Dr. Kate Puddister

Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Guelph

Research interests: law and politics, criminal justice policy, and Canadian politics.

Media

TVO: The Agenda with Steve Paikin

NEWS 957 Halifax, March 19, 2018Radio/Podcast

Radio interview on Mr. Big undercover police operations on the Sheldon MacLeod Show

Supreme Court Dismisses Former Cop James Forcillo's Appeal in Shooting Sammy Yatim

Baloney Meter: Will Tougher Penalties for Gang Members Make Canada Safer?

Monitoring Bracelets and Tax Credits: Conservative Task Force Report Suggests Sweeping Changes to Address Rural Crime,

Mr. Big Sting Didn't Obtain Confession

Winnipeg Free Press, March 16, 2018Print

URL: https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/mr-big-sting-didnt-obtain-confession-477060323.html

Interviewed for and quoted in article on Mr. Big sting in the R v. Cormier case

Police Investigation in Tina Fontaine's Murder: Rethinking the Mr. Big Method

The Conversation, March 13, 2018Online

URL: https://theconversation.com/police-investigation-in-tina-fontaines-murder-rethinking-the-mr-big-method-92792

Op-Ed on the police investigation into the death of Tina Fontaine, with a discussion of the use of the Mr. Big undercover investigative technique. This piece also appeared in the National Post and The Tyee.

Seeking the Court's Advice: The Politics of the Canadian Reference Power
by Kate Puddister
UBC Press
May 15, 2019

Criminal Justice Policy During the Harper Era: Private Members’ Bills, Penal Populism, and the Criminal Code of Canada

by Kate Puddister and James B. Kelly

Published by Canadian Journal of Law and Society

The Canadian Reference Power: Delegation to the Courts and the Navigation of Federalism.

Published by Publius: The Journal of Federalism

Who's in Charge of Mr. Big?

Published by National Post

August 5, 2014

Op-ed., with Troy Riddell

With or Without You: The Conservatives and Quebec

Published by University of Toronto Press

Chapter in: The Blueprint: Conservative Parties and Their Impact on Canadian Politics, edited by Joanna Everitt and JP Lewis.

The RCMP’s ‘Mr. Big’ Undercover Investigation Technique: A Case Study of Police Independence, Accountability and Oversight

Published by Canadian Journal of Public Administration

with Troy Riddell.

The Most Radical Amendment of All: the Power to Secede and the Secession Reference

Published by University of Toronto Press

chapter in: "Constitutional Amendment in Canada," edited by Emmett Macfarlane.

Judicialization of (Past) Politics: The Cameron Inquiry and the Green Commission

Published by McGill-Queens University Press

with James B. Kelly, in: "First Among Unequals: The Premier, Politics and Policy in Newfoundland and Labrador," edited by Alex Marland and Mathew Kerby

If Michael Brown Was Shot in Canada

Published by Metro News

November 26, 2014

Biography

Kate Puddister has a PhD in Political Science from McGill University. She completed an MA in Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy at the University of Guelph and BA honours in Criminal Justice and Public Policy also at the University of Guelph. Her research and teaching focus on law and politics, criminal justice policy and Canadian politics. My book, Seeking the Court's Advice: The Politics of the Canadian Reference Power will be published with UBC Press in spring 2019. Puddister is interested in a variety of topics that relate to judicial politics and Canadian constitutionalism. She also works in the area of criminal justice policy in general, with a focus on policing, and sentencing. She has published on the RCMP's Mr. Big undercover technique, sentencing policy, and a variety of other topics related to criminal justice policy and Canadian politics.

Expertise

  • Sentencing Policy
  • Policing Policy
  • Law and Politics
  • Judicial Politics
  • Criminal Justice Policy
  • Constitutional Politics
  • Canadian Politics

Education/Éducation

  • University of Guelph
    Criminal Justice and Public Policy
    BA, 2008
  • University of Guelph
    Criminology and Criminal Justice Policy
    MA, 2010

    Thesis: The RCMP's Mr. Big: An Independence and Accountability Case Study


  • McGill University
    Political Science
    PhD, 2016

    Dissertation: Inviting Judicial Review: A Comprehensive Analysis of Canadian Reference Cases