Book
Licensed
Unlicensed
Requires Authentication
Statecraft
Canadian Prime Ministers and Their Cabinets
-
Stephen Azzi
Language:
English
Published/Copyright:
2025
About this book
Statecraft delves into the intricate relationships between Canadian prime ministers and their cabinets since Confederation. Through twenty critical essays, leading scholars systematically analyse the challenges and decisions faced by individual prime ministers from Sir John A. Macdonald to Justin Trudeau. The essays explore essential questions: What influenced cabinet appointments? How and why were ministers shuffled or dismissed? How did the drive for re-election shape the leadership styles employed by prime ministers?
At its core, the book examines statecraft – the art of decisive leadership in the face of shifting social, economic, and cultural realities. Statecraft involves the balancing act of maintaining government cohesion, prioritizing urgent issues, and navigating the relentless pursuit of political survival. Even the most seasoned leaders can master statecraft one day and falter the next.
Drawing on extensive research, Statecraft bridges history and political science, offering fresh perspectives on the strategies, decisions, and leadership techniques that have defined twenty prime ministers. This comprehensive volume sheds light on the evolving art of governance and its enduring challenges.
At its core, the book examines statecraft – the art of decisive leadership in the face of shifting social, economic, and cultural realities. Statecraft involves the balancing act of maintaining government cohesion, prioritizing urgent issues, and navigating the relentless pursuit of political survival. Even the most seasoned leaders can master statecraft one day and falter the next.
Drawing on extensive research, Statecraft bridges history and political science, offering fresh perspectives on the strategies, decisions, and leadership techniques that have defined twenty prime ministers. This comprehensive volume sheds light on the evolving art of governance and its enduring challenges.
Author / Editor information
Contributor: Stephen Azzi
Stephen Azzi is a professor of political management, history, and political science at Carleton University.
---
Contributor: Patrice Dutil
Patrice Dutil is a professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Topics
-
Download PDFPublicly Available
Frontmatter
i -
Download PDFPublicly Available
Contents
ix -
Download PDFPublicly Available
List of Images
xiii -
Download PDFPublicly Available
List of Tables
xv -
Download PDFPublicly Available
Acknowledgments
xvii -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Introduction: The Idea of Cabinet Government
1 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
1 Statecraft: Theory and the Thirst for History
10 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
2 Sir John A. Macdonald and His Cabinets: The “Autocrat” in Power
20 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
3 Alexander Mackenzie’s Statecraft: Looking for Stability Ex-centrically
47 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
4 The Cabinet in Chronic Crisis: The Lessons of Abbott, Thompson, Bowell, and Tupper
71 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
5 Pillars and Posts: Wilfrid Laurier’s Cabinet Management
96 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
6 The Outsider: Robert Borden and His Cabinet
113 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
7 Arthur Meighen: The Lost Opportunities of Leadership
128 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
8 Cabinet Management after the Collapse of the Two-Party System: Mackenzie King in the 1920s
150 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
9 R.B. Bennett’s “One-Man Government”
173 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
10 Mackenzie King’s Upgrading of Prime Ministerial Power: Cabinet Management, Luck, and Circumstance
196 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
11 Louis St-Laurent: The Cabinet’s Centre of Gravity
218 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
12 John Diefenbaker: The Chief Stands Alone
240 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
13 Lester Pearson and Cabinet Government: The Diplomat in Charge
263 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
14 Pierre inter pares: Cabinet under Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968–1979
282 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
15 “Welcome to the 1980s”: Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s Quasi-Gaullist Style
308 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
16 Brian Mulroney: Statecraft for Radical Change
329 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
17 Jean Chrétien: The “Friendly Dictator”
354 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
18 Paul Martin’s Cabinet: The Unforgiving Consequences of Flawed Statecraft
375 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
19 Stephen Harper: Alone at the Top
395 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
20 Justin Trudeau: A Cabinet That Looks Like Canada
414 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Conclusion: The Mysterious Grammar of Canadian Statecraft
443 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Contributors
465 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
Index
469 -
Requires Authentication UnlicensedLicensed
THE INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION OF CANADA SERIES IN PUBLIC MANAGEMENT AND GOVERNANCE
501
Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
September 9, 2025
eBook ISBN:
9781487558987
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
Main content:
522
eBook ISBN:
9781487558987
Keywords for this book
Canadian political leadership; prime ministerial leadership in Canada; Canadian Cabinets; Cabinet government in Canada; statecraft model in Canada; political power in Canada; prime ministers of Canada; Canadian political leadership; prime ministerial leadership in Canada; Canadian Cabinets; Cabinet government in Canada; statecraft model in Canada; political power in Canada; prime ministers of Canada
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
