Patrick Smith - B.A. (Hons.), M.A. (McMaster)Ph.D. (London) - Professor/Past Chair, Department of Political Science, Simon Fraser University; Director - Institute of Governance Studies, SFU;Research interests include public policy/administration, local/metropolitan governance, global cities, political parties/elections and electoral reform and local democracy, Canadian and BC Government/Politics, federalism and constitutional reform. He is currently engaged in research on comparative urban and regional/metropolitan governance, subnational (city/province-state) global policy making, Cascadia, aboriginal policy, political parties, voters and recent Canadian elections federal/provincial and local.

 He has authored books/articles/reviews on Canadian political parties, elections, electoral reform, local/urban/regional and metropolitan governance, provincial-municipal relations, aboriginal issues, affirmative action, labour market policy, democratic socialism, public sector ethics, international cities, ombudsmania, planning and community economic development in such journals as the Canadian Journal of Political Science, International Political Science Review, Canadian Journal of Urban Research, BC Studies, Canadian Public Policy, Planning and Administration, Representation and in related edited research books/volumes. He has taught at the Open University (UK), University of Victoria, Acadia and Dalhousie Universities in Nova Scotia, and since 1982, at Simon Fraser University.. He has served as a board member of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada and the Canadian Political Science Association; he was founding President of the BC Political Studies Association. He has done work for the Canadian, Nova Scotia and British Columbia and Vancouver Governments.