Paul E.J. Thomas Email & Phone Number

Ottawa, On, Ca

Ottawa

Director of the Parliamentary Internship Programme, a non-partisan program operated by the Canadian Political Science Association that places 10 interns per year at the Canadian House of Commons to work with both government and opposition Members of Parliament.

Ottawa, Canada Area

Adjunct Research Professor with the Clayton Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management at Carleton University.

Ottawa, Canada Area

Social Science and Humanities Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Political Science at Carleton University. Working under the supervision of Professor Jonathan Malloy to compare the health and influence of Canada's provincial legislatures.

Ottawa, Canada Area

Visiting Researcher with the Bell Chair for Studies in Canadian Parliamentary Democracy within the Political Science Department at Carleton University.

Ottawa, Canada Area

Contract course instructor for the Clayton H. Riddell Graduate Program in Political Management. Designed and instruct the Institutions and Governance I course (POLM5001) for the Masters of Political Management Program. Lectured on the operation and political implications Canada's constitution, courts, political parties, House of Commons, and Senate. Provided students with a detailed understanding of how Canada's political system operates and strategic opportunities for policy and legislative influence.

Ottawa, Canada Area

Leading the Samara Centre for Democracy's research project exploring how Canadian political parties shape the quality of Canadian democracy.

Toronto, Canada

PhD Candidate in Canadian and Comparative Politics. My dissertation project, "Across Enemy Lines: A study of All-Party Groups in four Westminster Legislatures," was supported by a Vanier Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. The project ws supervised Graham White and Peter Loewen of the University of Toronto, and Jonathan Malloy of Carleton University. The project used the cases of Canada, the UK, Scotland, and Ontario to explore the factors driving the increase in cross-party cooperation through informal, issue-focused groups at the four legislatures, as well as differences in the role played by the groups in the three political systems. A mixed research method was employed consisting of both a statistical analysis of politicians' involvement in all-party activity, as well as extensive qualitative interviews with parliamentarians, civil society and industry stakeholders, and government officials in each jurisdiction. Field work in London, Edinburgh, Ottawa and Toronto was completed in 2012-2013. Datasets tracking parliamentarians' engagement in cross-party groups were constructed using webscraping techniques from online archives of parliamentary websites. Thesis defended in August 2016.

Toronto, Canada Area

POL316 - Canadian Federalism (Sept. 2014 - April 2015)Teaching Assistant for Professor Michael Stein's third year, full credit (8 month) course in Canadian federalism. Facilitated tutorial sessions, lectured on federalism and international relations, graded essays and exams.POL214 - Canadian Politics and Government (Sept. 2009 - April 2011; Sept. 2013 - April 2014)Teaching Assistant for Professor Nelson Wiseman's second year, full credit (8 month) course in Canadian government. Facilitated weekly tutorial sessions to engage students in discussions of the course material and supplementary readings. Also graded course assignments and exams.POLB52 - Canadian Politics (January 2013 - April 2013)Teaching Assistant for Professor Christopher Cochrane's second year, half credit (4 month) course on Canadian politics. Responded to student questions, graded essays and exams.POL382 - Renewing Canadian Democracy (January 2012 - April 2012)Teaching Assistant for Dr. Michael Ignatieff's third year, half credit (4 month) class in Renewing Canadian Democracy. Graded course assignments and exams and assisted in syllabus development.POL356 - Canadian Political Parties (September 2011 - April 2012)Teaching Assistant in Professor Nelson Wiseman's third year, full credit (8 month) course on Canadian political parties (enrollment 60 students). Responded to student questions, graded essays and exams.

University Of Toronto

Recipient of a Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, awarded for academic excellence, research potential and leadership. For more information please see http://www.vanier.gc.ca/

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

With support from a SSHRC Michael Smith Foreign Study Supplement, I spent 6 weeks as a visiting student at the Centre for Canadian Studies at the University of Edinburgh while conducting field research at the Scottish Parliament for my dissertation.

London, United Kingdom

Supported the charity's government relations activities and particularly its initiative to secure the inclusion of tougher tobacco control measures, including a point-of-sale display ban, in the British Government's 2008 Health Bill. As part of this effort I worked with Cancer Research UK's partners in the Smokefree Action Coalition, such as Action on Smoking and Health, the British Medical Association and the British Heart Foundation, to develop common messaging. I also prepared the Coalition's briefing documents for parliamentarians, and developed Cancer Research UK's online material on the issue.

Ottawa, Canada

Served as the Senior Researcher supporting Senator Goldstein with his legislative duties and his role as Vice-Chair of the Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce. Also developed the Senator's private member’s bills on the prevention of spam email (Bill S-235) and student bankruptcy (S-205), and managed the Senator's website and press relations.

Ottawa, Canada

Researched and co-authored a policy report making recommendations for how Canada could adopt a "whole of government" approach in response to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, and particularly in support of the goal of achieving universal access to treatment, care and support. The document is listed in the publications section below.

Ottawa, Canada

Participant in the Parliamentary Internship Programme, a non-partisan hands-on educational initiative operated by the Canadian Political Science Association with the support of SSHRC and external donors. Completed two three month work placements in the Ottawa offices of both a government and an opposition Member of the Canadian Parliament. In addition, as part of the Programme I participated in an extensive introduction to parliamentary procedure, as well as weekly academic sessions, and regular seminars with prominent figures in government, industry, and civil society. Intensive study tours were also undertaken to the Parliaments of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, and the European Union, the United States Congress, the National Assembly of Quebec, the and the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.

Ottawa, Canada

Compiled a directory of Canadian evangelical political actors in support of Professor Malloy's SSHRC funded study of evangelical politics in Canada.

Ottawa, Canada

Teaching Assistant for a full credit (8 month) course in statistical analysis for the 2003/04 and 2004/05 academic years. Facilitated two weekly tutorial sessions with a combined enrollment of 45 to instructed students in the use of statistical analysis software (SPSS) and to clarify course concepts. Also graded course assignments and exams.

Gatineau, Canada

Worked summers and part-time with the Southern Africa Program assisting in the management of bilateral aid projects and the development of the CIDA-South Africa Programming Framework.

Waterloo, Ontario

Teaching Assistant for two half-credit (4 month) courses on the politics of development countries instructed by Professor Andrea Brown: POL 227 (Fall 2002) and POL 228 (Winter 2003). Facilitated two weekly tutorial sessions with a combined enrollment of 35 to engaged students in a discussions of the course material. Also graded course assignments and exams.

Phd., Canadian And Comparative Politics

Master Of Arts, Political Science

Honours Bachelor Of Arts, Political Science And Global Studies, Graduation With High Distinction

Activities and Societies: Model United Nations, Radio Laurier, Foot Patrol, Laurier Christian Fellowship

Certificat D’Immersion, French

Completed a five week French immersion program at Western University's French Immersion School in Trois Pistoles, Quebec.