Paul Thomas

Biography

Paul Thomas is a Doctoral Candidate in the Political Science at the University of Toronto. His research interests include parliamentary democracy, cross-party cooperation, public input into the legislative process, and religion and politics. Paul’s doctoral research explores the influence of the all-party caucuses that serve to facilitate cross-party cooperation at the Canadian, British, and Scottish Parliaments, as well as the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. He currently holds a SSHRC Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship, and has previously received support from the Ontario Graduate Scholarship program. Paul is a member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Study of Parliament Group, and is an academic advisor at the think tank Samara which promotes greater citizen involvement in politics. Prior to beginning his doctoral studies Paul completed the Canadian Political Science Association’s Parliamentary Internship Programme, spent two years at the Senate of Canada, and worked in government affairs for the British charity Cancer Research UK. Paul is currently co-authoring a book on “Faith and Party Politics in Canada” with University of Toronto Professor David Rayside and fellow PhD student Jerald Sabin. Paul’s research has been published in the Canadian Journal of Political Science and the Canadian Parliamentary Review.