Holder of the Canadian Research Chair in Québec and Canadian Studies, Director of the Center for Political Analysis - Constitution and Federalism (CAP-CF) of the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) and associate researcher at GIDYJ, Alain-G. Gagnon is recognized as one of the most eminent observers of Canadian and Québec political life. He is considered a precursor of comparative studies on plurinational societies within federal areas or in the process of federalization.

From November 2017 to November 2019, Alain-G. Gagnon served as president of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) Academy of Social Sciences. His three-year term as president-elect of the RSC will officially begin in November 2022.