University of Lethbridge political scientist Dr. Lars Hallstrom is never lacking for material when studying the Alberta political landscape. Facing policy challenges that are increasingly recognized as complex and difficult to manage, many governments, at all levels, struggle with the demands such challenges may place upon them as institutions — and Alberta is no different.
On Thursday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m. at the Sandman Signature Lethbridge Lodge, Hallstrom will discuss why Alberta politics and policy are the way they are and why things change or why they stay the same in his PUBlic Professor Series talk — Political and Policy Innovation in Alberta: The More Things Change . . .?
Hallstrom says that long-standing patterns of single-party governments, tensions with other governments and perceptions of both who Albertans “are”, and what they “want” are not always aligned with more empirical realities. His talk examines that reality, and the implications for political and policy-based change in the province.
“I’ll be looking at these questions specifically in the context of Alberta and Albertan politics,” says Hallstrom. “We will discuss a combination of factors like culture, leadership, history and the role of Alberta in Canadian Confederation to try and understand why public policies in Alberta change and sometimes why they don’t.”
Hallstrom has held faculty positions at St. Francis Xavier University, the University of Alberta, and since 2021, the University of Lethbridge. He is currently the director of the Prentice Institute for Global Population and Economy, and teaches courses on public policy, Albertan politics and research methods. He has a 25-plus year history of externally funded research and currently holds grants for projects that look at rural and Albertan populism, the political economy of rural development, rural refugees and immigration, and rural entrepreneurialism.
Hallstrom says policy innovation can be difficult for governments to implement.
“I’ll examine how and why Alberta struggles to create truly innovative policy, why “anti-politics” is a common refrain within the province, and how many “big” issues frustrate both policy-makers and the public.”
This is the fourth of six talks in the annual PUBlic Professor Series lectures which feature thought-provoking discussions on the most relevant topics of the day, bringing together a diverse group of experts and researchers from across the ULethbridge campus and into the community. Every talk is free of charge but registration is required. For those who cannot attend, the talk will be available on the ULethbridge YouTube channel following the presentation.
See more at ulethbridge.ca/research/public-professor.