The Best Canadian Political Books of the Last 25 Years project highlights books that have captured the Canadian political imagination and contributed in a compelling and unique way to how Canadians understand a political issue, event, or personality. Its goal is to be a resource for Canadians to learn about their political history and encourage readers to reflect on the contribution that these books make to our country’s great political debates.
In the summer of 2011, Samara and the Writers' Trust of Canada collected votes from the public for the Best Canadian Political Books of the Last 25 Years. Thousands of Canadian readers voted on a list of 12 finalist books. The winner, by popular vote, was Ezra Levant's Shakedown: How Our Government is Undermining Democracy in the Name of Human Rights, published in 2009. Shakedown edged out the three runners-up: Stevie Cameron’s On the Take: Crime, Corruption and Greed in the Mulroney Years, published in 1994; Lawrence Martin’s Harperland: The Politics of Control, published in 2010; and John Duffy’s Fights of Our Lives: Elections, Leadership, and the Making of Canada, published in 2002.
Congratulations to our winners and to all 12 finalists for the Best Canadian Political Books of the Last 25 Years. Click on the book images to learn more about the books.
Click here to read fascinating author Q&As.
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What's next for this project?
We received a number of comments about the lack of French-language books on the shortlist. Since running a parallel contest in French actually underlines the concerns people have over the divide between the languages, we are currently exploring a few options for how to address those concerns. If you would like to volunteer your opinions or time as to how we can best do so, please contact Kendall Anderson at kendall.anderson@samaracanada.com.
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About the Writers' Trust
The Writers' Trust of Canada is a charitable organization that seeks to advance, nurture, and celebrate Canadian writers and writing through a portfolio of programs, including literary awards, financial grants, scholarships, and a writers' retreat. Writers' Trust programming is designed to champion excellence in Canadian writing, to improve the status of writers, and to create connections between writers and readers. Canada's writers receive more financial support from the Writers' Trust than from any other non-governmental organization or foundation in the country.