Beaulieu, Dr. Michel
PhD (Queen’s University); MA, HBA, BEd (Lakehead University); Certificate in Museum Studies (Ontario Museum Association)
Biography
Dr. Michel S. Beaulieu is Provost and Vice-President Academic at the University of Northern British Columbia and a Professor in the Department of History.
An internationally recognized scholar, Michel also holds academic appointments at the University of Oulu and University of Helsinki, Finland. Prior to his appointment at UNBC, Michel served as Lakehead University’s Associate Vice-Provost Academic between 2019 and 2025 where he provided strategic direction for building and developing innovative academic and non-academic programs, associated facilities, and supporting the administration of academic affairs and operations on all of Lakehead’s campuses and at partner institutions. Before that role held numerous leadership roles at Lakehead, including Chair of the Department of History, Coordinator of Interdisciplinary Programs in Northern Studies, and Director of two research centres. He also served extensively on university governance bodies.
Deeply committed to collaboration and community engagement, Dr. Beaulieu’s experience includes regional and nationally not-for-profit board leadership and governance, with a strong track record of guiding organizations through strategic decision-making, fostering organizational and fiscal accountability, and ensuring effective community engagement and collaboration. This has included driving strategic planning and organizational change to enhance performance, adaptability, and long-term success.
Dr. Beaulieu is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS), Honorary Colonel of the Lake Superior Scottish Regiment, and a registered Professional Member of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP). His academic and community contributions have been recognized by numerous awards including Lakehead University’s Distinguished Research Award (the highest honour conferred by Lakehead for research and scholarly activity), the Cruikshank Gold Medal, the City of Thunder Bay’s Spirit of Thunder Bay Award and Heritage Award, and the King Charles III Coronation Medal.
Research and expertise
The author/co-author of five books and editor/co-editor of several others, Michel is a Canadian historian whose research and publications generally focus on various aspects of the economic, political, and social history of Northern Ontario. Currently he is working on two main projects. The first is a SSHRC funded project being co-led with Dr. David Ratz (Lakehead) and Dr. Kari Alenius (University of Oulu) exploring a largely forgotten incident of early twentieth century espionage. The project seeks to understand the repercussions it had internationally on not only Canada’s role within international security and intelligence but also the international image of Canada. The second is Thunder Bay and the Second World War, 1939-1945 co-written with Dr. David K. Ratz (Lakehead University) and Dr. Jenna L. Kirker (Confederation College). This book is a follow-up to their award winning Thunder Bay and the First World War, 1914-19.
- Community
- History
- Migration
- Northern Issues
- English
Selected publications
2020 to 2025
Beaulieu, Michel S. Review of The Weight of Gold: Mining and the Environment in Ontario, Canada, 1909-1929 by Mica Jorgenson. The Otter ~ La Loutre Blog, NiCHE: Network in Canadian History and Environment, 29 July 2025. https://niche-canada.org/2025/07/29/review-of-jorgenson-the-weight-of-gold
Beaulieu, Michel S. and Tronrud, Thorold J., eds. Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Papers & Records LIII (2025).
Ratz, David K. and Michel S. Beaulieu. "Guard Duty for the Garries: Soldiers, Internees and the History of POW Camp R." Canadian Military History 33, no. 1 (2024). https://scholars.wlu.ca/cmh/vol33/iss1/20
Ojo, Temitope Moses and Michel S. Beaulieu. "Oloibiri: Lessons from the lifecycle of a single-industry town in Nigeria." The Journal of Rural and Community Development 19, no. 3 (2024): 120-148.
Tronrud, Thorold J. and Michel S. Beaulieu, eds. Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Papers & Records LII (2024).
Morrison, Jean, ed. The Northwest Company in Rebellion: Simon McGillivray’s Fort William Notebook, 1815, a new preface and edits by Michel S. Beaulieu and Thorold J. Tronrud. Thunder Bay: Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society, 2023.
Nigro, Laura, Lori Chambers, and Michel S. Beaulieu. “Women Not Welcome: Martinie v. the Italian Society of Port Arthur.” In Essays in the History of Canadian Law Volume XII: New Perspectives on Gender and the Law, edited by Lori Chambers and Joan Sangster, 275-303. Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History and the University of Toronto Press, 2023.
Beaulieu, Michel S. and Thorold J. Tronrud, eds. Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Papers & Records LI (2023).
Nicol, Heather, Michel S. Beaulieu, and Diane Hirshberg. "The University of the Arctic (UArctic) as a Non-State Actor in the Circumpolar World." In Non-State Actors in the Arctic Region, edited by Nikolas Sellheim and Dwayne Menezes, 63-77. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2022.
Beaulieu, Michel S. and Jenna L. Kirker. "The Continued Evolution of Fort William and Port Arthur into the City of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada." In Twin Cities across Five Continents: Interactions and Tensions on Urban Borders, edited by Ekaterina Mikhailova and John Garrard, 35-47. London and New York: Routledge, 2022.
Tronrud, Thorold J. and Michel S. Beaulieu, eds. Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Papers & Records L (2022).
Beaulieu, Michel S. and Walter Peace. World Book Encyclopedia, s.v. “Ontario,” pages 764-787. Chicago: World Book Encyclopedia, 2022.
Beaulieu, Michel S. and Thorold J. Tronrud, eds. Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Papers & Records XLIV (2021).
Beaulieu, Michel S. “'But there is another source of liberty and vitality in our country:' Louis St-Laurent and Regional Development." In The Unexpected Louis St-Laurent: Politics and Policies for a Modern Canada, edited by Patrice Dutil, 222-242. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2020.
Beaulieu, Michel S. "It is better to retreat now than be crushed altogether": Questions of Ethnicity and the Communist Party of Canada at the Lakehead.” In Left Transnationalism: The Comintern and the National, Colonial and Racial Questions, edited by Oleska Drachewych and Ian McKay, 337-359. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2020.
Lemelin, Raynald Harvey, Michel S. Beaulieu, and David Ratz. "'Everything Changed!' - The Ramification of the Second World War on the Canadian North." Journal of Tourism Futures 6, no. 1 (2020): 83-90.
Beaulieu, Michel S. Zapamiętaj Mnie: The Life of Janina Kokocinski. Thunder Bay: Privately published, 2020.
Beaulieu, Michel S. "Political Mapping: Louis St-Laurent’s 1949 Tour of Western Canada." Findings|Trouvailles (November 2020). https://champlainsociety.utppublishing.com/digital-content/champlain-blog/political-mapping-louis-st-laurents-1949-tour-western-canada-by-michel-s-beaulieu
Beaulieu, Michel S. Review of One Job Town: Work, Belonging, and Betrayal in Northern Ontario, by Steven High. University of Toronto Quarterly “Letters in Canada 2020” 89, no.3 (Summer 2020): 570-71.
Beaulieu, Michel S. and Beth Boegh, eds. Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society Papers & Records XLVIII (2020).
de Ruiter, Brian and Michel S. Beaulieu with special thanks to Erno Rossi. “Outside the Barbed Wire Fence: Oral History and German POWs in Wainfleet Township.” Findings|Trouvailles (April 2020). https://champlainsociety.utppublishing.com/digital-content/champlain-blog/outside-the-barbed-wire-fence-by-brian-de-ruiter-and-michel-s-beaulieu