Associate Professor
Contact information
Email: alesselm@uwaterloo.ca
Office: Hagey Hall 348
Telephone: 519 888 4567 x 42190
Areas of specialization
- Canadian politics
- Canadian institutions
- Political parties
- Campaigns and elections
- Political marketing
- Provincial politics
- Intergovernmental relations
- Federalism
Degrees
- BA, McMaster University
- MA, Dalhousie University
- PhD, WesternUniversity
Anna Esselment is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science. She earned her PhD at the University of Western Ontario where her research focused on the role of partisanship in intergovernmental relations in Canada. Broader areas of research and writing include political parties, campaigns and elections, political marketing, and Canadian institutions. Prior to commencing her PhD, Anna worked at Queen's Park as a policy advisor to then Opposition Leader Dalton McGuinty.
Selected publications
Books
- 2027. Under contract with UBC Press. The Authenticity Advantage: Winning Votes, Increasing Trust, and Leading Canadians.
- 2026. Under contract with University of Toronto Press (Aevo). Peterson, Policy, and the Pink Palace: The Ontario Liberal Government, 1985-1990. Edited collection.
- 2021. André Blais, Cristine de Clercy, Anna Lennox Esselment and Ronald Wintrobe (Eds). Across Boundaries: Essays in Honour of Robert A. Young. Kingston and Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University.
- 2017. Marland, Alex, Thierry Giasson and Anna Esselment, eds. Permanent Campaigning in Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press.
Peer Reviewed Chapters in books
- 2026. Forthcoming. “Marketing Authenticity”. In Alex Marland, Theirry Giasson and Elizabeth Dubois (Eds.), Political Marketing in a Canadian Election. UBC Press.
- 2024. “Ontario’s Political Parties and the Party System”. In Cheryl N. Collier and Jonathan Malloy (Eds.), The Politics of Ontario, 2nd Edition. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
- 2022 (with Matthew Bondy). “Local Nominations”. In Alex Marland and Thierry Giasson (Eds.), Inside the Local Campaign: Managing Campaigns in Canada. Vancouver: UBC Press.
- 2022. “Digital Campaign Threats in Canada: Party Responses in an Age of Disinformation”. In Holly Ann Garnett and Michael Pal (Eds.), Cybersecurity and Canadian Democracy. Montreal&Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press.
Peer reviewed articles
- 2019. "Want to Interview a Politician? Ways to Prepare for Digital Vetting by Political Staff”. Co-authored with Alex Marland. PS: Political Science & Politics. 52 (4): 696-700.
- 2018. “Negotiating with Gatekeepers to Get Interviews with Politicians: Qualitative Research Recruitment in a Digital Media Environment”. Co-authored with Alex Marland. Qualitative Research.
Courses taught
- PSCI 100
- PSCI 260
- PSCI 373
- PSCI 490
Selected Media Appearances
| Media Source | Title |
|---|---|
| Prof. Esselment on TVO's The Agenda talking about "" (May 2018) | |
 |
Anna Esselment on CTV Canada AM talking about "" (2015) |