‘Like no one I have ever met’: former Canadian ambassador to U.S. Allan Gotlieb dies at 92
By the time he finished serving as Canada’s top diplomat in Washington, D.C., for one Progressive Conservative and two Liberal prime ministers, Allan Gotlieb was noted as having an expansive understanding of the Canada-U.S. relationship. Mr. Gotlieb died on April 18, at the age of 92. From 1981 to 1989, he served as Canada’s ambassador […]
Inside the Campaign: new book offers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of elections
Most Canadians are familiar with the final products of political campaigns, from party platforms to political ads, but much goes on behind the scenes to get those wheels in motion—and keep the wheels of government turning in the meantime—the details of which only a comparative few understand, and which a new book seeks to demystify. “The […]
This just in: Donner Prize, Dafoe Prize name books shortlisted for honours
The nominees for 2020’s prestigious Donner and Dafoe book prizes are now out, with 10 books earning the nod and offering Canadians another enlightening way to pass their time in the COVID-19 lockdown. The five books nominated for the Donner Prize for best public policy book include Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson‘s Empty Planet: The […]
‘Canada’s forgotten public health emergency’: opioid crisis rages amid the pandemic, says former Harper aide
With public health officials largely preoccupied with beating back the spread of the stealthy coronavirus, Benjamin Perrin, a former senior aide to then-prime minister Stephen Harper, says the collision of the pandemic with the opioid crisis has the makings of a “perfect storm.” Given that a potential vaccine for COVID-19 is still likely many months, […]
Inside the Campaign: Managing Elections In Canada: a new book pulls curtain on the people and machinery behind the vote
Crashed buses and a blackface scandal highlighted the 41-day campaign of the 2019 election. A new book with contributions from political staffers, campaign managers, pollsters, and journalists takes readers inside Canadian political campaigns. From the day the writs are issued and the race is off and running, politicians crisscross the country stumping, but behind the […]
‘Bold decisions’ are needed if the CBC is to survive
ST. JOHN’S, N.L.—For those who can, reading a book is a good way to pass the time during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s excellent escapism from the anxieties of life as we know it fall apart. David Taras and Christopher Waddell recently authored The End of the CBC?, published by the University of Toronto Press. They […]
‘I wrote The Imperilled Ocean to show that the ocean’s story is also our own’
Laura Trethewey is an ocean journalist on a noble mission: she wants to know how people can save the oceans. So she wrote her first book about it, The Imperilled Ocean: Human Stories From a Changing Sea, an illuminating, beautifully written, and important read, especially for Canada’s federal legislators. In 2015, the former writer and […]
‘Braver Canada’: a new book paths a fresh course for Canada around the globe
A former Canadian ambassador to the U.S. and an international relations professor argue in a book that Canada needs a new approach as international institutions have been permanently altered. Braver Canada: Shaping Our Destiny in a Precarious World is the latest project by former diplomat Derek Burney and Carleton University professor Fen Osler Hampson. “The […]
‘Political chaos can be wrestled into submission’: veteran Liberal backroomer Pat Sorbara reflects on a life’s work in politics
Pat Sorbara is perhaps best known for her work behind the scenes with the Ontario Liberal Party, from working in the transition office following the election of former premier David Peterson in 1985, all the way up to heading the fourth straight election of the party under former premier Kathleen Wynne in 2014. But she […]
Making his mark: Bourrie wins Taylor Prize
Former Parliament Hill reporter Mark Bourrie took home this year’s RBC Taylor Prize and a hefty $30,000 cheque for his latest book, Bush Runner: The Adventures of Pierre-Esprit Radisson. The book about one of the founding members of the Hudson’s Bay Company profiles Pierre-Esprit Radisson, who came to New France as a 15-year-old, where he […]
