A TWO-DAY SYMPOSIUM

April 2-3, 2027

Hosted by the Centre for Canadian Studies, Brock University

When James Bradley passed away in September 2025, a 55-year career in public service in Ontario came to a close. St. Catharines City Councillor, Member of Provincial Parliament for St. Catharines, cabinet minister in multiple portfolios (Environment, Transportation, Municipal Affairs and Housing, Tourism), Government House Leader, and Chair of Niagara Region government, Jim Bradley touched the lives of hundreds of thousands of constituents, both personally and through the policies he crafted, introduced through legislation, or helped enforce. His legacy has yet to be fully appreciated, but among the marks Bradley made on Ontario political culture from the 1970s to the 2020s was his ecumenical approach. He eschewed parochialism and petty partisanship, and instead championed cooperation among government levels in Canada, between Canadian and American government bodies, and across party lines. Disagree if you must; but never make it personal.

“Jim Bradley and the Politics of Ontario” marks the 50th anniversary of Bradley’s election to the Ontario Legislature in 1977, which began the second-longest ever tenure at Queen’s Park, a remarkable eleven straight election victories representing St. Catharines. It begins an assessment of his life and, especially, his times. This symposium invites scholars and community members to gather in St. Catharines to examine the nature of Ontario political culture over the past 50 years—from the 1970s to the present—and to reflect upon Jim Bradley’s place in it. The symposium invites proposals for 20-minute presentations on all aspects of Ontario political culture during these decades, whether they involved Bradley directly or not, but is especially interested in the following themes:

  • Elections, Party Loyalties, and Partisanship
  • Environmentalism and Environmental Policymaking
  • Indigenous Politics/Ontario Politics: Ontario Politics before, during, and since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
  • Teachers, Teachers Unions, School Boards, and the Politics of Education
  • Municipal Governance and Provincial Control
  • Provincial paradiplomacy—Ontario as an International Actor
  • Communication, the Media, and Political Discourse in Ontario
  • Gender, Identity, and Ontario Politics
  • Sport and the Politics of Community-building
  • Regions and Regional Political Identities
  • Oratory and the Politics of Language
  • Effective Opposition in Majority Governments
  • All Politics is Local: What it Means to be a “Constituency Politician”

Interested presenters should submit a proposal including a working title, a 250-word abstract, and a two-page CV to symposium convenors Anthony Kinik and Andrew Holman on or before December 1, 2026.

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