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Noah Fry
PhD, MA, BA
- fryn@mcmaster.ca
About me
I am a political scientist who researches Canadian and comparative politics and public policy
Bio
I am a political scientist originally from Moncton, New Brunswick. I completed my PhD (Political Science) in the Department of Political Science at McMaster University. Previously, I did a Masters at Queen’s University in Political Studies and an Honours BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Mount Allison University. Generally, I research Canadian and comparative trade policy, public procurement, lobbying systems, political economy, and public administration.
Dissertation Title: State in Absentia? Team Canada in a Post-CUSMA North America
When the ‘new’ NAFTA – the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement or CUSMA – was signed, scholars and pundits rallied around the ‘NAFTA 2.0’ frame. This frame served to highlight the textual similarities between NAFTA and CUSMA. In this dissertation, I argue this frame is misguided. While there are textual similarities between the two agreements, the larger continental context suggests a rupture. CUSMA represents a new North American trade relationship characterized by weak interstate cooperation and overt economic hostility. I term this ‘Dissociative Continentalism’ and empirically observe its motivating ideas, coalitions and institutions over time. In profiling this new context, I find Canada’s response incomplete. Team Canada seeks to (re-)establish closer trade relations when there appears to be little international appetite. This risky strategy could be ameliorated by a homeward focus that builds up industry and supports workers. I conclude with policy options that facilitate this re-focused state.
My Research Agenda
Broadly, I describe myself as a Canadianist and Comparativist. More specifically, I research and write on the following sub-fields:
Inclusive Trade Policy
The gains from globalization have been uneven. This has fueled discontent from within the rules-based order. How can we recalibrate trade to address inequalities and injustices?
Social Procurement
I examine how we can use public purchasing to generate social value for communities - within and beyond free trade. This includes favouring local suppliers (e.g., Buy Canada, Indigenous), strategically developing industries (e.g., rural purchasing), and addressing secondary needs (e.g, eco procurement).
Lobbying Systems
I study how we institutionalize and regulate access within political systems. This include lobbying systems, their administration and their political consequences. I also seek to understand interest group and social movements maneuver to effect change.
Current Funding
Alvin Irwin Ogilvie Graduate Scholarship [2025]
Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS) Doctoral, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council [2022-2025]
Internal Scholarship, McMaster University [2020-2024]
Ellen Louks Fairclough Memorial Scholarship [2023]
Ontario Graduate Scholarship [2022]
Profressional Associations
Department of Political Science, McMaster University
Canadian Political Science Association
Canadian Economics Association
Current Research Projects
2023-
Noah Fry
Social Procurement: Canada and Abroad
Globalization has both facilitated unprecedented wealth accumulation while introducing risks to individuals and local businesses. Public procurement is can be called upon to adjust for globalization's costs. What qualifies as social value? How is this in Canada and internationally? Have Canadian jurisdictions embraced social procurement? How has free trade limited this potential?
2022-
Noah Fry
Lobbying in Canada: Trends & Faultlines
Who gets access to Canadian governments and how is this access shaped by formal lobbying systems? How does this affect public policy development? In this project, I (1) characterize Canadian lobbying registries and their development and (2) quantitatively assess access tendencies.
2020-
Noah Fry
SSHRC-supported
Playing for Team Canada
How, if at all, has continental North America changed under CUSMA? While some scholars present CUSMA as 'NAFTA 2.0,' I submit CUSMA is the delimited to a new dissociative continental North America. What does this entail for Canadian trade policy and civil society?