Executive Styles in Canada


Book Description

Canada's political regime is centred on the existence of a federal system of government within the institutions of Westminster parliamentary democracy. This system places a great deal of political power in the hands of cabinet ministers, and while cabinet systems of government in Canada have evolved at different speeds in different federal and provincial governments, they have, over the last two decades, increased centralization of administrative and legislative control in ever fewer hands. This shift has been well demonstrated by scholars such as Donald J. Savoie regarding the federal system, but little examined in the context of provincial governance. Executive Styles in Canada places equal emphasis on both levels, explaining how and in what way cabinet systems have conformed to or diverged from this general pattern. This unique collection is the only systematic, cross-provincial study of its kind, and is certain to be of great benefit to anyone interested in the structure of government in Canada.




In Search of Canadian Political Culture


Book Description

What do we really mean by phrases such as "western Canadian political culture," "the centrist political culture of Ontario," "Red Toryism in the Maritimes," or "Prairie socialism"? What historical, geographical, and sociological factors came into play as these cultures were forged? In this book, Nelson Wiseman addresses many such questions, offering new ways of conceiving Canadian political culture. The most thorough review of the national political ethos written in a generation, In Search of Canadian Political Culture offers a bottom-up, regional analysis that challenges how we think and write about Canada.




Executive Styles in Canada


Book Description

Executive Styles in Canada places equal emphasis on both levels, explaining how and in what way cabinet systems have conformed to or diverged from this general pattern.




Cabinets and First Ministers


Book Description

What place do first ministers and their cabinets have in democratic life in Canada? Has cabinet become a prime ministerial focus group? Do political staff and central agency bureaucrats enhance or diminish democracy? Do private members have any say in the cabinet process? Graham White renders a clear account of the development, structure, and operation of cabinet and the role of first ministers at the federal, provincial, and territorial levels. He discusses how the processes that support cabinet are affected by the considerable power of the first minister, and looks at the ways in which they permit the involvement of other elected members and the public. Taking the view that characterizing our Westminster-style government is an oversimplification, White examines first ministers and cabinets in terms of accountability and transparency and proposes realistic improvements to this aspect of Canadian democracy.




Policy Styles and Policy-Making


Book Description

Richardson et al.’s respected and seminal Policy Styles in Western Europe (1982) shed valuable light on how countries tend to establish long-term and distinctive ways to make policies that transcend short-term imperatives and issues. This follow-up volume updates those arguments and significantly expands the coverage, consisting of 16 carefully selected country-level case studies from around the world. Furthermore, it includes different types of political regimes and developmental levels to test more widely the robustness of the patterns and variables highlighted in the original book. The case studies – covering countries from the United States, Canada, Germany and the UK to Russia, Togo and Vietnam – follow a uniform structure, combining theoretical considerations and the presentation of empirical material to reveal how the distinct cultural and institutional features of modern states continue to have implications for the making and implementation of public policy decisions within them. The book is essential reading for students and scholars of public policy, public administration, comparative politics and development studies.




Searching for Leadership


Book Description

Although the subject of "leadership" is a hot topic, it has never attracted much attention in the public sector. Searching for Leadership is the first book to examine the evolving role and leadership of the highest-ranking public servant in Ottawa or in any of Canada's Provinces and Territories, the Secretary to Cabinet, or the "Clerk." Arguing that the leadership role of the Secretary to Cabinet must be appreciated and understood in light of modern management practices and the centralization of administrative practices, the contributors to this volume present a mixture of approaches to the position: literature reviews, structural approaches, and biographical case studies of influential Secretaries to the Cabinet. Analyzing the role of Secretaries to the Cabinet in Ottawa as well as in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec, and Ontario, the contributors detail the roles, key functions and impact of these highly influential public servants, highlighting the ways in which the leadership skills of Secretaries to the Cabinet have changed and responded to change. An important contribution to understanding Canadian governance and public management, Searching for Leadership is essential reading for scholars and students in political science, history, public administration and management, as well as public servants.




Provinces


Book Description

Provinces is both a study of Canadian provincial government and a review of comparative politics. As such, it represents a long overdue return to the comparative tradition with its emphasis on subject-specific studies across the country. The chapters in this revised edition of Provinces, each of which has been written for the book by a leading scholar, are arranged according to four major sections?political life, institutions, public administration, and public policy?making the book highly suitable for those interested in areas beyond provincial politics. At the same time, the adopted comparative approach reveals a wealth of insight into Canadian politics at the beginning of the new millennium. This new edition covers some of the vital concerns of our time: a disquiet about the quality of democracy, concern about women?s place in provincial societies, interest in the nature and potential of governance in the north, unease on the question of the fiscal imbalance between all orders of government, a sensitivity to the needs of cities and communities, assessment of the retrenchment of the state, and consideration of the policy futures influenced by the changing demography of the provinces. Special Combined Price: Provinces, second edition may be ordered together with The Provincial State in Canada: Politics in the Provinces and Territories at a special discounted price. In order to secure the package price, the following ISBN must be used when ordering: 978-1-55402-587-9.




Open Federalism Revisited


Book Description

Regional dynamics and federalism lie at the heart of Canadian politics. In Open Federalism Revisited, James Farney, Julie M. Simmons, and a diverse group of contributors examine the legacy of Prime Minister Stephen Harper in areas of public policy, political institutions, and cultural and economic development. This volume examines how these areas significantly affected the balance between shared rule and self-rule in Canada’s federation and how broader changes in the balance between the country’s regions affected institutional arrangements. Open Federalism Revisited engages with four questions: 1) Did the Harper government succeed in changing Canadian federalism in the way his initial promise of open federalism suggests he wanted to? 2) How big was the difference between the change Harper’s government envisioned and what it actually achieved? 3) Was the Harper government’s approach substantially different from that of previous governments? and 4) Given that Harper’s legacy is one of mostly incremental change, why was his ability to change the system so relatively minor? With attention to such topics as political culture, the role of political parties in regional integration, immigration policy, environmental policy, and health care, Open Federalism Revisited evaluates exactly how much changed under a prime minister who came into office with a clear desire to steer Canada back towards an older vision of federalism.




Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups


Book Description

Gerard Comeau, a retiree living in rural New Brunswick, never thought his booze run would turn him into a Canadian hero. In 2012, after Comeau had driven to Quebec to purchase cheaper beer and crossed back into his home province, police officers participating in a low-stakes sting operation tailed and detained him, confiscated his haul, and levied a fine of less than $300. Countries routinely engage in trade wars and erect barriers to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. Comeau, however, was detained by the full force of the law for engaging in commerce with a Canadian business on the other side of a domestic border. With Comeau’s story as its starting point, Booze, Cigarettes, and Constitutional Dust-Ups tells the fascinating tale of Canadian interprovincial trade. Ryan Manucha examines the historical, political, and legal forces that gave rise to the regulation of interprovincial commerce in Canada, the trade-offs that come with liberalized domestic free trade, and Canada’s enduring pursuit of economic union. The pandemic laid bare the vulnerability of global supply chains, the fickleness of foreign trading partners, and the surprising slipperiness of domestic trade. In a global climate of increasingly isolationist geopolitics, the history and possibility of Canada’s economic union, quirks and all, deserve careful attention.




Deputy Ministers in Canada


Book Description

Collectively, provincial deputy ministers command the largest assembly of government budgets, employees, and influence in Canada, but despite their importance, they have not been the subject of systematic study until now. This unique volume, which deals with a uniquely significant topic, reviews the role of deputy ministers within government, providing a major new understanding of their responsibilities and interactions at both the federal and provincial levels. It also contributes important comparative analysis not previously available. Featuring contributions by many of Canada’s most prominent scholars of public administration, Deputy Ministers in Canada examines a number of factors in the evolution of deputies’ roles. Taking into account social, political, and administrative history, the essays probe topics such as the socio-economic characteristics of administrative elites, the politicization of recruitment processes, the impact of New Public Management, and varieties of ministerial-bureaucratic relations. Together, the essays in Deputy Ministers in Canada make an important contribution to the political science and public administration literature.