Earlier this month, Canadian academic Michael Geist started his day by doing 14 radio interviews on “digital sovereignty” following Donald Trump’s decision to rename Lake Ontario.
Google had been accused of “digital imperialism” by showing users in the U.S. the name “Lake America” and in Canada Lake Ontario.
In a bid to understand the issue, news presenters reached out to Geist, an Ottawa University professor at the Centre for Law, Technology and Society and the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-Commerce Law.
“I woke up early on Monday morning for 14 interviews focused on digital sovereignty on CBC Radio stations across the country,” wrote Geist this month.
And this isn’t the first time it has happened. In December, he again did 14 radio interviews after writing about the horrific Chanukah Massacre in Australia.
Geist is a media darling whose expertise is in huge demand. But he’s not the only one. Across the country there are a handful of academics who continually pop up in print, online and on TV and radio.
They’re the experts with insights the Canadian media loves.
Isaac Bogoch, a University of Toronto professor in the Department of Medicine and an infectious diseases specialist, became a household name and face during Covid. It seemed a day rarely passed without Bogoch being on TV.
But even now, whether it’s CP24 investigating how to prevent Group B strep in newborns, Global News looking at tick bites, or CTV News reporting on Ebola in the Congo, Bogoch is the guy to go to.
In Canada there is no shortage of politicians, but when it comes to academics talking about politics the spotlight tends to fall on a few.
Lori Turnbull, a political science professor and the director of the School of Public Administration at Dalhousie University, is one of the shining lights.
“She is a frequent commentator on CTV, CBC and Global News,” notes her bio on the website of the Public Policy Forum think tank where she is a fellow.
Turnbull’s political wisdom has been gained from stints at Queen’s University, Carleton University and Acadia University as well as being on secondment to the federal government’s Privy Council Office for two years.
Last weekend, when CBC reporter Deana Sumanac-Johnson was reporting on Carney meeting the Norwegian prime minister, it was Turnbull who was providing insight. When CTV did a piece on U.S.-Canada trade talks, it was Turnbull’s expertise that was needed. And when Bloomberg News was looking at the Doug Ford factor in those trade talks, it was Turnbull discussing Ford’s “precarious” position.
Another oft-quoted political pundit, especially when it concerns Alberta and Canada, is Duane Bratt, a professor at Calgary’s Mount Royal University whose specialty is international relations and Canadian public policy.
“Duane is also a regular media commentator on political events,” notes his bio. Such is his popularity, that an illustration on his X profile even has him surrounded by journalists.
Reporters writing on trade wars, gerrymandering, pipelines, Alberta separatism, and more have all called on Bratt.
When it comes to defence and security, media outlets often turn to Thomas Juneau, a professor at the University of Ottawa’s public and international affairs and a former analyst at the Department of National Defence.
As well as being quoted as an expert by the press, Juneau has also written columns for National Post and the Globe and Mail.
As a fluent French speaker, Juneau is particularly popular with Radio-Canada.
Amarnath Amarasingam, a professor at Queen’s University, specializes in extremism and radicalization, religion and politics, as well as conspiracy theories, always a lively topic for journalists.
“He has published over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, along with numerous policy reports and op-eds, in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Affairs, CNN, Politico, and The Globe and Mail, and has been interviewed by CNN, PBS Newshour, CBC, BBC, and a wide range of other media outlets,” says his bio.
When the issue is the economy, the impact of trade wars, equalization, oil prices, “technical recessions” or finance generally, then the press routinely calls people such as Trevor Tombe, a professor of economics at the University of Calgary or Jim Stanford, an economist and director of the Centre for Future Work.
Not surprisingly, Niigaan Sinclair, a professor at the University of Manitoba, where he is the Head of the Department of Indigenous Studies, is often quoted by the media when Indigenous issues are raised, although he recently talked to CTV about the “on-going crisis” in men’s health.
“Sinclair is one of Canada’s most influential voices on Indigenous issues,” a bio at the University of Manitoba says of the son of the late senator Murray Sinclair.
In 2022, Maclean’s magazine, which noted Sinclair was “media-savvy,” included him in its Power List of “Canadians Shaping the Country.” Considering the enormous influence all these academics have via the news media, perhaps they all should be on it.
National Post
