Abstract:

The World Trade Organization and the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement have been shaken by U.S. President Trump’s erratic trade actions. The WTO, which marked its 30th anniversary this year, is the foundation of the global trading system, and the five year old CUSMA has so far protected Canada from the worst of the current trade storm. Even though over two thirds of global trade still follows its rules, is the WTO on life support? And will CUSMA survive the forthcoming review process?

Professor Emeritus Robert Wolfe is one of Canada’s leading experts on trade policy. He was a foreign service officer for many years, serving abroad in the Canadian High Commission in Bangladesh and in Paris in the Canadian Delegation to the OECD. In Ottawa he worked in national security and in international economic relations. After completing a doctorate in Political Studies at Queen’s, Wolfe joined the School of Policy Studies in 1995. He taught the required course on policy analysis throughout his time at Queen’s, and in 2009 launched the annual Queen’s Institute on Trade Policy for mid-career public servants. Professor Wolfe has published extensively on Canadian trade policy. His co-edited book Redesigning Canadian Trade Policies for New Global Realities was the winner of the 2018 Doug Purvis Memorial prize from the Canadian Economics Association. The bulk of his work is on the World Trade Organization, with a particular interest in transparency mechanisms. His most recent publications and blog posts are on WTO reform, including 'On the Rocks: The WTO’s Member-Driven Consensus Decision-Making’ in the current issue of the Indian journal Trade, Law and Development.  

Abstract:

October 2025 marks the 25th anniversary of the Women, Peace and Security agenda, a global policy framework that has defined Canada’s feminist foreign policy. Canada has championed Women, Peace and Security at NATO, but the consensus is fraying. Can NATO reconcile its core values with rapidly changing strategic imperatives? Reflecting on the latest developments at NATO and sharing findings from the new edition of her book Deploying Feminism: The Role of Gender in NATO Military Operations (Oxford University Press, 2025), Professor Stéfanie von Hlatky will explain how NATO has integrated Women, Peace and Security in policy development and as part of its military activities. By providing a deep dive institutional analysis, she examines the strategic, operational and tactical considerations that play into gender-based analysis in military contexts, while raising important questions about political contestation among allies.

Stéfanie von Hlatky is the Canada Research Chair on Gender, Security, and the Armed Forces, Full Professor of Political Studies at Queen’s University, and Fellow with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation. She previously held positions at Georgetown University, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Dartmouth College, ETH Zurich and was a Fulbright Visiting Research Chair at the University of Southern California. Her latest books are Deploying Feminism: The Role of Gender in NATO Military Operations (2022; 2025) and a co-edited volume, Total Defence Forces in the 21st Century (2023). In 2025, Dr. von Hlatky was inducted into the Royal Society of Canada’s College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. She is the founder of Women in International Security – Canada and the Honorary Colonel of the Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment.

The School of Policy Studies is pleased to launch our 2025 speaker series with a talk by Dr. Catherine Donnelly.

Abstract:

Dr. Donnelly's talk will focus on team based primary care, and she will share the results of her recent policy analysis examining the implementation of this care model across Canadian health care systems.

Dr. Catherine Donnelly BSc(OT), MSc, PhD, is the Director of Queen's University Health Services and Policy Research Institute and an Associate Professor at the School of Rehabilitation, teaching within the Occupational Therapy Program. As a health services researcher, she focuses on team based primary care with an emphasis on understanding how interprofessional primary care teams can support older adults and individuals with chronic conditions to live in their neighbourhoods and communities. A key focus of her research is working with Oasis Supportive Living (Oasis) - a program designed by older adults to support aging in community. Other focuses include integrated health systems, program evaluation and interdisciplinary education and practice. She employs mixed-methods in her research and works closely with communities and health systems.

Abstract:

Prime Minister Mark Carney has an ambitious agenda to grow and transform Canada's economy through nation-building projects and the fostering of new and prosperous trade partnerships. He comes to his prime ministerial role after having served in high-profile leadership roles at the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, Brookfield Wealth Management and Goldman Sachs. He is a first-time politician, which was part of his appeal to the electorate, but now he must adapt his leadership skills to the political environment at a time when the public is increasingly nervous about the future. How will he build enough political capital to ensure success? Will an austerity budget tax his relationship with the public? What challenges will the minority government context pose?

Dr. Lori Turnbull is a Professor in the Faculty of Management at Dalhousie University and a Senior Advisor at the Institute on Governance. Her research, teaching, and public commentary focus on politics and government in Canada, with a specific focus on parliament, elections, political ethics, and public trust. She is a frequent political commentator on television and radio in Canada and around the world. She has authored many peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. Her book Democratizing the Constitution: Reforming Responsible Government, co-authored with Mark D. Jarvis and the late Peter Aucoin, won the Donner Prize in 2011 for the best book written on public policy in Canada.

Abstract:

Prime Minister Mark Carney has asserted on a number of occasions that Canada’s traditional relationship with the United States is “over.” This presentation examines the policy implications for Canadians of the return of Donald Trump to the White House and explores the difficulties of resetting the Canadian-American relationship in a “post-American” world.

DR. KIM RICHARD NOSSAL is a professor emeritus of political studies in the Centre for International and Defence Policy (CIDP) at Queen’s University. He served as head of the Department of Political Studies (2001-2009), director of the CIDP (2011-2013), and director of the School of Policy Studies (2013-15). His latest book, Canada Alone: Navigating the Post-American World, was published by Dundurn Press in 2023.