremost experts on Arctic history and contemporary Northern policy, Professor Lackenbauer’s research explores the evolution of Canada’s domestic strategies for the North and its international relationships with other Arctic and non-Arctic states. “My research program seeks to offer highly original, empirically-grounded, and policy-relevant research that lies at the intersections of Arctic sovereignty, security, governance, socio-economic, cultural, and community resiliency issues. Blending historical and contemporary insights, this program is a natural extension and amplification of the research trajectories that I have been developing and pursuing over the past decade." Together with his team, Dr. Lackenbauer is committed to “[encouraging] evidence-based policy-making that transcends traditional academic boundaries and disciplines and is animated by a strong commitment to social justice.” Dr. Lackenbauer has authored, co-authored, edited, and co-edited numerous books, book chapter, peer-reviewed articles, op-eds, and other publications, including The Joint Arctic Weather Stations: Science and Sovereignty in the High Arctic, 1946-1972 (with Daniel Heidt, University of Calgary Press, 2022), China’s Arctic Ambitions and What They Mean for Canada (with Adam Lajeunesse, James Manicom, and Frédéric Lasserre, University of Calgary Press, 2018), A Historical and Legal Study of Sovereignty in the Canadian North: Terrestrial Sovereignty, 1870-1939 (by Gordon W. Smith, ed. Lackenbauer, University of Calgary Press, 2014), and Canada and the Changing Arctic: Sovereignty, Security, and Stewardship (with Franklyn Griffiths and Robert Neill, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2011).
• Dr. Liam Midzain-Gobin is an Associate Professor with the Department of Political Science at Brock University. His book Settler Colonial Sovereignty: Visions of Improvement and Indigenous Erasure was published in 2025 by McGill-Queen’s University Press. This monograph studies settler colonial world-making, and how the racialized, imperial, “logic of improvement" has become a “settler common sense” that is constitutive of international order. Dr. Midzain-Gobin argues this logic rests on cosmological assumptions about human dominion over the earth and its continued relevance is key in how settler sovereignty is continually remade. Dr. Midzain-Gobin has published numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. Employing community-engaged methods in research projects, Dr. Midzain-Gobin also works directly with Indigenous communities to support their self-determination. This includes researching the governance practices of Indigenous nations and local visions for a decolonized future. Dr. Midzain-Gobin has two ongoing projects using this approach: Building Inter-National Sovereignty: The Case of the Big Salmon River, funded by an Insight Development Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council; and Indigenous Visions for Making Home in Niagara, funded by a David S. Howes Grant from the Niagara Community Foundation.
It has been decades since Canada, Canadian identity, and Canadian sovereignty have been such hot topics among Canadians. These issues have dominated our news cycle and been front and centre in our political discussions, they are visible at the grocery stores and other retail outlets, they have severely impacted our labour market, they have completely altered our border regions, and they are affecting how we travel and where we spend our time and money. While there will surely be a great deal of interest in this topic in relation to current events, as well as the future of Canada, sovereignty has always been a thorny and fascinating issue in this country, one worthy of our sustained attention. Canada is a pluralist society, and, accordingly, the issue of sovereignty has taken on a variety of forms, including Indigenous, French, British, and Canadian variations, among others.
The topics we’re suggesting for this conference have been designed to be as broad and inviting as possible, in order to inspire wide-ranging and highly interdisciplinary work. We’re certainly open to other suggested topics as well. Our only restriction is that proposals should have a Canadian or Indigenous focus to them. Again, the following list of topics is not exhaustive, it is only meant to provide a sense of the kinds of research that might be carried out on the topic of sovereignty.
• The issue of sovereignty in Canadian history
• Sovereignty in Canada today
• Sovereignty in the era of “borderless” digital media
• Canadian media and the issue of sovereignty
• Indigenous sovereignty within Canada as well as in a transnational context
• Métis sovereignty and the legacy of Louis Riel
• Canadian sovereignty in relation to issues of sovereignty and self-determination abroad
• Sovereignty and the “Quebec Question”: then and now
• Sovereignty movements in Canada’s regions
• Arctic sovereignty and Canada
• Environmental sovereignty
• Sports, sports metaphors, and Canadian sovereignty
• Sovereignty, industry and labour
• Sovereignty and the environment in an age of global warming
• Sovereignty and the arts
• Sovereignty in theory and practice
• Sovereignty and business in the era of “Liberation Day” tariffs
• Sovereignty and healthcare in Canada
• Canada’s national cinemas and the issue of sovereignty
The program committee invites submissions for both individual presentations and for full panels of 3-4 presentations. We are also open to creative submissions that move beyond these two formats.
Those submitting proposals for individual presentations should send an abstract of no more than 300 words, along with a brief CV or biography. Panel proposals should include a brief outline of the panel topic (maximum 300 words) and of individual presenters’ proposals (maximum 200 words each), along with brief CVs or biographies for the panelists. Panels should also ideally identify a chair or moderator. The committee also welcomes suggestions for round table discussions, given the richness and contentiousness of the topic at hand.
In addition to faculty members and graduate students, we are also interested in proposals from community members and groups outside of the academic sphere.
The deadline for submission is January 25, 2026. Successful applicants will be informed of the program committee’s decision by February 9, 2026.
Please send any inquiries or session proposals to [email protected]
*DEADLINE EXTENSION* *DEADLINE EXTENSION*
For almost four decades, the Two Days of Canada conference has been a place for scholars and students to examine specific issues in Canadian Studies. It is an annual interdisciplinary conference that brings together scholars from across Canada and around ...
