Canadian Political Social And Historical Re Visions In 20th And 21st Century

This book examines how the evolution of various ideas, schemes, projects, proposals and objectives influenced the Canadian political and social present. It takes into account both the ideas which have actually been implemented and the ones which never progressed beyond the conceptual sphere, yet are important from historical perspecti...

Confederation may have established Canada’s nationhood in 1867, but the relationships framing Canada’s modern existence go back much further. Employing a unique socio-historical perspective, Canadian Society in the Twenty-First Century examines three formative relationships that have shaped the country: Canada and Quebec, Canada and the United States, and Canada and Indigenous nations. Now in its fourth edition, this engaging text offers students an overview of Canadian society through a series of connections rather than a collection of statistics. Trevor W. Harrison and John W. Friesen weave together complex aspects of the nation’s economic, political, and socio-cultural development. They guide readers to use this interdisciplinary framework to consider some of the tough questions that Canada is likely to face in adjusting to demands and challenges in the next few decades. Reflecting the most current scholarship in the field, this revised edition features new discussions on issues such as the current crisis of neo-liberal globalization, Canada’s petroleum industry, global warming, the Wet’suwet’en dispute in 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Exploring the unique character of Canada today, this text is a vibrant resource for sociology courses on Canadian society as well as courses in Canadian studies and Canadian history.

What, if anything, makes Canada's political identity unique? Pollsters can measure values, but they cannot explain how these values arose over time, why they changed, or how people have attempted to make sense of them within a changing social and political environment. By examining the history of political ideas in Canada, we can better understand why Canada takes the shape that it does. In this book, Katherine Fierlbeck looks at the legacy of ideas taken from (or shaped in reaction to) the nations that have been most influential to Canada's development: the United Kingdom and the United States. The first section looks specifically at the nature of toryism, constitutional liberalism, and market liberalism. Then she examines the evolution of social justice in Canada. Does the country have, as J.S. Woodsworth hoped, a definitive "third way"? The final section focuses upon debates over cultural identity and minority rights. Contemporary political discussions in Canada are very much based upon the expressions of French-Canadian nationalism that have existed as long as, and perhaps even longer than, the country itself. How have these ideas influenced current thinking about culture and accommodation? The experiences;characterized by Canadian political thought also provide insight and ideas for nations around the world as their citizens struggle with similar questions. The political dynamics of the present are a product of how Canadians have viewed their country, or a vision of their country, in the past. These ideas of Canada, in history and in myth, provide a way of thinking about politics that may provoke and inspire Canadians—and others—to reflect upon their future.

The conditions of colonial politics in Canada between 1760 and 1848 produced features that became permanent landmarks of post-Confederation Canadian politics -- sharp partisan battles, intense use of patronage, strong one-man dominance in party leadership, and a 'statist' orientation not only in government in Ottawa but also in Ontario and Quebec. In this compelling book Gordon Stewart deals with these topics in an original way by placing Canadian politics in a comparative context against the background of political and constitutional developments in England and America between 1688 and the 1820's.

What do we really mean by phrases such as "western Canadian political culture," "the centrist political culture of Ontario," "Red Toryism in the Maritimes," or "Prairie socialism"? What historical, geographical, and sociological factors came into play as these cultures were forged? In this book, Nelson Wiseman addresses many such questions, offering new ways of conceiving Canadian political culture. The most thorough review of the national political ethos written in a generation, In Search of Canadian Political Culture offers a bottom-up, regional analysis that challenges how we think and write about Canada.

Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A History traces the history of social policy in Canada from the period of First Nations’ control to the present day, exploring the various ways in which residents of the area known today as Canada have organized themselves to deal with (or to ignore) the needs of the ill, the poor, the elderly, and the young. This book is the first synthesis on social policy in Canada to provide a critical perspective on the evolution of social policy in the country. While earlier work has treated each new social program as a major advance, and reacted with shock to neoliberalism’s attack on social programs, Alvin Finkel demonstrates that right-wing and left-wing forces have always battled to shape social policy in Canada. He argues that the notion of a welfare state consensus in the period after 1945 is misleading, and that the social programs developed before the neoliberal counteroffensive were far less radical than they are sometimes depicted. Social Policy and Practice in Canada: A History begins by exploring the non-state mechanisms employed by First Nations to insure the well-being of their members. It then deals with the role of the Church in New France and of voluntary organizations in British North America in helping the unfortunate. After examining why voluntary organizations gradually gave way to state-controlled programs, the book assesses the evolution of social policy in Canada in a variety of areas, including health care, treatment of the elderly, child care, housing, and poverty.