Wilson, Dr. Gary
PhD, MA (University of Toronto), BA Honours (Carleton University)
Biography
Gary N. Wilson is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Political Science. His research focuses on governance, politics and Indigenous-state relations in the Canadian and Circumpolar North, and on the impacts of globalization and political change on communities in northern Canada and the Celtic periphery in Europe. He has published several books in scholarly presses and academic articles in a range of national and international journals including the Canadian Journal of Political Science, American Journal of Canadian Studies, Canadian Foreign Policy, Europe-Asia Studies, Post-Soviet Affairs, Polar Geography, Polar Record, Environmental Management and The Extractive Industries and Society. Dr. Wilson is currently serving as the Academic Co-Director of the University of the Arctic's Læra Institute for Circumpolar Education.
Research and Expertise
My research examines the remarkable resiliency and adaptability of regions and communities in the face of the powerful forces of global change. My work on Arctic politics and governance explores the multidimensional relationships that exist between Inuit regional governments and organizations, and non-Aboriginal governments at the provincial, national and international levels. I am also interested in the ways that small island regions, such as the Isle of Man in the British Isles, are protecting and revitalizing their indigenous languages and cultures in a world that is becoming increasingly homogenized. Closer to home, I study the impacts that global processes and changes are having on communities across northern British Columbia and other parts of the Canadian provincial norths.
- Geopolitics
- Indigenous Peoples
- International Studies
- Northern Issues
- Political Science
Selected Publications
Books
Gary N. Wilson, Christopher Alcantara and Thierry Rodon (2020). Nested Federalism and Inuit Governance in the Canadian Arctic. Vancouver: UBC Press: pp. 207.
Gail Fondahl and Gary N. Wilson (eds) (2017). Northern Sustainabilities: Understanding and Addressing Change in the Circumpolar World. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Press: 342.
Paul Bowles and Gary N. Wilson (eds) (2016). Resource Communities in a Globalizing Region: Development, Agency and Contestation in Northern British Columbia. Vancouver: UBC Press: pp. 318.
Articles
Gary N. Wilson (2025). “The Decline and Rebirth of Manx Gaelic: State Traditions and Language Change in a Small Island Context.” In Ericka Albaugh, Linda Cardinal and Rémi Léger (eds). States of Language Policy: Theorizing Continuity and Change (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press): 66-83.
Gary N. Wilson and Gail Fondahl (2024). “Ethnofederalism and Indigenous Self-Determination in Northern Canada and the Russian Federation.” The Polar Journal. 14/1: 68-88.
Barbara Oke and Gary N. Wilson (2024). “Health Services Impacts and Extractive Industries: Experiences from Health Service Leaders Operating in a Resource Dependent Region.” The Extractive Industries and Society. 19: 1-10.
Gary N. Wilson and Will Hanlon (2023). “Crown Dependencies in an Era of Continuity and Change.” Small States and Territories. 6/2: 105-120.
Per Selle and Gary N. Wilson (2022). “Economy, Territory, and Identity: A Rokkanian Analysis of Indigenous Self-Determination in Canada and Norway.” Polar Record. 58/3: 1-12
Gary N. Wilson and Per Selle (2019). Indigenous Self-Determination in Northern Canada and Norway. IRPP Study: Canada’s Changing Federal Community. #69. Montréal: Institute for Research on Public Policy: 1-38.
Christopher Alcantara, Dianne Lalonde and Gary N. Wilson (2017). “Indigenous Research and Academic Freedom: A View from Political Scientists.” The International Indigenous Policy Journal. 8/2: 1-19.
Gary N. Wilson (2015). “Branding Small Islands: A Case Study of the Isle of Man.” In Kelly Vodden, Godfrey Baldacchino and Ryan Gibson (eds). Place Peripheral: The Promise and Challenge of Place-Based Development in Rural and Remote Regions (St. John’s: Institute of Social and Economic Research Press): 230-253.
Greg Poelzer and Gary N. Wilson (2014). “Governance in the Arctic: Political Systems and Geopolitics.” In Joan Nymand Larsen and Gail Fondahl (eds). Arctic Human Development Report: Regional Processes and Global Linkages (Copenhagen: Norden – Nordic Council of Ministers): 183-220.
Gary N. Wilson, Henry Johnson and Julia Sallabank (2014). “I’m Not Dead Yet: A Comparative Study of Indigenous Language Revitalization in the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey.” Current Issues in Language Planning. November: 1-22.
Christopher Alcantara and Gary N. Wilson (2013). “The Dynamics of Intra-Jurisdictional Relations in the Inuit Regions of the Canadian Arctic: An Institutionalist Perspective.” Regional and Federal Studies. 23:4: 1-19.
Gary N. Wilson and Christopher Alcantara (2012). “Mixing Politics and Business in the Canadian Arctic: Inuit Corporate Governance in Nunavik and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region.” Canadian Journal of Political Science. 45/4 (December): 781-804. Article short-listed for the John McMenemy Prize for best paper published in the Canadian Journal of Political Science in 2012