Many Canadians lament that prime ministerial power has become too concentrated since the 1970s. This book contradicts this view by demonstrating how prime ministerial power was centralized from the very beginning of Confederation and that the first three important prime ministers – Macdonald, Laurier, and Borden – channelled that centralizing impulse to adapt to the circumstances they faced.

Using a variety of innovative approaches, Patrice Dutil focuses on the managerial philosophies of each of the prime ministers as well as their rapport with senior public servants, resistance to genuine public sector reform, and use of orders-in-council to further their aims. He then compares their managerial habits during times of crisis to those during ordinary times.

This is the first book to examine the administrative habits of these three prime ministers. In it Dutil offers revealing insights into the evolution of prime ministerial power. He also shows how this centralizing grip of these early first ministers inevitably shaped the administrations they headed, as well as those that followed.

PATRICE DUTIL is the author or editor of a dozen books, a frequent commentator on political and policy issues, and the host of over 100 podcasts in the Canadian history series “Witness to Yesterday.” He is a professor in the department of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University. He founded and for five years edited the Literary Review of Canada and served as president of the Champlain Society for seven years. He is a senior fellow at the Bill Graham Centre for Contemporary International History at the University of Toronto and a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute. Among his books are Ballots and Brawls: The 1867 Canadian General Election, Prime Ministerial Power in Canada: Its Origins under Macdonald, Laurier and Borden and Macdonald at 200: New Perspectives and Legacies (edited with Roger Hall).

Patrice Dutil's profile page

Prime Ministerial Power in Canada is engaging reading. The book’s lively prose style, clarity of expression, logical and transparent structure, and meticulous attention to accuracy in detail adds to its appeal. It combines theoretical sophistication with profound historical understanding.

The Ormsby Review

Prime Ministerial Power in Canada is an incredibly welcome addition to the understanding of the Canadian political executive … Any serious scholar of the Canadian political executive must read (and re-read) this book.

Policy Magazine

Dutil casts light on the minutiae of governing that elucidates the challenges of managing and entrenching power … The strength and innovation of the book is in the detailed analysis of the use of royal commissions, orders-in-council and correspondence as instruments of power.

Literary Review of Canada

With this superbly-executed, comprehensive book, [St-Laurent] now gets the tribute he would not have asked for — but nonetheless deserves.

Policy Magazine

This is a remarkable book by a distinguished author.

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Prime Ministerial Power in Canada is both unique and comprehensive, while adding greatly to our knowledge of the history of our country.

Canada's History