Dr. Erin Tolley

Biography

Erin Tolley is an Associate Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Department of Political Science at Carleton University. Her research focuses on gender politics, race politics, and Canadian electoral politics. Dr. Tolley is particularly interested in the representation of marginalized groups and the intersectionality of gender and race within political institutions. She is currently engaged in a multi-year project examining race measurement in social sciences and a community-partnered study assessing Black Canadians’ political participation. Her methodological approach is pluralistic, with a strong emphasis on primary data collection to analyze electoral politics through a diversity lens. She has published extensively in prominent academic journals and co-edited six books, and her work has received notable recognition, including the 2017 Donald Smiley Prize for her book 'Framed: Media Coverage of Race in Canadian Politics.' Before joining Carleton in 2021, she was a faculty member at the University of Toronto and also worked as a researcher and policy analyst for the Canadian federal government. Originally from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Dr. Tolley continues to contribute to discussions on diversity and representation in Canadian politics.

Research Interests