Objective
Horizon Europe aims to:

1. help to implement Europe’s strategy for international cooperation, open to researchers and innovators from around the globe who are encouraged to team up with EU partners in preparing proposals; and 
2. encourage international participation in different ways such as topics encouraging or requiring international cooperation, joint, or coordinated calls. 

Value
Varies by call

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Varies by call

More information
https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en 

https://research.mcmaster.ca/funding/european-commission-horizon-europe-call-for-proposals/

McMaster Contact
Miky Dumitrescu, ROADS Office: dumitrm@mcmaster.ca

UGA Contact
dgdriv-proposals@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Objective
Support projects that:

1. 1. bring disciplines together beyond traditional disciplinary or common interdisciplinary approaches;
   2. propose to explore something new, which might fail; and
   3. have the potential for significant impact.

Value
Up to $125,000 per year for up to 2 years (including 25% indirect costs)

International Collaborations
Team members affiliated with international organizations may receive funds as co-principal investigator or co-applicant.

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Annual competition 2024 Timeline:

1. 1. 1. Mandatory NOI due August 27, 2024
      2. Full application due November 5, 2024

More information
https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/nfrf-fnfr/exploration/2024/competition-concours-eng.aspx

McMaster Contact
Grace Kim, ROADS: kimps@mcmaster.ca

Objective
Support projects that:

1. 1. tackle a well-defined problem or challenge;
   2. propose a novel world-leading approach that is different from the current state-of-the-art approaches to the issue;
   3. are interdisciplinary; and
   4. have the potential to create a significant and real change or impact.

Value
$2M to $4M per year (including indirect costs) for six years

International Collaborations
International team members may receive funds as co-principal investigator or co-applicant.

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Every 2 years
Annual competition 2024 Timeline:

1. 1. 1. Mandatory NOI due October 24, 2024
      2. Adjudicated LOI due January 10, 2024 
      3. Invited full application due September 5, 2024

More information
https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/nfrf-fnfr/transformation/transformation-eng.aspx

McMaster Contact
Grace Kim, ROADS: kimps@mcmaster.ca

Objective
Support projects that:

1. support joint funding calls with international agencies; and
2. support participation of Canadian researchers within international teams in projects seeking funding from major global platforms (e.g. Horizon Europe).

Value
Joint funding calls vary

2022 Horizon Global Platform: Up to $200,000 per year for two years for direct costs, plus 25% for indirect costs, for participation in Horizon Europe projects 

International Collaborations
Expected to secure their own funds

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Timing of next joint funding call is unknown  

More information
https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/nfrf-fnfr/international/international-eng.aspx

McMaster Contact
Grace Kim, ROADS: kimps@mcmaster.ca

General Call

Objective
Support joint supervision of an undergraduate student, graduate student or postdoctoral fellow with international partners.  

Value
Funding is based on a project duration of 12 weeks, though projects durations of up to 24 weeks are acceptable. Funding amounts may vary.

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Open now – call closes November 20, 2024
Annual limit on the number of co-funded applications submitted by McMaster 

More information
https://www.mitacs.ca/our-programs/globalink-research-award-thematic-call/   

Interested participants should be in touch first with their local Mitacs advisor to assess eligibility and discuss next steps.  

To apply, please contact Ryan Caldwell, Mitacs advisor for McMaster University: 647-234-4213,  rcaldwell@mitacs.ca

McMaster Contact
Mihaela Dumitrescu, ROADS: dumitrm@mcmaster.ca

UGA Contact
Zoraida Martinez-Racini: zoraida.martinez-racini@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Thematic Call

Objective
Support joint supervision of an undergraduate student, graduate student or postdoctoral fellow. The themes for this year’s thematic call are:  

1. Digital and Emerging technology (e.g. AI, Advanced Computing, Cybersecurity, Semiconductors)  
2. Sustainability and Net Zero (e.g. Electric Vehicles, Critical Minerals, Hydrogen, Energy Transition, Oceans, Clean Technology)  
3. Life Sciences (e.g. Biomanufacturing, Bioeconomy, Agri-Food, Agri-Tech, Health Sciences)  
4. Humanities and Social Innovation (open category)  

Value
Approved recipients will receive funds to support intern travel and accommodation expenses, research-related expenses, and stipend. 

International Collaborations
Mitacs participating international partners are the following, please note they each have their own eligibility requirements:   

1. France: Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)    
2. France: French Embassy in Canada     
3. France: Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies du numérique (Inria)     
4. France: Université de Lorraine    
5. France: Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM)   

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Open now – call closes November 20, 2024
Annual limit on the number of co-funded applications submitted by McMaster 

More information
https://www.mitacs.ca/our-programs/globalink-research-award-thematic-call/   

Interested participants should be in touch first with their local Mitacs advisor to assess eligibility and discuss next steps.  

McMaster Contact
Mihaela Dumitrescu, ROADS: dumitrm@mcmaster.ca

UGA Contact
Zoraida Martinez-Racini: zoraida.martinez-racini@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Objective
Support research and development collaborations on topics of national and global importance, including intermittent targeted calls funded jointly with other organizations.

Value
Varies by call

International Collaborations
International academic collaborators are expected to secure their own funding

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Varies by call

More information
https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Innovate-Innover/Joint_Calls-Appels_Collaborative_eng.asp

McMaster Contact
Grace Kim, ROADS: kimps@mcmaster.ca

Objective
Catalyst Grants: Allow Canadian researchers to initiate the development of international collaborations 

Collaboration Grants: Provide support for Canadian researchers participating in international collaborative projects of global importance and benefit to Canada

Value
Catalyst Grants: up to $25,000 for one year  

Collaboration Grants: up to $100,000 per year for up to three years (cannot exceed value of funding secured by international collaborator) 

International Collaborations
International academic collaborators are expected to secure their own funding 

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Can apply at any time, with considerations:

1. Collaboration Grant application must be submitted to NSERC within three months of notification of award to international collaborator 
2. Limited to one application per 12-month period as applicant or co-applicant 

More information
https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/Innovate-Innover/AllianceInternational-AllianceInternational/index_eng.asp

McMaster Contact
Ross Huyskamp, MILO: huyskar@mcmaster.ca

Objective
Designed to capture ideas with the greatest potential to advance health-related fundamental or applied knowledge, health research, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes. It supports research projects proposed and conducted by individual researchers or groups of researchers, at any career stage, in all areas of health. 

Value
Dependent on the project – average grant size awarded/duration is $868,506 over 4.4 years 

International Collaborations
Can receive funding if they are affiliated with a post-secondary institution

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Two times a year; once in March and once in September  

More information
https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/49051.html

McMaster Contact
Beatrice Fletcher, ROADS: fletchba@mcmaster.ca
Julie Croskill, HRS: croskilj@mcmaster.ca

Objective
Project is expected to:

1. respond to the objectives of the Insight Research program,
2. support research in its initial stages, and  
3. enable the development of new research questions, as well as experimentation with new methods, theoretical approaches and/or ideas.  

Value
$7,000 to $75,000 over 1-2 years

International Collaborations
Can receive funding if they are affiliated with a post-secondary institution

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Annual; next deadline is February 3, 2025

More information
https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/insight_development_grants-subventions_de_developpement_savoir-eng.aspx

McMaster Contact
Pamela McIntyre, ROADS: mcintyp@mcmaster.ca

Objective
Develop research and/or related activities in the social sciences and humanities—these can include knowledge mobilization and the meaningful involvement of students and emerging scholars—by fostering new partnerships with existing and/or potential partners; or 

Design and test new partnership approaches for research and/or related activities that can result in best practices or models—these can either be adapted by others or have the potential to be scaled up to a regional, national or international level.

Value
$75,000 to $200,000, over 1-3 years

International Collaborations
Can receive funding if they are affiliated with a post-secondary institution

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Annual; next deadline is November 15, 2024

More information
https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/partnership_development_grants-subventions_partenariat_developpement-eng.aspx

McMaster Contact
Pamela McIntyre, ROADS: mcintyp@mcmaster.ca

Objective
Provide support for new and existing formal partnerships to advance research, research training and/or knowledge mobilization in the social sciences and humanities.

Value
Stage 1: up to $20,000
Stage 2: (by invitation only) up to $2.5M
Duration of 4-7 years

International Collaborations
Can receive funding if they are affiliated with a post-secondary institution

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Once a year for Stage 1 and once a year for Stage 2
Stage 1 Deadline: likely February 10, 2025
Stage 2 Deadline: likely late October 2025 

More information
https://www.sshrc-crsh.gc.ca/funding-financement/programs-programmes/partnership_grants_stage1-subventions_partenariat_etape1-eng.aspx

McMaster Contact
Pamela McIntyre, ROADS: mcintyp@mcmaster.ca

Objective
Objectives are to:

1. support the development of new expert partnerships/new collaborations between France and Canada (only projects involving collaboration between researchers who have never worked together will be considered); 
2. promote the advancement of research and innovation; 
3. prepare and structure scientific cooperation between the two countries; 
4. promote researcher mobility, particularly for early-stage researchers; and 
5. provide research training for researchers at the master’s and doctorate levels. 

Value
$8,000-$15,000 for up to 2 years

International Collaborations
Funds will remain at Canadian institution

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Annual; next deadline is November 18, 2024 

More information
https://francecanadaculture.org/france-canada-research-fund/

McMaster Contact
Grace Kim, ROADS: kimps@mcmaster.ca

Objective
Support innovative basic research into fundamental biological problems with emphasis placed on novel and interdisciplinary approaches that involve scientific exchanges across national and disciplinary boundaries. 

There are different streams including: Research Grants – Early Career & Research Grants – Program. 

Value
$300K-$500K USD for up to 3 years

International Collaborations
No salary support (including summer salaries) can be paid from the grant for the Principal Applicant, Co-Applicant or other faculty, institutional staff such as secretaries or laboratory managers, and no student tuition fees can be paid. Funds are equally shared among team members. 

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Letter of Intent Deadline: likely late March
Deadline for Full Proposal (if invited forward): likely mid-September 2025

More information
https://www.hfsp.org/funding/hfsp-funding/research-grants 

McMaster Contact
Grace Kim, ROADS: kimps@mcmaster.ca

Objective
To promote learning mobility of individuals and groups in the field of education and training; non-formal and informal learning mobility and active participation among young people; and promote learning mobility of sport staff at the level of sport organizations and sport policies.

Value
Grant agreements are determined by sending or receiving institutions 

Duration
Student exchanges: 

1. Long-term mobility: 2 months-12 months abroad 
2. Short-term mobility: 5 days-30 days abroad 
3. Maximum duration: 12 months within one study cycle  

Teaching opportunities for staff: 

1. 2 days-2 months  

International Collaborations
EU Member States, third countries associated with the Programme, and third countries not associated with the Programme  

More information
https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/opportunities

McMaster Contact
Adelina Sylaj: sylaja@mcmaster.ca

European Union Portal: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/home

Horizon Europe

1. Objectives: to implement Europe’s strategy for international cooperation, open to researchers and innovators from around the globe who are encouraged to team up with EU partners in preparing proposals; to encourage international participation in different ways such as topics encouraging or requiring international cooperation, joint, or coordinated calls. 
2. More information: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/horizon-europe_en 

NGI

1. Objectives: to shape the development and evolution of the Internet into an Internet of Trust; to mentor and support innovators’ journeys from ideas to real busineses.
2. More information: https://ngi.eu/about/  

McMaster Contact
Adelina Sylaj: sylaja@mcmaster.ca

UGA Contact
dgdriv-proposals@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

12-week research internships in Canada every year between May and October.

Calls for Summer 2025 are currently closed.

More Information
https://www.mitacs.ca/our-programs/globalink-research-internship-students/

McMaster Contact
Adelina Sylaj: sylaja@mcmaster.ca

UGA Contact
Zoraida Martinez-Racini: zoraida.martinez-racini@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Objective
Allow Canadian and French youth aged 18 to 35 to work, travel and complete an internship in the other country.

Duration
4-24 months

International Collaborations
Recognized Organizations: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadians/international-experience-canada/recognized-organizations.html  

More information
Canadian Portal: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/canadians/international-experience-canada/work-travel-france.html  

French Portal: https://france-visas.gouv.fr/web/france-visas/jeune-voyageur-vacances-travail 

McMaster Contact
Adelina Sylaj: sylaja@mcmaster.ca

Objective
To provide McMaster faculty with investments in first-time international research contacts or initiatives, typically originated by individual faculty members.

Value
up to $5000

Competition Frequency/Timeline
Annual; 2025 IIMF to be announced 

More information
https://global.mcmaster.ca/international-initiatives-micro-fund-iimf/

McMaster Contact
IIMF@mcmaster.ca

Objective
To fund matching PhDs (thèses en miroir) involving a collaboration between an international partner in the humanities and social sciences and UGA’s Maison de la Création et de l’Innovation (MaCI) The aim of this call is to develop doctoral projects within the context of an international partnership in the humanities and social sciences.

Value
A fully-funded doctoral project plus an annual stipend for travel and research-related projects.

Submission Deadline
January 30, 2025

Competition Timeline
March-April 2025: Selection of Candidates
September 2025: Start of PhD Projects

More information
Call Matching PhD GATES MaCI 2025_VF

UGA Contact
humanitiesfellowships@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr 

Annual call launched in the fall. Two funding options are proposed for projects involving one of the strategic partners of the UGA, including McMaster.

Objective
To finance a Doctoral Research Grant (ADR) co-funded by UGA (50%) and the partner (50%), or postdoctoral positions co-funded by UGA and the partner, lasting between 12 and 36 months.

Deadline
Fall 2024 (To be confirmed)

UGA Contact
Zoraida Martinez-Racini: zoraida.martinez-racini@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Objective
To finance international researchers that will be hosted at UGA for a period of 1 to 3 months. Applications are to be submitted by only the UGA researcher who will welcome an international partner.

Deadline
May 2025 (To be confirmed)

UGA Contact
Zoraida Martinez-Racini: zoraida.martinez-racini@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Objective
To support scientific cooperation within strategic partnerships, including McMaster University. Some travels and meetings can be financed upon availability of funds.

UGA Contact
Zoraida Martinez-Racini: zoraida.martinez-racini@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

Student Exchange Agreements (SEA)

• SEA involving Grenoble INP UGA
• SEA with Faculty of Sciences (2023-2028): 20 exchanges per year in each university

UGA Contact
Incoming Students: incoming@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr
Outgoing Students: outgoing@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

McMaster Contact
Contact your Academic Advisor

Double Degree Diploma (DDD) in Mathematics, Statistics and their Applications (2022- 2028)

Involving Grenoble INP – Ensimag and the Master UGA “Mathématiques et Applications” (MSIAM): 6 exchanges per year in each university

UGA Contact
Olivier Gaudoin: Olivier.Gaudoin@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr
Eric Bonnetier: Eric.Bonnetier@univ-grenoble-alpes.fr

McMaster Contact
Contact your Academic Advisor

To register for the colloquium, please click here: Materials Science: Metallurgy Colloquium

Hatem Zurob

Presentation: “Student-centred Partnership between McMaster and UGA:  History and Opportunities”
McMaster and UGA have a long history of collaborations in research and teaching.  At the centre of these collaborations is the student experience including student exchanges, research visits and internships.  Some of the opportunities that are available will be reviewed and feedback from recent students will be shared.

Professor, Chair
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University
Dr. Zurob obtained his PhD from McMaster University in 2003. He completed post doctoral fellowships at the Grenoble institute and Technology and Oxford University prior to joining McMaster as an Assistant Professor in 2005.  He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2012 and Professor in 2017. Dr. Zurob is presently serving as Chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The aim of Dr. Zurob’s research is to understand and control microstructure development in engineering materials with the goal of optimizing mechanical properties. The applicant has made significant contributions to the areas of thermomechanical processing, recrystallization modelling, functionally-graded materials, austenite decomposition and structure property relationships. Dr. Zurob is an active participant in professional societies including ASM, TMS and ASM Materials Camps Canada. 

André Phillion

Presentation: “Metallurgy Research at McMaster University: Processing, Properties, and Characterization of Engineering Metals”
Anchored by our Steel Research Centre, research in metallurgy within the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at McMaster University emphasizes the practical applications and collaboration with industry partners. In this presentation, I will discuss our ongoing research activities in several key areas, including Metallurgical Processing, Casting, Additive Manufacturing, Product Development, and Corrosion. I will also highlight our foundational research in advanced characterization techniques and materials modeling, which underpin these areas. Additionally, I will provide an overview of our state-of-the-art facilities and will outline our grants currently “in preparation” that could prove fruitful for collaboration with UGA.

Professor and ArcelorMittal Dofasco Endowed Chair in Ferrous Metallurgy
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University
André Phillion is a Professor and ArcelorMittal Dofasco Endowed Chair in Ferrous Metallurgy in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada. Prior to his arrival at McMaster in 2016, he was a faculty member in the School of Engineering at The University of British Columbia. His research interests fall at the intersection of industrial-alloy solidification and advanced materials characterization, where he studies how microstructure and defects are influenced by solidification processing conditions. Current projects focus on (1) Green steelmaking/continuous casting; (2) Multi-modal 3D correlative tomography for energy materials development; and (3) Structure-Process modelling during Additive Manufacturing.

Alexis Deschamps

Presentation: “Overview of Metallurgy at the Materials and Processes Science and Engineering (SIMAP) laboratory at UGA”
The main activities involving metallurgy research at the SIMAP laboratory will be reviewed. After introducing the global research strategy and link to societal challenges, the main specific experimental and simulation tools available will be reviewed, to provide an overview of the possibilities for mutual exchanges between UGA and McMaster. In a second part, a few examples of recent highlights will be given, covering phase transformations, additive manufacturing and mechanical behaviour.

Professor at Grenoble INP – Phelma and researcher at SIMAP, UGA
Alexis Deschamps is professor at Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP – UGA) at the school of materials science, and researcher at the SIMAP laboratory. He has strong links with Canada, being a former alumni of McMaster University (M. Eng) and was a post doc at UBC in Vancouver. His research activities are in the field of physical metallurgy, mostly on Aluminium alloys and steels. He has been developing advance characterization techniques, particularly involving large scale facilities such as synchrotrons, to determine quantitatively the microstructure characteristics that control mechanical properties. This has lead to the development of high throughput techniques to map the microstructure in the alloy design space (time, temperature, composition, strain, …), and associated modelling using physically based approaches as well as machine learning.

Marion Bregeault

Presentation: “Modelling of the bainitic transformation during continuous cooling in nuclear steel forgings”
Low-alloy bainitic steels are widely used in nuclear industry for massive pressure vessels that require good fracture toughness. The local microstructure, on which mechanical properties depend, is established during the phase transformation that takes place during final cooling. A major challenge lies in better describing the effect of local composition (carbon and substitutional alloying elements) on the kinetics of this transformation, as the pieces often present persistent chemical heterogeneities at the meso-scale, inherited from inter-grains segregation during solidification. In this study, the transformation kinetics in continuous cooling was followed by in-situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments. Gradient materials are prepared so as to span a wide range of compositions. The vast resulting dataset is used to train a decoder-type deep learning model able to predict kinetic curves. Precious time- and space-resolved data on the evolution of carbon content and dislocation density in austenite and carbides precipitation are also collected in addition to the mere bcc phase fraction. This critical information is used to feed a physics-based model for global continuous cooling phase transformation, that builds on theories for bainite laths nucleation and growth from the literature. It is calibrated with isothermal in-situ laser scanning confocal microscope experiments carried out in McMaster University.

PhD Student
Université Grenoble Alpes
Marion Bregeault is a third year PhD student in Grenoble Alpes University. She grew up in France and studied Materials Science in Paris and Lausanne. Her research concerns bainitic transformation in low-alloy steels for nuclear pressure vessels applications. She visited in McMaster for 3 months last winter to collaborate with Pr’s Zurob team and carry out experiments at CCEM.

Bita Pourbahari

Presentation: “Unlocking New Insights in Alloys: The Power of Correlative Microscopy”
In this presentation, we will delve into how correlative microscopy deepens our understanding of phase transformations and the physical metallurgy of diverse alloys. We will examine a variety of characterization techniques, including SEM, EBSD, 3D-EBSD, APT, TEM, AES, XCT, and FIB, which enable us to reveal intricate mechanisms and phase changes. Specifically, we will focus on the crystallography and morphology of lath martensite in low-carbon 13Cr-4Ni stainless steel, using large-volume, high-resolution serial sectioning tomography that combines Xe plasma-focused ion beam (PFIB) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) methods. We will compare the extracted 3D-EBSD data with 2D observations to highlight potential misinterpretations arising from 2D analyses. Additionally, we will discuss the correlation between 3D-EBSD and 3D-DCT, paving the way for advancements in 3D characterization techniques. Moreover, we will introduce an innovative technique for fabricating micro-tensile specimens that merges advanced technologies, including a dual-chamber FIB-SEM equipped with a femtosecond laser add-on and a PFIB. Lastly, we will showcase various applications of correlative microscopy, including investigations into liquid metal embrittlement (LME), sample preparation for atom probe tomography (APT), and the oxidation and segregation behaviors in Fe alloys.

Postdoctoral Researcher
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, McMaster University
Dr. Pourbahari is a postdoctoral researcher at McMaster University, working in Professor Nabil Bassim’s group, where she specializes in the advanced characterization of diverse materials using a range of innovative techniques. She also held the position of Sessional Faculty, teaching materials science courses. In 2023, she obtained her Ph.D. in Materials Science from McMaster University, where she was awarded multiple prestigious scholarships, including the Ontario Graduate Scholarship. Her Ph.D. thesis focused on determining the effects of Sb on the selective oxidation and reactive wetting of advanced high-strength steels (AHSSs). Her research contributions have significantly advanced the development of new steels, Mg, Al, and high entropy alloys, resulting in numerous published works. Dr. Pourbahari is currently serving as Co-Editor for a Special Issue in the Materials journal.

To view a recording of the Metallurgy Colloquium, please contact Maia Lepingwell-Tardieu (lepingam@mcmaster.ca).

To register for the colloquium, please click here: Political Science Colloquium

Sonja Zmerli

Presentation: “Representations of economic inequality in comparative perspective: How welfare state institutions, social norms and political discourse shape perceptions of inequality”
The presentation will introduce into the ERC funded project POLINEQUAL: The Politicisation of Economic Inequality. The Impact of Welfare Regimes, Elites’ Discourse and Media Frames on Citizens’ Perceptions, Justice Evaluations and Political Behaviour, its rationale and main interim findings. In POLINEQUAL’s conceptualisation, perceptions of economic inequality – and justice evaluations that instil them – originate from social norms that are deeply rooted in the ‘moral economies’ of welfare regimes and malleable as a function of individual exposure to and receptivity of facts, ideological cues, representations and heuristics of economic inequality. In principle, the project pursues two paths: It investigates the nature of interrelationships between media representations, ideological cues and individual perceptions and evaluations of economic inequality and to what extent the latter are conditioned by collectively shared distributive justice norms. Moreover, it investigates the impact of politically salient individual perceptions and evaluations of inequality on emotions and political behaviour. The research design is based on a mixed-methods approach, organized in five work packages and combining data derived from online focus groups, discourse and content analysis of party programmes and media representations, representative online surveys and online experimental framing studies in France, Great Britain and Sweden. A selection of empirical findings will be discussed that derive from focus group discussions, party programme analyses and representative online surveys.

Professor
Political Science, Sciences Po Grenoble – UGA
Dr. Sonja Zmerli is Professor of Political Science at Sciences Po Grenoble – UGA. Her research interests revolve around and relate political behaviour with economic inequality and welfare state in a comparative perspective. She is the co-editor of the first Handbook of Political Psychology in German language (2015, 2022 second edition, Nomos Publishing, with Ofer Feldman) and the co-editor of the first Handbook on Political Trust (2017, Edward Elgar Publisher, with Tom van der Meer). Her work was published in Public Opinion Quarterly, European Political Science Review, Social Science Research, amongst others.

Andrea Lawlor

Presentation: “Affective Polarization and Institutional Confidence in Canada”
Andrea Lawlor (McMaster University)
Laura Stephenson (University of Western Ontario)
Confidence or trust in political institutions has been in decline over the past 40 years (Norris 2011; Sniderman 2017; Warren 1999). Yet, there is considerable heterogeneity is how this phenomenon has manifested across time, countries, and individual institutions. Literature focusing on the American context has suggested that institutional confidence has been propelled downward by the existence of strong partisan inclinations (Keele 2005). As individuals become more antagonistic toward out-partisans, they may view even unaligned political institutions with greater skepticism. This consequence of affective polarization undermines traditional explanations for institutional confidence which were thought to be more durable. But is it happening everywhere? Canada has historically been identified as being somewhat resilient to this decline, though not fully immune (Citrin and Stoker 2018). As such, it provides an important testing ground to see whether the American experience of affective polarization travels – that is, whether it has permeated Canadian borders and if it is placing downward pressure on institutional confidence. We hypothesize that if the effects are universal, affective polarization will have a particularly pronounced effect on confidence in a variety of institutions, with those who identify as more polarized having less confidence because they view institutions as being related to out-partisan groups. We test our hypothesis not only on partisan institutions, such as the government in power, but also on non-partisan institutions, such as the civil service and the courts, to determine the extent to which affective polarization may be eroding the fabric of representative democracy.

Associate Professor
Department of Political Science and the Public Policy (Digital Society) Program, McMaster University
Dr. Andrea Lawlor is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Public Policy (Digital Society) program at McMaster University. She specializes in the study of Canadian public policy, public opinion, as well as administrative and election law, including third party regulation in Canadian federal elections. Her work has appeared in the Canadian Journal of Political Science, Canadian Journal of Law and Society, and the Journal of Social Policy, among other venues. Dr. Lawlor holds a PhD from McGill University in Political Science and a MSL from Western University’s Faculty of Law.