--- title: "Annual Conference of the Association for Canadian" description: "48th Annual Conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in German‑speaking Countries – Reimagining Canada in North America is a professional…" url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/conferences/professional/48th-annual-conference-of-the-association-for-canadian-studies-in-germanspeaking-countries-reimagining-canada-in-north-america-2027" --- # 48th Annual Conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in German‑speaking Countries – Reimagining Canada in North America Feb 24–26, 2027[Berlin, Germany](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1\&query=Berlin%2C%20Germany)In-person [Registration open](http://www.kanada-studien.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/GKS-2027-CfP-eng-extended.pdf) The 48th Annual Conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in German-speaking Countries, themed "Reimagining Canada in North America," will convene in Berlin, Germany. This academic gathering aims to critically examine Canada's evolving identity and role within the North American context, considering its relationships with its neighbors and its broader global standing. The conference provides a platform for scholars to present research and engage in discussions that challenge conventional understandings of Canadian studies. ## Committees & topics - Topics Canada's International Relations and Geopolitics in a Shifting North America · Internal Dynamics, Governance, and Political Debates in Canada · History, Memory, and Identity in Canada · Cultures, Literatures, Media, and Social Imaginaries of Canada ## Why it matters This conference is significant for several reasons. First, it addresses the complex and often shifting dynamics within North America, a region of immense geopolitical and economic importance. By focusing on "reimagining" CAN, the event encourages a forward-looking perspective, moving beyond historical narratives to consider contemporary challenges and future trajectories. This includes examining how CAN's internal policies, cultural shifts, and economic strategies influence its interactions with USA and MEX. Second, the conference's location in DEU, a key European partner, underscores the international dimension of Canadian studies. It highlights the value of external perspectives in understanding a nation's identity and its place in the world. Such international academic exchanges are crucial for fostering a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of global affairs, moving beyond nationalistic or regionally confined viewpoints. The discussions are expected to contribute to a deeper academic understanding of CAN's role in multilateralism and its engagement with diverse global issues. ## How to prepare For those preparing to engage with the themes of this conference, a multi-faceted approach is advisable. Begin by reviewing the historical and contemporary political, economic, and cultural ties between CAN, USA, and MEX. Understanding the nuances of these relationships, including areas of cooperation and contention, will be crucial. Consider how global events and trends, such as climate change, technological advancements, and shifts in international trade, are reshaping North American dynamics and, by extension, CAN's identity within the region. Additionally, explore the concept of "reimagining" itself. This implies a critical examination of existing narratives and a willingness to consider alternative perspectives. Participants should be prepared to engage with diverse viewpoints and challenge established assumptions about CAN's past, present, and future. Familiarity with frameworks for \[Dynamic Analysis](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/dynamic-analysis)\ and \Stakeholder Mapping Workshop\ can be particularly useful in dissecting the complex interplay of actors and forces at play in North America. Consideration of \[Hidden Stakeholders](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/hidden-stakeholders)\ in CAN's domestic and foreign policy will also enrich discussions. ## Country perspectives Where the most-relevant 4 countries stand on the core issues in play. Click through for the full country profile. [Canada](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) [Canada is the central subject of the conference, with a focus on how its identity and role in North America are being re-evaluated.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) [Role in topic](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) [As the primary focus, CAN's internal developments, foreign policy, and relationships with its North American neighbors, USA and MEX, will be extensively analyzed. Discussions will likely cover its cultural diversity, indigenous relations, resource management, and its position in global trade and diplomacy.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) [United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [The United States is a critical partner and influence on Canada within the North American context.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Role in topic](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [The relationship between CAN and USA is a fundamental aspect of North American dynamics. The conference will likely explore how USA's economic, political, and cultural influence shapes CAN's identity and policy, as well as areas of bilateral cooperation and divergence.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Mexico](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/mexico) [Mexico's role in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its evolving relationship with Canada and the United States are key to understanding regional integration.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/mexico) [Role in topic](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/mexico) [MEX's inclusion in North American discussions is vital for a comprehensive understanding of regional integration. The conference may examine the trilateral relationship, trade agreements, migration patterns, and shared challenges like environmental issues and security, particularly as they impact CAN.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/mexico) [Germany](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) [Germany is the host nation, providing an international academic platform for Canadian studies.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) [Role in topic](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) [As the host country, DEU facilitates the international academic exchange on Canadian studies. Its perspective, while not directly part of the North American dynamic being studied, offers a valuable external lens through which to analyze CAN's global standing and its relationships within North America.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) ## Topics & background The background behind each topic and the actors that shape it. 1 ### Canada's International Relations and Geopolitics in a Shifting North America Canada's foreign policy has long been anchored in three overlapping circles: the bilateral relationship with the United States, multilateral institutions (UN, NATO, G7, WTO), and a self-image as a 'middle power' bridging the North Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific. The post-1994 NAFTA era deepened continental economic integration, but the renegotiation into CUSMA/USMCA in 2018-2020, the return of U.S. tariff threats, and the weaponization of trade policy have forced Ottawa to reconsider how exposed it is to a single partner that absorbs roughly three-quarters of its exports. Simultaneously, Arctic sovereignty has re-emerged as a strategic file as Russia militarizes its northern flank, China declares itself a 'near-Arctic state,' and climate change opens new shipping lanes. Beyond North America, Canada has recalibrated toward the Indo-Pacific (2022 strategy), tightened scrutiny of Chinese investment and foreign interference, expanded support for Ukraine, and increased NATO commitments while still struggling to meet the 2% of GDP defence spending target. Relations with India deteriorated sharply after the 2023 allegations of state involvement in the killing of a Canadian Sikh activist. Today, the central geopolitical question is whether Canada can preserve its rules-based, multilateralist identity while adapting to a more transactional, fragmented international order in which its principal ally is itself a source of uncertainty. Key players - [Canada](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) [Subject state recalibrating its foreign, trade, and defence posture in a more contested order.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) - [United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Dominant trade partner and security ally whose protectionist turn drives Canadian strategic anxiety.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) - [Mexico](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/mexico) [Third CUSMA partner and counterweight in continental trilateral diplomacy.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/mexico) - [China](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) [Strategic competitor implicated in foreign interference, Arctic ambitions, and trade coercion.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) - [Russia](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/russia) [Adversary on Arctic security and Ukraine, central to NATO's northern flank calculations.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/russia) - [India](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/india) [Major partner-turned-flashpoint following diplomatic rupture over alleged transnational repression.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/india) 2 ### Internal Dynamics, Governance, and Political Debates in Canada Canada's federal system distributes powers between Ottawa and ten provinces and three territories, producing recurring tensions over jurisdiction, fiscal transfers, and natural resources. The Liberal governments of Justin Trudeau (2015-2025) and the subsequent transition under Mark Carney have foregrounded climate policy, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, immigration expansion, and pharmacare/dental care, while facing backlash over housing affordability, inflation, and the carbon tax. Provincial premiers, particularly in Alberta and Saskatchewan, have invoked sovereignty-style legislation to push back on federal environmental and energy regulation, while Quebec continues to assert distinct authority over language (Bill 96) and secularism (Bill 21). Governance debates also center on the health of democratic institutions: foreign interference inquiries (the Hogue Commission), concerns over disinformation, the use of the Emergencies Act during the 2022 'Freedom Convoy,' and questions about parliamentary effectiveness in a minority-government era. Indigenous self-government, implementation of UNDRIP, and the unresolved legacies of residential schools remain structural fault lines. The current debate is whether Canadian federalism and its consensus-based political culture can absorb mounting regional, generational, and ideological polarization without eroding the country's reputation for stable, deliberative governance. Key players - [Canada](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) [Federal state managing intergovernmental tensions, reconciliation, and democratic resilience.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) 3 ### History, Memory, and Identity in Canada Canadian identity has been shaped by successive layers of contact, conquest, and confederation: Indigenous nations occupying the land since time immemorial, French settlement from the early 17th century, the British Conquest of 1759-1763, Confederation in 1867, and waves of immigration that transformed a self-described 'British dominion' into an officially bilingual (1969) and multicultural (1971/1988) polity. Each layer has produced contested memories — of New France and the Acadian deportation, of the Métis resistance and the execution of Louis Riel, of Chinese head taxes and Japanese internment, of the Indian Act and the Indian Residential Schools system whose harms were documented by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (2015) and reignited public reckoning after the 2021 identification of unmarked graves. These memory debates intersect with ongoing identity questions: Quebec's distinct nationhood, recognized symbolically by Parliament in 2006; the place of Indigenous sovereignty within or alongside the Canadian state; and the meaning of multiculturalism amid record immigration and rising debates over integration and capacity. Statues have come down, holidays such as the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation have been created, and curricula have been revised. The core dispute is how Canada reconciles a self-image of tolerance and peace, order, and good government with a colonial past that many citizens — and the international community — increasingly demand be named honestly. Key players - [Canada](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) [Site of contested national memory, official bilingualism, multiculturalism, and reconciliation policy.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) - [United Kingdom](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-kingdom) [Former imperial sovereign whose constitutional and cultural legacies still structure Canadian institutions.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-kingdom) - [France](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/france) [Originating metropole of francophone Canada, central to Quebec's linguistic and cultural memory.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/france) - [United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Constant mirror against which Canadian distinctiveness has historically been defined.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) 4 ### Cultures, Literatures, Media, and Social Imaginaries of Canada Canada's cultural landscape has been shaped by a deliberate, state-supported effort to sustain distinct voices in the shadow of a vastly larger U.S. cultural market. Institutions such as the CBC/Radio-Canada (1936), the National Film Board (1939), the Canada Council for the Arts (1957), and content rules under the Broadcasting Act have underpinned the emergence of internationally recognized writers (Atwood, Munro, Ondaatje, Richler, Kogawa), francophone literary and chanson traditions, and Indigenous literary and cinematic renaissances (Highway, King, Robinson, Obomsawin). Multiculturalism policy and successive waves of migration have diversified the cultural field, while Quebec maintains a robust, distinct media ecosystem in French. Today those social imaginaries are being reconfigured by streaming platforms, social media, and AI-generated content that bypass national broadcasters; by the 2023 Online Streaming Act (C-11) and Online News Act (C-18) and the resulting standoff with Meta and Google; and by debates over how to fund journalism, protect francophone and Indigenous languages, and represent Canada to itself in an attention economy dominated from abroad. Literature, film, and media thus sit at the intersection of cultural policy, trade, and identity politics — central terrain for any 'reimagining' of Canada in North America. Key players - [Canada](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) [Cultural policy actor sustaining bilingual, multicultural, and Indigenous expression.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) - [United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Dominant source of cultural imports and home of the platforms reshaping Canadian media markets.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) - [France](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/france) [Key francophone cultural partner and co-architect of the international Francophonie.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/france) - [United Kingdom](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-kingdom) [Enduring influence on anglophone Canadian literary, broadcasting, and educational traditions.](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-kingdom) ## Resources News, lessons, and country profiles to prep for 48th Annual Conference of the Association for Canadian Studies in German‑speaking Countries – Reimagining Canada in North America. Recent reporting to ground your prep [West Bengal Voter Deletion Crisis 2026](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/west-bengal-voter-deletion-crisis-ahead-of-2026-assembly-elections) [West Bengal Voter Deletion Crisis](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/west-bengal-voter-deletion-crisis-27-million-affected-ahead-of-polls) [Delimitation Based on 2011 Census](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/delimitation-based-on-2011-census-indias-political-shift) [Supreme Court Upholds Election Commission Dis](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/supreme-court-keeps-election-commission-control-fight-alive) Lessons Bite-sized lessons to build the basics [Gender Dynamics Across Cultures](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/gender-dynamics-across-cultures) [Hidden Stakeholders](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/hidden-stakeholders) [Engagement Strategies](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/engagement-strategies) [Dynamic Analysis](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/lessons/dynamic-analysis) Courses Guided courses that go deeper on the topic [Media & Press Relations](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/courses/media-press) [Advanced Negotiation](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/courses/advanced-negotiation) [Multilateral Negotiation](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/courses/multilateral-negotiation) [Policy Brief Writing](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/courses/policy-brief) The states in play, with the data that shapes their stance [Germany](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/germany) [Canada](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/canada) [United States](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-states) [Mexico](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/mexico) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/mexico) [China](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/china) [Russia](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/russia) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/russia) [India](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/india) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/india) [United Kingdom](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-kingdom) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/united-kingdom) [France](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/france) [Country dossier](https://modeldiplomat.com/country/france) ## Frequently asked questions - - - Free account Save conferences, research any topic with AI, build position papers, and keep your daily prep streak — free. 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