Joanne is a 4th year PhD candidate at Queen’s University studying under Dr. Allan English. She completed her BA at Queen’s in 2014, and her MSc at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2015. Joanne returned to academia in 2021 to complete her PhD, which focuses on the growth of the Canadian military in the early Cold War (1948-1956), the development of an intimate continental defence relationship with the United States, and how Louis St. Laurent’s government used Canada’s military to advance his vision for the nation.
Her broad research interests include Canada’s military and political history, Canada’s role in international alliances, and the evolution of the Canadian identity. She is also interested in relationships between political and military leaders, how leaders’ personalities and backgrounds shape their decision making, and the how the Canadian public’s perception of national security needs has shifted over time.
Her professional background includes researching and producing Heritage Minutes for Historica Canada, marketing, and event management. She is the founder of Livy Consulting, a company that provides detailed historical research reports to film production companies.
Joanne is a research fellow at the North American and Arctic Defence Security Network (NAADSN) and a member of the Canadian Defence and Security Network (CDSN). In these roles she has moderated panels and written op-eds.
Joanne's work has been supported by multiple award wins including the competitive Donald S. Rickerd Fellowship in Canadian-American Studies (2022, 2023, & 2024) as well as the John K. Hulston Scholarship (2023) for her research at the Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Libraries.
Joanne is a past President of the Graduate History Students’ Association (GHSA) (2022-23) and served as the Professional Development representative in 2021-2022.
She enjoys freelance writing and has recently had publications in Chatelaine (October 2023) and The Hub (December 2023, June 2024).
Conference Presentations
- Association for Canadian Studies in the United States (ACSUS) Conference, Canada: Near and Far, Washington, DC, "More than just a Northern Neighbour: Developing Canada's Defence Relationship with the United States -1948-1956," November, 2023.
- 34th Canadian Military History Colloquium, The RCAF at 100, Waterloo, ON, "Louis St. Laurent and the RCAF: Canadian Defence Policy Objectives in the Early Cold War," May, 2024.
- The Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) Conference, Toronto. "Uncle Louis + Ike: Building the Canada-US Defence Relationship in the 1950s," June, 2024.
