Alain-G. Gagnon is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Quebec and Canadian Studies since 2003. He taught at Queen's, Carleton and McGill universities from 1982 to 2003. He is the founding director of the Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la diversité et la démocratie au Québec [Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Diversity and Democracy] (CRIDAQ) as well as the director of the Groupe de recherche sur les sociétés plurinationales [Research Group on Plurinational Societies] (GRSP) and the Centre d’analyse politique – Constitution et Fédéralisme [Centre for Policy Analysis: Constitution – Federalism] (CAP-CF).
Alain-G. Gagnon is an internationally renowned researcher and respected political scientist who has been actively contributing to debates on the organization and future of minority nations. His work spans a range of analytical fields, from regional development to the sociology of intellectuals, from political economy to federalism and nationalism. His commitment is reflected in both his passion for teaching young researchers and his active involvement in public debate. His work has had a profound influence on research into federalism in Europe, the East and the Americas.
Professor Gagnon pioneered the comparative study of minority nations, a rapidly expanding field of analysis, and has become one of the most influential experts on these issues. The collaborative work entitled Multinational Democracies, which he co-edited with James Tully at Cambridge University Press, has become a must-read for political scientists. It assesses the capacity of various multinational states to combine justice and stability in the management of their national and cultural diversity.
He has just completed a long-term project consisting of three volumes: The Case for Multinational Federalism: Beyond the all-encompassing nation (Routledge, 2010 – Josep Maria Vilaseca i Marcet Book Award, Generalitat de Catalunya), Minority Nations in the Age of Uncertainty: New Paths to National Emancipation and Empowerment (UTP, 2014 – Finalist at the Canadian Political Science Association’s Smiley Book Award), and The Legitimacy Clash (UTP, 2022 – Finalist at the Canadian Political Science Association’s Francophone Book Award). These books give shape to what is now being called the Quebec school of federalism.
Translated into more than twenty languages, his work has earned him several accolades including the Governor General’s International Award in Canadian Studies in 2016, the Ordre de la Pléiade – Ordre de la Francophonie et du dialogue des cultures in 2018 and the Order of Canada (Officer) in 2019. In 2020, the American Political Science Association presented him with the Mildred A Schwartz Lifetime Academic Achievement Award. After serving as President of the Royal Society of Canada’s (RSC) Academy of Social Sciences from 2017 to 2019, he completed a three-year term as President of the RSC in November 2025.
