"Canadian Public Policy is an outstanding compendium by Michael Howlett, one of the pre-eminent scholars in his field. This book functions simultaneously as an accessible introduction to public policy in Canada and an analytically ground-breaking work for advanced scholars around the world - indeed, the issues that Howlett develops are of relevance not only to Canada, but to the discipline of public policy and political science as a whole. Tackling each issue with precision, scholarly insight, and an eye for pushing disciplinary boundaries, this should be the book that libraries purchase on Canadian public policy." -- Allan McConnell, Department of Government and International Relations, University of Sydney

Studies of public policy in Canada are traditionally narrow, focusing on a particular policy area or jurisdiction without giving consideration to the significant procedural commonalities that can be identified across the public policy spectrum. Canadian Public Policy provides the first comprehensive, theoretically informed, empirical evaluation of the development of public policy in Canada. It represents the culmination of a fifteen-year program of large-scale primary research into Canadian policy-making by Michael Howlett, an internationally recognized public policy expert. Each of the chapters investigates one stage of the policy process - including agenda setting, policy formulation, decision-making, policy implementation, and policy evaluation - in the Canadian context. The volume is book-ended by an introductory section setting out the logic of the policy cycle model, and a conclusion summarizing the research program and results. Investigating how Canadian experiences can inform and contribute to existing policy models, this unique volume will be a fixture in the Canadian public policy literature for years to come.