The Crown in Canada has had a profound influence in shaping a country and a constitution that embraces the promotion of political moderation, societal accommodation, adaptable constitutional structures, and pluralistic governing practices. While none of these features themselves originated through legislative or constitutional action, David E. Smith, Christopher McCreery, and Jonathan Shanks propose that all reflect the presence and actions of the Crown.Examining how a constitution...

The Hill Times: Best Books of 2016A new, expanded edition of the first-ever primer on Canada’s Constitution — for anyone who wants to understand the supreme law of the land.The Canadian Constitution makes Canada’s Constitution readily accessible to readers. It includes the complete text of the Constitution Acts of 1867 and 1982 accompanied by an explanation of what each section means, along with a glossary of key terms, a short history of ...

**Winner, Educational Publishing Australia Awards 2021, Non-Fiction Book of the Year****Winner, Tasmanian Literary Awards 2022, Premier’s Prize for Non-fiction at the People's Choice Award****Shortlisted, Queensland Literary Awards 2021 , Non-Fiction Book Award****Longlisted, Dick and Joan Green Family Award for Tasmanian History 2022****Shortlisted, Ernest Scott Pri...

“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...

Sense and Nonsense in Australian History represents a lifetime's original reflection by Australia's most innovative and penetrating historian. Included here are classic essays on the pioneer legend, Australian egalitarianism and colonial culture. There are celebrated critiques of The Tyranny of Distance, multiculturalism and nationalistic history, as well as a substantial essay on Aboriginal dispossession and the history wars.In Sense and Nonsense in Australia...

'Thoughtful, stimulating and even entertaining ... Lord Sumption's opinion is always worth listening to, even - or especially - if one disagrees with it.' Daily Telegraph'Time spent on Law in a Time of Crisis is time spent in the company of a brilliant mind considering interesting things' The TimesBrexit, the independence referendum, the pandemic: the UK is a country in crisis. And, in crises, we turn to the law t...

An integral part of Canada’s political culture, the constitutional monarchy has evolved over the 150 years since Confederation to become a uniquely Canadian institution.Canada inherited the constitutional monarchy from Britain even before Confederation in 1867. In the 150 years since then, the Crown has shaped, and been shaped by, Canada’s achievement of independence, its robust federalism, the unique identity of Quebec, and its relationship with Indigenous peoples...

Following Queen Elizabeth II's historic Diamond Jubilee in 2012, there is renewed interest in the institution of the Crown in Canada and the roles of the queen, governor general, and lieutenant governor. Author D. Michael Jackson traces the story of the monarchy and the Crown and shows how they are integral to Canada's parliamentary democracy. His book underscores the Crown's key contribution to the origins, evolution, and successful functioning of Canadian federalism, while the place of t...

This book presents new material and shines fresh light on the under-explored historical and legal evidence about the use of the doctrine of discovery in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. North America, New Zealand and Australia were colonised by England under an international legal principle that is known today as the doctrine of discovery. When Europeans set out to explore and exploit new lands in the fifteenth through to the twentieth centuries, they justified their s...

Convinced that rights are inalienable and that legitimate government requires the consent of the governed, the Fathers of Confederation - whether liberal or conservative - looked to the European enlightenment and John Locke. Janet Ajzenstat analyzes the legislative debates in the colonial parliaments and the Constitution Act (1867) in a provocative reinterpretation of Canadian political history from 1864 to 1873. Ajzenstat contends that the debt to Locke is most evident in the debates on t...

The Crown is not only Canada’s oldest continuing political institution, but also its most pervasive, affecting the operation of Parliament and the legislatures, the executive, the bureaucracy, the courts, and federalism. However, many consider the Crown to be obscure and anachronistic. David E. Smith’s The Invisible Crown was one of the first books to study the role of the Crown in Canada, and remains a significant resource for the unique perspective it offers on the Crown’s place...

Whether it’s the first-past-the-post electoral system or partisan government appointees to the Senate, Canadians want better representation and accountability from the federal government. Before reforms can be enacted, however, it is important to explore and clarify the relationships among Canada’s three parliamentary institutions: Crown, Senate, and Commons.In The Constitution in a Hall of Mirrors, David E. Smith presents a learned but accessible analysis of the interconn...