Personal profile
About
Professor Alexandra Flynn’s teaching and research focus on municipal law and governance, administrative law, and property law. She has published numerous peer-reviewed papers, public reports, media articles, and a book on how cities are legally understood in law and how they govern, including the overlapping geographies and governance of city spaces, and the formal and informal bodies that represent residents. She is the Director of the Housing Research Collaborative, which comprises CMHC and SSHRC-funded projects focused on Canada’s housing crisis: the Housing Assessment Resource Tools project, which helps communities to measure and address their housing need; and the Balanced Supply of Housing Node, which brings together academic and non-profit community organizations to research responsive land use practices and the financialization of housing. She is also working on several projects related to precariously housed people in Canadian cities, including the governance of personal property of precariously housed people, and human rights and tent encampments.
Professor Flynn has a long history working in law and policy. Prior to entering academia, she practiced banking and securities law at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy in New York, where she was the recipient of several Legal Aid awards. She also practiced Aboriginal Law at Ratcliff & Company in Vancouver, representing First Nations, and worked in a senior policy role at the City of Toronto focused on intergovernmental relationships.
Professor Flynn is a past TEDx speaker and a frequent media commentator. She has a long history of volunteer work in the areas of homelessness and access to justice.
Professional Affiliations
- Centre for Feminist Legal Studies
- Centre for Law and the Environment
- Indigenous Legal Studies
Disciplines
- Law
- Administrative Law
- Law and Society
- Property Law and Real Estate
- State and Local Government Law
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Binding Rights: Contractual Federalism and the Right to Housing in Canada
Flynn, A., Nov 12 2025, In: European Review of Contract Law. 21, 3, p. 393-412 20 p.Research output: Article › peer-review
Open Access -
Opinion: Who counts as 'real people'? Premier Eby’s comment perpetuates legacy of erasure
Wagner, E. V., Flynn, A., Napoleon, V., Parmar, P., Vallianatos, M. & Wood, S., Sept 18 2025, In: Vancouver Sun.Research output: Editorial
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Turning houses into homes: Community land trusts offer a fix to Canada’s housing crisis
Flynn, A., Sept 14 2025, In: The Conversation.Research output: Editorial
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Administrative Law: Cases and Commentaries
Flynn, A., Jan 2024, Canadian Legal Information Institute.Research output: Book
Open Access -
Cities and the Constitution: Giving Local Governments in Canada the Power They Need
Flynn, A. (Editor), Albert, R. (Editor) & Des Rosiers, N. (Editor), Oct 2024, McGill-Queen's University Press. 300 p. ( McGill-Queen's Studies in Urban Governance).Research output: Book