CMU Faculty

James is a political economist, educator, and entrepreneur who explores the intersection of institutions and human flourishing. His research focuses on the nexus between debt and energy use, with particular attention to how evolving ideologies such as post-growth thinking shapes business and policy—in ways that can be both promising and perilous.

His teaching spans business, economics, and political studies. James holds an MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge, where he studied the institutional dynamics of the debt-based monetary system. He is now expanding on this work in his PhD at McGill University.

He brings extensive practical experience to his academic work, having served as a board director for Assiniboine Credit Union—one of Canada’s largest independent financial institutions—and held roles in financial counselling, public policy, and as an editor and translator in Asia.

As a social entrepreneur, he has co-founded or led a range of community-focused ventures, including The Fireweed Food Co-op, Fools + Horses Coffee, Compost Winnipeg, Prairie Rivers CoLiving, Proximus 5, and CMU’s Centre for Resilience. He now directs his entrepreneurial energy toward health-focused ventures and serves on the board of the Oak Grove Retreat Centre.

Areas of Teaching

economics, governance, energy, finance, public policy, entrepreneruship, communications

Education

PhD candidate in Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University; MPhil Economics, Cambridge University; Double BA (Hons.) in Political Studies, Theatre, and Rhetoric & Communications, University of Winnipeg

Work in Detail

Teaching

• Democracy & Dissent: An Introduction to Politics
• Global Politics
• Social & Political Philosophy
• Ecological Economics ("Economics of Social Change') 
• The Culture Wars
• Politics, Society, & the Mass Media 
• Political Ecology (formerly "Citizenship, Land, Economy")
• Social Entrepreneurship
• Social Welfare
• Business & Organizational Communication 
• Business Ethics
• Organizational Behaviour
• Organizational Leadership
• Social Innovation Lab 

Research

(selected)

Book Chapters

Magnus-Johnston, J. (2025). God and the machine: Learning in the metamodern revolution. In P. G. Doerksen (Ed.), A time of reckoning: Telling the Canadian Mennonite University story. CMU Press.

What is the Steady State Economy? In Washington, H. and Twomey, P. (eds). A Future Beyond Growth: Towards a steady state economy.  London: Routledge, 2016.  

Researched policy reports

Energy East: Taking Manitoba in the Wrong Direction. with Fernandez, L., Hudson, M. Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Winnipeg: 2016.

Winnipeg's Great Transition: Ideas and Actions for a Low-Carbon, Climate-Resilient City. Magnus-Johnston, J., ed., with the Transition Winnipeg Initiating Committee, Transition Winnipeg, 2014.

Response to the Government of Manitoba's Green Plan. Magnus-Johnston, ed. with Harvey Stevens and the Green Economy Working Group, Manitoba Eco-Network, December 2012.

Research Papers

Magnus-Johnston, J., and Knight, M., Sustainability through Song: Flow-seeking behaviour, procedural utility, and the subordination of consumer impulses. Prepared for the Canadian Resource and Environmental Economics Study Group. Saskatoon, 2014.

Interrogating Debt as a Driver of Growth: Links between financial and ecological indebtedness in rich-world economies. Cambridge University Press, May 2010. 

Editorials

Requiem for Canada? Regional tensions, changing demographics fuel Trump's annexation hopes. The Conversation. Jan, 2024

Beyond the Ideological Echo Chamber. Steady State Herald. Jan, 2024. 

Guess what Trudeau said about growth? Resilience.org. Nov, 2015.

What about innovating beyond the growth trap? Resilience.org. July, 2015.

Peace, Love, and the Gift. Resilience.org. December, 2014.

Hedonism, Survivalism, and the Burden of Knowledge. Resilience.org. November, 2014.

Art Valuable Regardless of Price. Winnipeg Free Press. July, 2011.

Making Sense of the Protests through a Post-Growth Lens. Resilience.org. Oct, 2010. 

More available here.

Performance

While unrelated to his scholarly interests,  James is a tenor who has sung with a range of professional ensembles, including Proximus 5, Polycoro, the Winnipeg Singers, Dead of Winter (Camerata Nova),  and Antiphony.  Some favourites: 

• I Wish (Proximus, Nov 2023)
• In the Bleak Midwinter (Dec 2020) 

Applied

James has initiated or participated in a range of local organisations and business endeavours including: 

• Revive Health Optimization 
• Fools + Horses (Co-founder)
• Light of the Prairies Retreat Centre (Board Director)
• Prairie Rivers CoLiving Co-op (Co-founder)
• Fireweed Food Co-op (Co-founder)
• Assiniboine Credit Union (Board Director) 
• Manoverboard Design (Strategic Advisor) 
• Creative Applications for Sustainable Technologies (Strategic Advisor)  
• Transition Winnipeg (Co-chair)
• Green Action Centre (Board Director)

Community

James worked as a cantor with Holy Trinity Anglican Church, where he served for over 10 years. He currently sings from time to time with emeritus faculty member Dietrich Bartel at All Saints Anglican, Westminster United Church, and has occasionally participated as a soloist at First Mennonite.