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Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity Speakers' Series

Quinn Albaugh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Studies. Their work focuses on gender and sexuality in electoral and party politics in Canada. They have won the John McMenemy Prize for the best article published in the Canadian Journal of Political Science (2023) and the Kim Nossal Award for Undergraduate Teaching (2024-2025). Their work has appeared in the Journal of Politics, Perspectives on Politics, and Politics and Gender, among other journals. They are an Associate Editor of the European Journal of Politics and Gender (2026-2029).

Abstract: LGBTQ+ people are a growing voting bloc, and LGBTQ+ candidates have begun running in greater numbers and positions of political leadership. However, most of what we know about voters' reactions to LGBTQ+ candidates comes from straight cis (non-LGBTQ+) voters. How do LGBTQ+ voters react to LGBTQ+ politicians? I argue that LGBTQ+ affinity plays an important role in explaining support for prominent LGBTQ+ candidates and leaders, such as Pete Buttigieg and Kathleen Wynne. However, this affinity may not translate into votes for LGBTQ+ politicians in less prominent electoral contexts, such as local races in Canadian federal elections. Then, I examine how LGBTQ+ voters react to candidates of different racial, gender, and sexual identities using a conjoint experiment fielded on a targeted sample of LGBTQ+ Americans. Finally, I discuss the goals and design of a SSHRC-funded research agenda on LGBTQ+ affinity in Canada and the United States that tackles new questions in the study of LGBTQ+ affinity and aims to provide lessons for studying voter affinities among other groups.

Light refreshments will be provided.

Abstract: Jews are feeling more vulnerable than at any time since the Second World War. They were traumatized by the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and, in the wake of Israel’s attacks on Gaza, a drastic spike in antisemitic incidents throughout the world. Universities have been of particular concern to Jewish students, parents, and alumni who believe that pro-Palestinian students and faculty have had free rein to shut down other points of view, disrupt campus life, and shame or shun Jewish students who refuse to disavow Israel.

Jews in the United States and Canada are angry, fearful, and feel betrayed – but that sense of betrayal can be an unacknowledged assertion of strength. The public protests coming from Jewish organizations assume that people will listen. The emotional state and rhetoric of North American Jews today testify to the successes as well as the challenges of Jewish integration and acceptance. The current moment, for all of its perils is also a continuation of long-held expectations by Jews of the societies in which they live.

Biography: Derek Penslar is the William Lee Frost Professor of Jewish History and the Director of the Center for Jewish Studies at Harvard University. He has published a dozen books, most recently Zionism: An Emotional State (2023), and is currently writing a book titled The War for Palestine, 1947-1949: A Global History. He is a past president of the American Academy for Jewish Research, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and an Honorary Fellow of St. Anne’s College, Oxford.

The Centre for the Study of Democracy and Diversity presents: "Scaling MP Ideology from Campaign Donations: Can donors tell us where individual candidates and MPs stand?" with Dr. Paul Gardner, Associate Professor, Department of Political Studies, Queen's University

Abstract: Party discipline makes roll-call votes nearly uninformative about where individual Canadian politicians stand. Adapting Adam Bonica's donor-network scaling to Elections Canada records, we estimate ideal points for federal candidates, 1993–2025.
The talk develops the logic and framework of measuring ideology from campaign contributions in Canada but is largely exploratory with its applications. What do campaign contributions reveal (or not) in Canada? What limitations does the Canadian campaign financing regime place on ideological interpretations? When might such ideology scores be useful in the study of Canadian politics?

Biography: I am Associate Professor in the Department of Political Studies and a Research Fellow in the Centre for Studies on Democracy and Diversity at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. My research centers on the politics of law and courts in the U.S. and, increasingly, Canada. I study how courts are constrained by the separation of powers: the executive's role in shaping U.S. Supreme Court decision making, how Parliament constrains constitutional review in the Supreme Court of Canada, and how elected officials make choices about empowering courts.