issues and experts
2025 Canada Federal Election - ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV experts available
With the Canadian federal election set for April 28, the countdown to the ballot box is on. ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV experts are available to comment on a range of key federal election issues, including international relations, tariffs, and interprovincial trade, health care, affordability and housing, and climate, energy and infrastructure.
CANADA / U.S. RELATIONS & ECONOMY
EDANA BEAUVAIS, associate professor, political science

edana_beauvais@sfu.ca
Expertise: Political communication, deliberative democracy, racial, ethnic and settler-colonial politics, gender and politics, political behaviour.
NICOLAS SCHMITT, professor, economics
schmitt@sfu.ca
Expertise: International trade, internal trade, tariffs.
JAMES HORNCASTLE, assistant professor, The Edward and Emily McWhinney Professor in International Relations
jhorncas@sfu.ca
Expertise: Refugee and migration, international relations, nationalism, identity formation, conflict studies, Russia-Ukraine War.
SANJAY JERAM, senior lecturer, political science
sjeram@sfu.ca
Expertise: Canadian politics, federalism, public opinion, political parties, national identity, political values & ideology, immigration & diversity.
ALEX RIVARD, assistant professor, School of Public Policy
alexandre_rivard@sfu.ca
Expertise: Public opinion and its influence on public policy, Canadian political institutions, electoral processes, the trajectories of political careers, secessionist parties in Western Europe and North America. Speaks French.
ANDY HIRA, professor, department chair, political science, Clean Energy Research Group
ahira@sfu.ca
Expertise: Energy policy, science and technology policy, U.S. politics, political economy, international development, comparative public policy, natural resource policy, corporate social responsibility, economic policy and climate change.
STEEVE MONGRAIN, professor, economics
mongrain@sfu.ca
Expertise: Public economics, law and economics, taxation, economic policies. (Note: Available as of April 2)
TIMOTHY VAN DEN BRINK, PhD candidate, political science
timothy_van_den_brink@sfu.ca
Epertise: Canadian party platforms and ideology, political discourse, Right-wing politics. Speaks French.
HEALTH CARE
LINDSAY HEDDEN, assistant professor, Michael Smith Health Research BC scholar, health sciences
lindsay_hedden@sfu.ca
Expertise: Primary care, health care access, the health workforce, virtual care, encroaching privatization and corporatization, team-based primary care.
CHARLOTTE WADDELL, professor emerita, director, Children’s Health Policy Centre, health sciences
charlotte_waddell@sfu.ca
Expertise: Child and youth mental health, health policy, children’s rights.
CAROLINE COLIJN, Canada 150 Research Chair in Mathematics for Evolution, Infection and Public Health
ccolijn@sfu.ca
Expertise: Infectious disease, outbreaks, public health.
KIFFER CARD, assistant professor, health sciences
kcard@sfu.ca
Expertise: Public health responses to and the social determinants of infectious diseases, mental health, substance use.
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY
ANDREY PAVLOV, professor, finance, Beedie School of Business
apavlov@sfu.ca
Expertise: Real estate markets, housing affordability, Canadian economy, interest rates, inflation.
CLIMATE & ENERGY
MARK ZACHARIAS, executive director, Clean Energy Canada
Contact Keri McNamara, senior communications specialist, for interviews
778.951.8060 | keri@cleanenergycanada.org (Note: After April 17, contact Sicellia Tsui, sicellia@cleanenergycanada.org)
Expertise: Climate policy, carbon pricing, electric vehicles, clean energy, clean industrial policy.
EVAN PIVNICK, clean economy program manager, Clean Energy Canada
Contact Keri McNamara, senior communications specialist, for interviews
778.951.8060 | keri@cleanenergycanada.org (Note: After April 17, contact Sicellia Tsui, sicellia@cleanenergycanada.org)
Expertise: Climate policy, carbon pricing, electric vehicles, clean energy, clean industrial policy.
CONTACT
ROBYN STUBBS, ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Communications & Marketing
778.772.1349 | robyn_stubbs@sfu.ca
SAM SMITH, ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV Communications & Marketing
236.880.3297 | samuel_smith@sfu.ca
¶¡ÏãÔ°AV
|
778.782.3210
ABOUT SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
¶¡ÏãÔ°AV is a leading research university, advancing an inclusive and sustainable future. Over the past 60 years, ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV has been recognized among the top universities worldwide in providing a world-class education and working with communities and partners to develop and share knowledge for deeper understanding and meaningful impact. Committed to excellence in everything we do, ¶¡ÏãÔ°AV fosters innovation to address global challenges and continues to build a welcoming, inclusive community where everyone feels a sense of belonging. With campuses in British Columbia’s three largest cities—Burnaby, Surrey and Vancouver—¶¡ÏãÔ°AV has eight faculties that deliver 364 undergraduate degree programs and 149 graduate degree programs for more than 37,000 students each year. The university boasts more than 200,000 alumni residing in 145+ countries.
Comment Guidelines