# Canada Program ![Mural of a red deer.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2025-04/Cards-Homepage-Mural.jpg?itok=BRMp8IIy) *Credit:* [*Thomas Hawk, Flickr*](https://flic.kr/p/2oBYVSj) *(CC BY-NC 2.0)*## What We Do The [Canada Program](https://canada.wcfia.harvard.edu/), made possible by the William Lyon Mackenzie King endowment, presents rich intellectual opportunities for Canadian studies at Harvard: graduate and undergraduate courses offered by distinguished visiting Canadian scholars across the social sciences and professional schools, dissertation research grants for Harvard graduate students, thesis research and travel funding for Harvard undergraduates, a vibrant seminar series of esteemed Canadian guest speakers, and an annual faculty-led conference. ## Our History The endowment was established in 1967 following a campaign spearheaded by David Rockefeller, who wished to honor William Lyon Mackenzie King (1874–1950), a great friend of his father, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. A Harvard graduate, King was deputy minister of labour in Canada when, in 1914, he was recruited as an industrial consultant tasked with brokering an agreement between management and labor workers at the Rockefeller-controlled Colorado Fuel and Iron Company. According to Harvard's *Directory of Named Chairs*, a dispute between management and labor had resulted in “a long, bitter and bloody strike against the company.” And, “\[w\]hile Rockefeller hoped King would help extricate his company from a labor dilemma which he believed had been badly handled, he had a larger purpose in urging the Rockefeller Foundation to use the Colorado situation as a means of recommending a plan of broad application to industrial relations generally.” King managed the situation, helped amend public perception of Rockefeller, and produced a book for the foundation, *Industry and Humanity* (1918). After a time as industrial adviser to a number of American utility and extraction firms, King returned to Canadian politics, took leadership of the Liberal Party, and went on to serve Canada as prime minister for a collective twenty-two years. In 1967, the president of the University of Toronto, Professor Claude T. Bissell, was named the first William Lyon Mackenzie King Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies. Bissell’s research assistant at the time was Michael Bliss, a distinguished Canadian historian, author, and former University of Toronto professor. Their time at Harvard was, Bliss noted, “one of the happiest years of our lives.” ## Who We Are Professor Ayelet Shachar joins us as the 2025–2026 William Lyon Mackenzie King Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies. Professor Shachar, appointed by the Harvard Law School, joins us from the University of Toronto Law School. Emma Gilheany, an anthropologist from the University of Chicago, and Marlene Gaynair, a historian from the University of Washington State, join us as the 2025–2026 William Lyon Mackenzie King Postdoctoral Fellows. Gilheany has a joint appointment with the Harvard University Native American Program as part of a three-year pilot—an exciting new collaboration between programs. And Laura Tanguay, a sociologist from York University, joins us as an affiliate, appointed as a postdoctoral scholar at the Weatherhead Scholars Program. Since 2008, the Canada Program has granted more than $1,800,000 in dissertation research funding to more than 100 graduate students—some of whom are engaged in research concerning government, law, sociology, history, music, education, public health, and urban design—and thesis support for undergraduate students, all of whom are known as Research Fellows. Nine student Research Fellows join the program in 2025–2026, with fellows representing the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Law School. ## Governance The Canada Program at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs is guided by a Faculty Committee, chaired by Professor I. Glenn Cohen. The Canada Program Faculty Committee comprises a group of scholars drawn from Harvard’s different schools, including the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, the Graduate School of Education, and the Harvard Law School. The committee oversees the program, which fosters and supports Canadian studies at Harvard both through existing programs and new innovations. The committee is responsible for the selection of the William Lyon Mackenzie King visiting professorship, for the program’s postdoctoral fellowship program, and for providing funding faculty research on topics related to Canada. Helen Clayton is the program administrator. home [### Contact ](https://www.google.com/maps/place/1727+Cambridge+Street,+1727+Cambridge+St,+Cambridge,+MA+02138/@42.375523,-71.11285,16z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x89e377442f71c58b:0xc2a601ef4bb71a70!8m2!3d42.3754806!4d-71.1128627!16s%2Fg%2F1tlc922l?hl=en&entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDYxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D)1727 Cambridge Street Cambridge, MA 02138 p: (617) 495-3671 f: (617) 495-8292 canada@wcfia. harvard.edu language [### Program Website ](https://canada.wcfia.harvard.edu/)Visit the Canada Program website co\_present [### Canada Seminar ](https://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/seminars/canada)Learn about the Canada Seminar (open to the public) account\_balance [### Funding ](/canada-program-funding-harvard-faculty-departments-and-schools)Canada Program Funding For Harvard Faculty, Departments, and Schools account\_balance [### Funding ](/funding/student/canada_dissertation)Canada Program Fellowships for Dissertation Research account\_balance [### Funding ](/funding/student/canada_ugrad_thesis)Canada Program Undergraduate Thesis Research Grants ## Administration & Visiting Scholars I. Glenn Cohen is chair of the Canada Program Faculty Committee. Helen Clayton is the program administrator. [### I. Glenn Cohen ](/people/i-glenn-cohen)Chair, Canada Program Faculty Committee; Faculty Associate. James A. Attwood and Leslie Williams Professor of Law; Deputy Dean; Faculty Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology & Bioethics, Harvard Law School. ![cohen-glenn.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/cohen-glenn.jpg?h=0b596ad0&itok=-upKLwEz) [### Helen Clayton ](/people/helen-clayton) Administrator, Canada Program. ![Helen Clayton.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/clayton_helen.jpg?h=1dd6fea7&itok=M_IBy3Gy) [### Ayelet Shachar ](/people/ayelet-shachar)William Lyon Mackenzie King Visiting Professor of Canadian Studies, Canada Program. Professor of Law, Political Science and Global Affairs, University of Toronto. ![Headshot of Ayelet Shachar.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/shachar-ayelet.jpg?h=2534386a&itok=ViX_kQBj) [### Marlene Gaynair ](/people/marlene-gaynair)William Lyon Mackenzie King Postdoctoral Fellow, Canada Program. Assistant Professor, Department of History, Washington State University. ![Headshot of Marlene Gaynair.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/gaynair-marlene.png?h=fb6f7192&itok=RbPpuhR9) [### Emma Gilheany ](/people/emma-gilheany)William Lyon Mackenzie King Postdoctoral Fellow, Canada Program. Research Affiliate, Harvard University Native American Program; PhD, Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago. ![gilheany_emma.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/wcfia/files/gilheany_emma.jpg?itok=9l5bMs7F) ## Current Affiliates (2025–2026) [### Marco M. Aviña ](/people/marco-m-avina)Graduate Research Fellow, Canada Program. PhD Candidate, Program in Social Policy, Department of Government, Harvard University. **Research interests:** American politics; Canadian politics; elections, public opinion, and voting behavior; class and inequality; migration and citizenship; race and ethnic politics; survey research; experiments; and metascience. ![Man with no hair and a mustache is smiling against a blue wall.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/wcfia/files/avina_marco_0.jpg?itok=OIv75JOu) [### Helen Clayton ](/people/helen-clayton)Administrator, Canada Program. ![Helen Clayton.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-06/clayton_helen.jpg?h=1dd6fea7&itok=M_IBy3Gy) [### I. Glenn Cohen ](/people/i-glenn-cohen)Chair, Canada Program Faculty Committee; Faculty Associate. James A. Attwood and Leslie Williams Professor of Law; Deputy Dean; Faculty Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology & Bioethics, Harvard Law School. **Research interests:** Medical AI; mobile health and other health information technologies; abortion; reproduction/reproductive technology; therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs; research ethics; organ transplantation; rationing in law and medicine; health... ![cohen-glenn.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/cohen-glenn.jpg?h=0b596ad0&itok=-upKLwEz) [### Anne-Michelle Engelstad ](/people/anne-michelle-engelstad)Graduate Research Fellow, Canada Program. PhD Candidate, Harvard Graduate School of Education. **Research interests:** Child development; neurodevelopment; developmental differences; early intervention; and inclusive early childhood education. **Pronouns:** she/her/hers ![Headshot of Anne-Michelle Engelstad](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/engelstad-anne-michelle.jpeg?h=91ed1eb6&itok=09EzPNMT) [### Marlene Gaynair ](/people/marlene-gaynair)William Lyon Mackenzie King Postdoctoral Fellow, Canada Program. Assistant Professor, Department of History, Washington State University. **Research interests:** Modern Canada and US; Caribbean/Jamaican diaspora; urban studies; migration; transnational history; popular culture; digital humanities; and race and ethnicity. ![Headshot of Marlene Gaynair.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/gaynair-marlene.png?h=fb6f7192&itok=RbPpuhR9) [### Emma Gilheany ](/people/emma-gilheany)William Lyon Mackenzie King Postdoctoral Fellow, Canada Program. Research Affiliate, Harvard University Native American Program; PhD, Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago. **Research interests:** Inuit self-determination; archaeology of the contemporary; Cold War; US imperialism; the Anthropocene; anticolonial methods; and the Nunatsiavut/subarctic/Arctic region. **Pronouns:** she/her ![gilheany_emma.jpg](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/wcfia/files/gilheany_emma.jpg?itok=9l5bMs7F) [### Seokweon Jeon ](/people/seokweon-jeon)Graduate Student Associate; Graduate Research Fellow, Canada Program. PhD Candidate, Committee on the Study of Religion, Harvard University. **Research interests:** Religion and US global-imperial power; Asian/Latinx mobility; critical Asian-American studies; border and citizenship; religion and neoliberalism; religious-racial history of the Cold War; and religion, race, and American nativism. ![Headshot of Seokweon Jeon.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-08/jeon-seokweon.jpg?h=5fb93a5a&itok=qu6hz2LF) [### Maroussia Lévesque ](/people/maroussia-levesque)Graduate Research Fellow, Canada Program. SJD Candidate, Harvard Law School. **Research interests:** Artificial intelligence; regulation; rule of law; corporate governance; polycentric governance; geopolitics; and innovation policy. **Pronouns:** she/her ![Headshot of Maroussia Lévesque](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/levesque-maroussia.jpg?h=7b26c79f&itok=PIZMEWfR) [### Saffron Sener ](/people/saffron-sener)Graduate Research Fellow, Canada Program. PhD Candidate, Department of History, Harvard University. **Research interests**: Histories of early America(s) and North American West; Great Lakes; colonial history; gender; reproduction; environmental history; medicine; history of technology; women, gender, and sexuality studies; Native American and Indigenous... ![Close up of Saffron Sener.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/sener-saffron.jpg?h=8a1a88bb&itok=VGZpfUKn) [### Priyanka Sethy ](/people/priyanka-sethy-0)Graduate Research Fellow, Canada Program. PhD Candidate, Department of Government, Harvard University. **Research interests**: Diaspora politics; immigration and identity; South Asian immigrants; and social status and politics. ![Headshot of Priyanka Sethy.](/sites/g/files/omnuum8891/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-07/sethy-priyanka.JPG?h=615eb9cd&itok=1ForHw38) Show morerefresh [ View All People arrow\_circle\_right ](/people) Open all sections Close all sections ### Teaching Assistants expand\_more **The following undergraduates were teaching assitants to this program during the 2026–2027 academic year:** - John Doe '27 - Jane Doe '29 - Jimmy Doe '27 - Jenny Doe '28 ## Events No upcoming events at this current time. Please check back again later. [ View All Events arrow\_circle\_right ](/events) --- ## All Programs & Projects The Weatherhead Center hosts formal programs that link faculty and affiliates working in similar research areas. Projects at the Weatherhead Center are discrete activities that connect interdisciplinary scholars, practitioners, and students working in a specific research area. Projects may include student internships, multiyear research activities, and more. Open all sections Close all sections ### Canada Program expand\_more The Canada Program, made possible by the William Lyon Mackenzie King Endowment, presents rich intellectual opportunities for Canadian studies at Harvard: graduate and undergraduate courses offered by distinguished visiting Canadianist scholars across the social sciences and professional schools, dissertation research grants for Harvard graduate students, thesis research and travel funding for Harvard undergraduates, funding for Harvard faculty-hosted Canadian studies specialists, a vibrant seminar series of esteemed Canadianist guest speakers, and an annual faculty conference. [**Learn more about the Canada Program >**](https://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/programs/canada) ### Program on US-Japan Relations expand\_more The Program on US-Japan Relations was founded in response to Japan's rise as a leading global power. We seek to advance knowledge of US-Japan relations and contemporary Japanese economy, politics, society, and culture from comparative, global, and transnational perspectives. Every academic year, we host approximately sixteen postdoctoral fellows, visiting scholars, and practitioner associates to conduct research on campus. We sponsor a weekly hybrid seminar series, biweekly associate workshops, Japanese Politics Online Seminar Series (JPOSS), an annual Distinguished Visitor program, conferences on Harvard campus and in Tokyo, and other events. [**Learn more about the Program on US-Japan Relations >**](https://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/programs/us_japan) ### SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center expand\_more SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center explores the role of formal organizations—including corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and professional associations—in the creation of international social, environmental, economic, and political conventions. Our project is a partnership between the Weatherhead Center and the Scandinavian Consortium for Organizational Research (SCANCOR), a membership-supported nonprofit sponsored by leading universities and business schools in Scandinavia. We welcome visiting scholars to Harvard for up to one year to use the tools of organizational science to work on international topics. While at Harvard, visitors connect with scholars from across the campus, and around Boston, through various seminars and workshops. [**Learn more about SCANCOR at the Weatherhead Center >**](https://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/projects/scancor) ### STAR Lab expand\_more The Sustainability Transparency Accountability Research (STAR) Lab brings together a group of scholars at Harvard University and beyond conducting research on new business initiatives aimed at improving accountability and sustainability as well as generating positive social and environmental impacts. Among these initiatives are programs addressing issues in global supply chains and the impacts of multinational businesses in developing countries, climate change and environmental sustainability, discrimination and human rights, and more. New research is critical for the design and evaluation of these initiatives and for understanding their impacts on business, social, and environmental outcomes. We support collaborations among Harvard scholars and build partnerships between the group and a diverse set of companies, with headquarters and operations in many different countries. [**Learn more about STAR Lab >**](https://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/projects/star-lab) ### The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies expand\_more The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies is dedicated to increasing our knowledge of the culture, history, and institutions of the world's major regions and countries. To accomplish this goal, we sponsor the Academy Scholars Program, which identifies and supports outstanding scholars at the start of their academic careers whose work combines excellence in a social science discipline with a command of the language and knowledge or expertise of countries or regions outside of the United States or Canada. Their scholarship spans traditional disciplinary divisions and elucidates comparative, transnational, or domestic issues, past or present. Academy Scholars are appointed for a two-year, in-residence, postdoctoral fellowship. They are mentored by the Harvard Academy Senior Scholars, a cohort of faculty members who are committed to supporting the Academy Scholars as they work to achieve their potential. [**Learn more about The Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies >**](https://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/programs/academy) ### The Weatherhead Scholars Program expand\_more The Weatherhead Scholars Program offers visiting faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and experienced practitioners the opportunity to spend up to one year at Harvard conducting comparative international research. During their time in residence, affiliates participate in the weekly Scholars’ seminar and contribute to the Center’s many intellectual activities. They may also audit courses and engage with the undergraduate and graduate student communities. [**Learn more about the Weatherhead Scholars Program >**](https://www.wcfia.harvard.edu/programs/scholars) --- See also:- [ Programs ](/content-types/programs) - [ Current Programs ](/content-types/current-programs)