Associate Professor @GuelphPOLS. Alum @StThomasU @UCalgary Associate @ubc_ccl @jls_uguelph. Teach & Research: Law, politics and constitutional theory
Joined April 2012
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I wrote a commentary for @TheHubCanada about the prospects of a conflict between a @PierrePoilievre government and the Senate: thehub.ca/2024/07/15/mark-ha… 1/
I have had an exciting Friday. I just finished great session with the @RunnymedeSoc St.John's Lawyer's Chapter. And my most recent paper with @MLInstitute was published. Link below for those interested.
Mark Harding retweeted
Brilliant piece from @Mark_S_Harding on an often overlooked aspect of what makes for a healthy rule of law - judicial appointments.
"One of the tensions within Canada’s constitutional structure is that it has American-style judicial review twinned with a largely unreformed British-style judicial appointment process. As we move through to our fourth decade of Charter politics, this clash of institutional logics has made the federal government’s dominance of judicial appointments increasingly difficult to defend given the pluralism of the country and the state of national unity. As such, the constitutional assumptions that justified Canada’s system for appointing judges in 1867 no longer fit the constitutional role courts play today."
@MLInstitute
macdonaldlaurier.ca/why-cana…
ICYMI I wrote a piece for the @TheHubCanada about the Carney government and the politics of abundance. Link below.
Mark Harding retweeted
“Carney clearly has the technocratic instincts of an abundance politician. What remains unclear is whether he has the political courage to tell powerful constituencies, including some that normally support his party, that the arrangements benefiting them must change,” writes Mark Harding (@Mark_S_Harding), senior fellow at MLI.
Read here⬇️
macdonaldlaurier.ca/does-mar…
Mark Harding retweeted
🚨 Judicializing Everything? in St. John’s
How did courts become such prominent actors in Canadian politics—and what does it mean for Canadian democracy?
On October 16, the Runnymede Society’s St. John’s Lawyer Chapter welcomes Professor Mark Harding @Mark_S_Harding (University of Guelph) for a lunchtime lecture on the rise of judicial power in Canada and other Westminster democracies.
Drawing on his book “Judicializing Everything? The Clash of Constitutionalisms in Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom,” Professor Harding will examine the Charter’s role in this development and the continuing debate over the proper roles of courts and legislatures.
📍 St. John’s, NL | Courtyard by Marriott
🗓️ October 16 | 12:00 p.m.
Complimentary lunch provided. Register today: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…
Very pleased to receive my desk copy of the new edition of the Canadian Regime. The 2nd ed. of this textbook was foundational for my understanding of Canada. Thanks to @utpress for including my endorsement. If you're teaching Canadian politics, please consider using this one!
Mark Harding retweeted
There's currently no such thing as an "associate member" so even if you read this piece, you still don't really know what it means.
But regardless of whether it's a good idea or a terrible idea, it would be a massive move that 1) wasn't campaigned on and 2) hasn't been explained to Canadians.
Canadians shouldn't be finding out about this in a foreign newspaper and hearing the PM talk about it in Strasbourg, if he's pursuing this he should be talking directly to Canadians and in our democratic house where it should be debated.
Carney pushes idea of making Canada 'associate member' of EU, WSJ reports reut.rs/4yAWSOQ reut.rs/4yAWSOQ
Mark Harding retweeted
🎙️ At Law & Freedom 2024, Justice Malcolm Rowe of the Supreme Court of Canada referenced Mark Harding’s "Judicializing Everything? The Clash of Constitutionalisms in Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom" at length during his keynote address.
In this episode of Runnymede Radio, Harding @Mark_S_Harding (University of Guelph) joins us to discuss the book and a fundamental disagreement over how rights should be protected in a constitutional democracy: primarily through elected institutions or through the courts. Comparing Commonwealth countries, he explores political and legal constitutionalism, strong- and weak-form judicial review, and Canada’s distinctive balance between judicial and legislative authority.
The conversation also examines the notwithstanding clause, constitutional reach, underlying constitutional principles, and what the English Montreal School Board case could mean for the future of Canadian constitutionalism.
🎧 Listen now on our website or wherever you get your podcasts. runnymedesociety.ca/en/runny…
Mark Harding retweeted
For @nytimes, I wrote about how great teaching in the algorithmic age involves getting a little weird: nytimes.com/2026/08/17/opini…
In addition to Canada Day, today I officially become an Associate Professor @GuelphPOLS. I'm grateful to my colleagues, students, mentors, and family for their support, encouragement, and friendship over the past several years. Looking forward to my first full research leave!
Mark Harding retweeted
Today, we're launching the 2067 Journal, a journal of Canadian consciousness. A new home for serious writing about the country Canada is and what it could be. Politics, philosophy, culture, history. Edited & founded by @BenWoodfinden and @1TrueCuencoism:
2067journal.ca/the-2067-jour…
Mark Harding retweeted
Globe editorial: Why Chief Justice Richard Wagner should recuse himself
theglobeandmail.com/opinion/…
Dear friends of political theory, I have a colleague at @mylakehead who altered me to a great opportunity of a TT position with theory with a dash of law (at the Orillia campus). Please circulate! Ad linked below. @second_sailing @GeoffSigalet @RMLLowe @Clif_Clemotte
Mark Harding retweeted
Philosophy because it requires a lot of reading difficult texts and logical reasoning. Political science, history and economics are good too for the reading volume & research skills. The profs in these programs are exceptional:
uoguelph.ca/programs/justice…
epp.ok.ubc.ca/undergraduate/…
Mark Harding retweeted
#CPSA_ACSP26🏅Congrats|Félicitations! 🏅Geoffrey Sigalet @ubcokanagan-Dave Snow @GuelphPOLS🏅
WINNERS|Lauréats🏆 Prix John-McMenemy 2026 John McMenemy Prize🏆
🙏CPSA is grateful to jury members|Merci beaucoup au jury🙏
Janique Dubois @UOttawaPoliSci - @RoyceKoop - @felixmathieu92
Mark Harding retweeted
It’s called @StThomasU, and it’s cheap and it’s in Canada.
This is an interesting article in Policy Options by @charlesbreton on the debate over provincial influence in judicial appointments, focusing on Quebec and Alberta. In my third-year course on federalism🧵
In that sense, the article unintentionally illustrates the kind of double standard Alberta often faces in Canadian constitutional discourse. @howardanglin @colbycosh