Eric Merkley, University of Toronto

Research

Read how they describe their research on their University of Toronto profile.

Latest funding

The Canadian Polarization Project
SSHRC · 2025 · Principal investigator
$74,121
The Causes and Democratic Consequences of Affective Polarization in Anglo-American Democracies
SSHRC · 2023 · Principal investigator
$71,864
Affective Polarization in Canada: Causes and Consequences
SSHRC · 2020 · Principal investigator
$10,000

All 3 grants and awards

No publications available.

The Canadian Polarization Project

Principal investigatorSSHRC2025Insight Grants

Principal investigators: Merkley, Eric

Keywords: polarization; public opinion; surveys; experiments; elections; political psychology; political communication

$74,121

The Causes and Democratic Consequences of Affective Polarization in Anglo-American Democracies

Principal investigatorSSHRC2023Insight Development Grant

Principal investigators: Merkley, Eric

Keywords: Canadian politics; Public opinion; Polarization; Democracy; Democratic resilience; Political extremism; Institutional confidence; Social identities

$71,864

Affective Polarization in Canada: Causes and Consequences

Principal investigatorSSHRC2020PCH-SSHRC Initiative for Digital Citizen Research

Principal investigators: Merkley, Eric

Keywords: polarization; affect; ideology; political parties; public opinion; political psychology; motivated reasoning; Canadian politics

$10,000

From CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC funding decisions: CIHR since 2008, NSERC since 1991 and SSHRC since 1998, including their latest published competition results.

Write to this professor

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Applying for

Mention their SSHRC grant from 2025

Subject: Prospective PhD student Dear Professor Merkley, My name is [your name], and I am a [your current degree or role] at [your institution]. I am applying for a PhD position starting in [term and year]. Your research connects closely to my own work on [your research topic]. [One or two sentences on what you did and what you learned.] I also saw your SSHRC-funded project "The Canadian Polarization Project" (2025), and I would be glad to contribute to work in that direction. Are you accepting new PhD students for [term and year]? I have attached my CV and transcripts, and I would be glad to talk at a time that suits you. Thank you for your time. Kind regards, [your name]