To coincide with the bicentennial of Sir John A. Macdonald's birth, this is the first-ever selected collection of his most important and defining speeches. Published in collaboration with The Sir John A. Macdonald Bicentennial Commission, and endorsed by all of our living Prime Ministers, this is a beautifully produced book that deserves to be in all Canadian homes, schools, and libraries.The Sir John A. Macdonald Bicentennial Commission set out several years ago to...

In celebration of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's 175th birthday -- November 20th, 2016 is "Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day" -- this is the first time his most important and iconic speeches will be published in book form, annotated and with essays by a stunning array of politicians, journalists, and acclaimed academics."Sunny ways my friends, sunny ways." These were the words used in triumph by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau the night he was elected Canada's 23rd Prime Minister. They...

In June 1985, David Peterson was sworn in as the leader of Ontario’s first Liberal government in forty-two years. This collection of speeches explores the activist agenda the London, Ontario, lawyer pursued through his premiership, which sought to ensure all Ontarians were able to participate fully in provincial society. When Peterson was asked what he viewed as his most important accomplishment, he thought for a brief moment and then whispered with obvious emotion, “breaking down walls an...

Canada has no better interpreter than prolific writer and thinker John Ralston Saul. Here he argues that Canada did not begin in 1867; indeed, its foundation was laid by two visionary men, Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine and Robert Baldwin. The two leaders of Lower and Upper Canada, respectively, worked together after the 1841 Union to lead a reformist movement for responsible government run by elected citizens instead of a colonial governor.But it was during the "Great Ministry" of 184...

Most Canadians know that Stephen Harper has had a tremendous impact on the country since becoming prime minister in 2006. But few have the in-depth knowledge of how far his transformation has gone -- what has already been done, and what the consequences will be in the future.This book brings together Canadian experts in a wide variety of areas. They document key changes put in place by the Harper government. There have been dramatic changes in education, health care, women's rights...

Everyone knows that Wilfrid Laurier was a great prime minister, an astonishing speaker, and a survivor. But nobody has looked at him as more than a mythological figure for a very long time. André Pratte, chief editorial writer of La Presse, uncovers Laurier's full complexity amid the charged political circumstances of the early 20th century. Laurier tried to unite a country deeply divided in the wake of the First World War, grappling with the thorny questions of minority rights, m...

In 2011 the Harper Conservatives won a majority government with a minority of votes. If the opposition parties were willing to work together, they would have an excellent chance of defeating the Conservatives in the next election. Yet a merger doesn't seem to be in the cards any time soon.In Power Trap, veteran journalist Paul Adams draws on many hours of interviews with politicians and insiders as he explores the issues that are keeping the opposition parties apart. What ...

In The Canadian Labour Movement, historian Craig Heron tells the story of Canada's workers from the mid-nineteenth century through to today, painting a vivid picture of key developments such as the birth of craft unionism, the breakthroughs of the fifties and sixties, and the setbacks of the early twenty-first century.This new edition has been completely updated, including a substantial new chapter that covers the period from 1995 to 2011. In this chapter, Heron describes ...

“In the 1860s, western alienation began at Yonge Street, and George Brown was the Preston Manning of the day.” So begins Christopher Moore’s fascinating 1990s look at the messy, dramatic, crisis-ridden process that brought Canada into being – and at the politicians, no more lovable or united than our own, who, against all odds, managed to forge a deal that worked.From the first chapter, he turns a fresh, perceptive, and lucid eye on the people, the issues, and the political theorie...

In the 1960s, Canada began a seismic shift away from the core policies and values upon which the country had been built. A nation of "makers" transformed itself into a nation of "takers". Crowley argues that the time has come for the pendulum to swing back - back to a time when Canadians were less willing to rely on the state for support; when people went where the work was rather than waiting for the work to come to them.Thought-provoking, meticulously detailed and ultimately pola...

No political concept is more used, and misused, than that of democracy. Nearly every regime today claims to be democratic, but not all 'democracies' allow free politics, and free politics existed long before democratic franchises. This book is a short account of the history of the doctrine and practice of democracy, from ancient Greece and Rome through the American, French, and Russian revolutions, and of the usages and practices associated with it in the modern world. It argues that democ...

The Canadian Federal Election of 2011 is a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of the campaign and election outcome. The chapters, written by leading academics, examine the strategies, successes, and failures of the major political parties the Conservatives (Faron Ellis and Peter Woolstencroft), the Liberals (Brooke Jeffrey), the New Democrats (David McGrane), the Bloc Qubcois (Eric Belanger and Richard Nadeau), and the Green Party (Susan Harada).Also featured in this vo...