Canada at the Polls: 2025 Canadian Federal Elections

Canada at the Polls: Canada-US Relations and the 2025 Canadian Federal Election

Date: Monday, April 14, 2025
Time: 12:15 PM – 1:30 PM
Location: Hopkins Bloomberg Center Room 432
Facilitator: Dr. Holly Ann Garnett

Event Description:
On April 28, 2025, Canadians will head to the polls in a pivotal federal election. With trade tensions, tariffs, and the possibility of a second Trump presidency looming, how is the Canada-US relationship shaping the national political debate? What issues are top of mind for Canadian voters, and how do the major parties differ in their approaches?

Join Fulbright Visiting Scholar Dr. Holly Ann Garnett for an interactive, accessible session that unpacks Canada’s political moment and explores what’s at stake for cross-border relations. Whether you're deeply involved in North American policy or just curious about what's happening north of the border, this session is designed for a general audience—no background in Canadian politics needed.
Lunch will be provided!

Event Outline:

1. Overview of the Canadian Electoral System
2. • How Canada votes
   • Key party leaders and voter behavior
   • Polling trends and historical context
3. Major Election Issues
4. • Canada-US relations
   • Affordability and cost of living
   • Leadership and party platforms (including a real-time look at party positions)

About the Speaker:
Dr. Holly Ann Garnett is a Fulbright Visiting Scholar and Associate Professor of Political Science at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. She is cross-appointed to the Department of Political Studies and the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University and is an Honourary Research Fellow at the University of East Anglia (UK).

Dr. Garnett’s research focuses on strengthening electoral integrity across the entire electoral cycle—from election management and campaign finance to voting technologies and civic literacy. She is co-editor of Cyber-Threats to Canadian Democracy (MQUP, 2022) and Building Inclusive Elections (Routledge, 2020), and serves as co-director of the Electoral Integrity Project, a global research initiative examining election quality worldwide.

She is also a co-investigator with the Human-Centric Cybersecurity Partnership (HC2P), the Consortium on Electoral Democracy (C-Dem), and a fellow with the Queen’s Institute for Intergovernmental Relations (IIGR). Her academic journey includes a PhD in Political Science from McGill University and visiting fellowships in Australia, Finland, and the United States.

Host or Publisher Hopkins Center for Canadian Studies