Christopher Sands
Adjunct Lecturer
Director, Hopkins Center for Canadian Studies
Faculty Co-Lead, Technology and Innovation Focus Area
About
Christopher Sands is an Adjunct Lecturer, Director of the Hopkins Center for Canadian Studies, and Faculty Co-Lead for Technology and Innovation at SAIS. He is a faculty advisor in the SAIS Doctorate in International Affairs program.
Dr. Sands is Director of the Canada Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1968 to provide nonpartisan counsel and insights on global affairs to policymakers through research, analysis, and independent scholarship. He is co-host of the Canusa Street podcast, and a regular panelist on the Wilson Center’s Americas 360 podcast on Western Hemisphere affairs. Currently he is the course coordinator for the Canada Seminar at the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Institute where he has lectured regularly on Canada and US-Canadian relations since 1997.
Dr. Sands’ recent books include Canada and the United States: Differences that Count (5th edition, University of Toronto Press, 2022) and Canada-US Relations: Sovereignty or Shared Institutions? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). He is a member of the editorial board for the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, a board member of the Montreal-based Institute for Research on Public Policy, and a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Ottawa-based Macdonald – Laurier Institute. Additionally, Dr. Sands serves on the Executive Committee of the Canada – United States Law Institute and an elected the Canadian Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.
Sands earned a B.A. in political science from Macalester College (1989), his M.A. in international economics (1994) and Ph.D. in international relations and Canadian Studies (2009) from Johns Hopkins SAIS. He was a Fulbright Visiting Research Fellow at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (1999 – 2000).
At SAIS, Dr. Sands previously served as Interim Director of the Latin American Studies Program (2019-2021) and Faculty Lead of the Technology and Culture Focus Area (2021-2023). At Johns Hopkins, he represented SAIS on the Faculty Advisory Committee for the Johns Hopkins University Research Administration (2017-2023).
Dr. Sands is Director of the Canada Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1968 to provide nonpartisan counsel and insights on global affairs to policymakers through research, analysis, and independent scholarship. He is co-host of the Canusa Street podcast, and a regular panelist on the Wilson Center’s Americas 360 podcast on Western Hemisphere affairs. Currently he is the course coordinator for the Canada Seminar at the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Service Institute where he has lectured regularly on Canada and US-Canadian relations since 1997.
Dr. Sands’ recent books include Canada and the United States: Differences that Count (5th edition, University of Toronto Press, 2022) and Canada-US Relations: Sovereignty or Shared Institutions? (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019). He is a member of the editorial board for the Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, a board member of the Montreal-based Institute for Research on Public Policy, and a member of the Research Advisory Board of the Ottawa-based Macdonald – Laurier Institute. Additionally, Dr. Sands serves on the Executive Committee of the Canada – United States Law Institute and an elected the Canadian Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.
Sands earned a B.A. in political science from Macalester College (1989), his M.A. in international economics (1994) and Ph.D. in international relations and Canadian Studies (2009) from Johns Hopkins SAIS. He was a Fulbright Visiting Research Fellow at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (1999 – 2000).
At SAIS, Dr. Sands previously served as Interim Director of the Latin American Studies Program (2019-2021) and Faculty Lead of the Technology and Culture Focus Area (2021-2023). At Johns Hopkins, he represented SAIS on the Faculty Advisory Committee for the Johns Hopkins University Research Administration (2017-2023).
Latest Podcast
SA.501.106 “Technology Innovation and Public Policy” Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University (Fall 2023)SA.840.736 “Politics of North American Economic Integration” Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University (Fall 2019)SA.551-105 / SA.840.718 “Policy Consulting Practicum” Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University
- “Advanced Education” Client: Government of Nova Scotia, Department if Advanced Education (Spring 2023)
- “Infrastructure Finance” Client: Canada Infrastructure Bank (Spring 2022)
- “Blue Hydrogen” Client: Government of Alberta, Department of Energy (Spring 2021)
- “Rare Earths Development” Client: Government of Quebec, Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources (Spring 2020)
- “Defense Investment” Client: Government of Canada, Department of National Defense. (Spring 2019)
- “Innovation and Economic Development” Client: Treasury Board Secretariat of Canada. (Spring 2018)
- “Natural Gas Development” Client: Government of British Columbia, Ministry of Natural Gas Development (Spring 2017)
- “Pharmaceutical Innovation” Client: Government of Canada, Health Canada (Health Products and Food Branch). (Spring 2016)
- “Automotive Sector Competitiveness” Client: Government of Ontario Ministry of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure. (Spring 2015)
In the News
The opposite of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.
Christopher Sands hosted Canusa Street podcast, 12/22
To the borderline, with Rep. Brian Higgins.
Christopher Sands hosted The Canusa Street podcast, 08/12
Unmarked graves: Past and present challenges for indigenous communities of the Americas.
Christopher Sands interviewed on Wilson Center’s Americas 360 podcast, 07/21
USMCA at one Year – happy birthday?
Christopher Sands interviewed on Wilson Center’s Americas 360 podcast, 07/01
U.S. to sue Canada over dairy practices as hopes for better trade relations fade.
Christopher Sands quoted in The Guardian, 05/27