Donner Prize

Last updated

The Donner Prize is an award given annually by one of Canada's largest foundations, the Donner Canadian Foundation, for books considered excellent in regard to the writing of Canadian public policy. [1] The prize was established in 1998, [2] and is meant to encourage an open exchange of ideas and to provide a springboard for authors who can make an original and meaningful contribution to policy discourse. The Donner Canadian Foundation also established the prize to recognize and reward the best public policy thinking, writing and research by a Canadian, and the role it plays in determining the well-being of Canadians and the success of Canada as a whole.

Contents

The grand prize is $60,000 and short-listed finalists receive $7,500 each. [3] To be eligible, a book must be on a theme relevant to Canadian policy and be authored by one or more Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Entries are submitted by publishers, and selected by a five-person jury whose members are drawn from the ranks of Canadian professors, university administrators, businesspeople, and politicians. The committee announces a short list in April of each year. The winners and runners-up are announced at an annual awards banquet in April or May.

Winners and nominees

YearAuthorTitleRef
1998 Thomas Courchene, Colin TermerFrom Heartland to North American Region-State: The Social, Fiscal, and Federal Evolution of Ontario [4]
Sidney L. HarringWhite Man's Law: Native People in Nineteenth Century Canadian Jurisprudence [5]
Michael Harris Lament for an Ocean: The Collapse of the Atlantic Cod Fishery
Mark HolmesThe Reformation of Canada's Schools
C. Michael MacMillanThe Practice of Language Rights in Canada
Bob Rae The Three Questions: Prosperity and the Public Good
William WatsonGlobalization and the Meaning of Canadian Life
Jeremy WilsonTalk and Log: Wilderness Politics in British Columbia
1999 David Gratzer Code Blue: Reviving Canada's Health Care System [6]
Stéphane Dion Straight Talk: Speeches and Writings on Canadian Unity [7]
Matthew Fraser Free-for-All: The Struggle for Dominance on the Digital Frontier
David Paciocco Getting Away With Murder: The Canadian Criminal Justice System
Kent Roach Due Process and Victims' Rights: The New Law and Politics of Criminal Justice
Jocelyne Saint-ArnaudEnjeux éthiques et technologies biomedicales
Donald J. Savoie Governing from the Centre: The Concentration of Power in Canadian Politics
2000 Tom Flanagan First Nation? Second Thoughts [8]
Alan C. CairnsCitizens Plus: Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian State [9]
David R. Cameron, Graham WhiteCycling Into Saigon: The Conservative Transition in Ontario
Ken Coates The Marshall Decision and Native Rights
Daniel MadarHeavy Traffic: Deregulation, Trade, and Transformation in North American Trucking
Fred McMahonRetreat from Growth
F.L. Morton, Rainer KnopffThe Charter Revolution and the Court Party
2001Marie McAndrewImmigration et diversité a l'école: le débat québécois dans une perspective comparative [10]
Geoffrey HaleThe Politics of Taxation in Canada [11]
Jack M. MintzMost Favoured Nation: Building a Framework for Smart Economic Policy
Stan Persky, John DixonOn Kiddie Porn: Sexual Representation, Free Speech and the Robin Sharpe Case
Kent Roach The Supreme Court on Trial: Judicial Activism or Democratic Dialogue
Donald J. Savoie Pulling Against Gravity: Economic Development in New Brunswick During the McKenna Years'
Jeffrey Simpson The Friendly Dictatorship
2002 John F. Helliwell Globalization and Well-Being [12]
Elizabeth BrubakerLiquid Assets: Privatizing and Regulating Canada's Water Utilities [13]
Christopher Essex, Ross McKitrick Taken by Storm: The Troubled Science, Policy and Politics of Global Warming
Michael HartA Trading Nation: Canadian Trade Policy from Colonialism to Globalization
Mark Jaccard, John Nyboer, Bryn SadownikThe Cost of Climate Policy
Michael JacksonJustice Behind the Walls: Human Rights in Canadian Prisons
Daniel StoffmanWho Gets In: What's Wrong With Canada's Immigration Program and How to Fix It
2003Michael AdamsFire and Ice: The United States, Canada, and the Myth of Converging Values [14]
Lydia Miljan, Barry CooperHidden Agendas: How Journalists Influence the News [15]
Eric MontpetitMisplaced Distrust: Policy Networks and the Environment in France, the United States and Canada
David E. SmithThe Canadian Senate in Bicameral Perspective
2004 David Laidler, William RobsonTwo Percent Target: Canadian Monetary Policy Since 1991 [16]
Peter S. Grant, Chris WoodBlockbusters and Trade Wars: Popular Culture in a Globalized World [17]
Frank P. HarveySmoke & Mirrors: Globalized Terrorism and the Illusion of Multilateral Security
Christopher P. ManfrediFeminist Activism in the Supreme Court: Legal Mobilization and the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund
L.W. SummerThe Hateful and the Obscene: Studies in the Limits of Free Expression
2005 Mark Jaccard Sustainable Fossil Fuels: The Unusual Suspect in the Quest for Clean and Enduring Energy [18]
Ronald J. Daniels, Michael J. Trebilcock Rethinking the Welfare State: The Prospects for Government by Voucher [19]
John Ibbitson The Polite Revolution: Perfecting the Canadian Dream
David JohnsonSignposts of Success: Interpreting Ontario's Elementary School Test Scores
James B. KellyGoverning with the Charter
2006 Eric Helleiner Towards North American Monetary Union? The Politics and History of Canada's Exchange Rate Regime [20]
Roy RempelDreamland: How Canada's Pretend Foreign Policy Has Undermined Sovereignty [21]
Donald J. Savoie Visiting Grandchildren: Economic Development in the Maritimes
2007David E. SmithThe People's House of Commons: Theories of Democracy in Contention [22]
Rodrigo Bascunan, Christian PearceEnter the Babylon System: Unpacking Gun Culture From Samuel Colt to 50 Cent [23]
Michael C. ChettleburghYoung Thugs: Inside the Dangerous World of Canadian Street Gangs
Robert L. EvansFuelling Our Future: An Introduction to Sustainable Energy
Janice Gross Stein, Eugene Lang The Unexpected War: Canada in Kandahar
2008 Ken Coates, P. Whitney Lackenbauer, William R. Morrison, Greg PoelzerArctic Front: Defending Canada in the Far North [24]
Tarek Fatah Chasing a Mirage: The Tragic Illusion of an Islamic State [25]
Bruce LittleFixing the Future: How Canada's Usually Fractious Governments Worked Together to Rescue the Canada Pension Plan
Andrew SanctonThe Limits of Boundaries: Why City-regions Cannot be Self-governing
Frances Widdowson Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation
2009Brian BowThe Politics of Linkage: Power, Interdependence and Ideas in Canada–US Relations [26]
Michael Byers Who Owns the Arctic? Understanding Sovereignty Disputes in the North
Larry Campbell, Neil Boyd, Lori CulbertA Thousand Dreams: Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and the Fight for Its Future
Evan H. PotterBranding Canada: Projecting Canada's Soft Power through Public Diplomacy
2010 Doug Saunders Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World [27]
Pamela BlaisPerverse Cities: Hidden Subsidies, Wonky Policy, and Urban Sprawl
Tom Flanagan, Christopher Alcantara, André Le DressayBeyond the Indian Act: Restoring Aboriginal Property Rights
Robert Lacroix, Louis MaheuLe CHUM: une tragédie québécoise
Harry SwainOka: A Political Crisis and Its Legacy
2011 Peter Aucoin, Mark D. Jarvis, Lori TurnbullDemocratizing the Constitution [28]
Charles M. Beach, Alan G. Green, Christopher WorswickToward Improving Canada's Skilled Immigration Policy: An Evaluation Approach [29]
Ruth B. PhillipsMuseum Pieces: Toward the Indigenization of Canadian Museums
Neil Seeman, Patrick LucianiXXL: Obesity and the Limits of Shame
2012 Jeffrey Simpson Chronic Condition: Why Canada’s Health Care System Needs to be Dragged into the 21st Century [30]
Claude Castonguay Santé: l'heure des choix [31]
Jennifer Clapp Hunger in the Balance: The New Politics of International Food Aid
Mary JaniganLet the Eastern Bastards Freeze in the Dark: The West Versus the Rest Since Confederation
2013 Michael Byers International Law and the Arctic [32]
Miranda CampbellOut of the Basement: Youth Cultural Production in Practice and in Policy
Ron EllisUnjust by Design: Canada's Administrative Justice System
Jim Leech, Jacquie McNishThe Third Rail: Confronting Our Pension Failures
Gregory TaylorShut Off: The Canadian Digital Television Transition
2014 Michael J. Trebilcock Dealing With Losers: The Political Economy of Policy Transitions [33]
Marcel Boyer, Nathalie Elgrably-Lévy Reinventer le Québec: Douze chantiers à entreprendre [34]
Derek H. Burney, Fen Osler Hampson Brave New Canada: Meeting the Challenge of a Changing World
Joseph Heath Enlightenment 2.0: Restoring Sanity to Our Politics, Our Economy, and Our Lives
2015 Donald J. Savoie What Is Government Good At? A Canadian Answer [35]
Marq de Villiers Back to the Well [36]
Robert Lacroix, Louis MaheuLeading Research Universities in a Competitive World
David MulroneyMiddle Power, Middle Kingdom
Greg Poelzer, Ken Coates From Treaty Peoples to Treaty Nation: A Road Map for All Canadians
2016Alex MarlandBrand Command: Canadian Politics and Democracy in the Age of Message Control [37]
Yves Couturier, Lucie Bonin, Louise BelzileL'intégration des services en santé: Une approche populationnelle
Juliet JohnsonPriests of Prosperity: How Central Bankers Transformed the Postcommunist World
Daniel Levitin A Field Guide to Lies: Critical Thinking in the Information Age
Sandra MartinA Good Death: Making the Most of Our Final Choices
2017Patricia Meredith, James L. DarrochStumbling Giants: Transforming Canada's Banks for the Information Age [38]
Frédéric BérardCharte canadienne et droits linguistiques: Pour en finir avec les myths [39]
Kelly Gallagher-Mackay, Nancy SteinhauerPushing the Limits: How Schools Can Prepare our Children Today for the Challenges of Tomorrow
Joshua NewmanGoverning Public-Private Partnerships
Kevin Quigley, Ben Bisset, Bryan MillsToo Critical to Fail: How Canada Manages Threats to Critical Infrastructure
2018 Thomas J. Courchene Indigenous Nationals, Canadian Citizens: From First Contact to Canada 150 and Beyond [40]
Pierre Desrochers, Joanna SzurmakPopulation Bombed! Exploding the Link Between Overpopulation and Climate Change [41]
Evelyn L. Forget Basic Income for Canadians: The Key to a Healthier, Happier and More Secure Life for All
Peter MacKinnon University Commons Divided: Exploring Debate and Dissent on Campus
Alok Mukherjee, Tim HarperExcessive Force: Toronto's Fight to Reform City Policing
2019Dennis McConaghyBreakdown: The Pipeline Debate and the Threat to Canada’s Future [42]
Darrell Bricker, John Ibbitson Empty Planet
Wendy DobsonLiving with China
Tom Flanagan The Wealth of First Nations
Richard Stursberg, Stephen ArmstrongThe Tangled Garden
2020 Joseph Heath The Machinery of Government: Public Administration and the Liberal State [43]
Maurice CussonSécurité, liberté et criminalité
Ronald Deibert Reset: Reclaiming the Internet for Civil Society
Mark Jaccard The Citizen’s Guide to Climate Success: Overcoming Myths that Hinder Progress
Brodie RaminThe Age of Fentanyl: Ending the Opioid Epidemic
2021 Dan Breznitz Innovation in Real Places: Strategies for Prosperity in an Unforgiving World [44]
Mark Carney Value(s): Building a Better World for All
Stephanie CarvinStand on Guard
Carole Anne HiltonIndigenomics: Taking a Seat at the Economic Table
André Picard Neglected No More: The Urgent Need to Improve the Lives of Canada's Elders in the Wake of a Pandemic
2022 Ryan Manucha Booze, Cigarettes and Constitutional Dust-Ups: Canada’s Quest for Interprovincial Free Trade [45]
Joseph Heath Cooperation and Social Justice [46]
John Lorinc Dream States: Smart Cities, Technology, and the Pursuit of Urban Utopias
Stephen Poloz The Next Age of Uncertainty: How the World Can Adapt to a Riskier Future
Kent Roach Canadian Policing: Why and How It Must Change
2023 Michael Byers, Aaron BoleyWho Owns Outer Space? International Law, Astrophysics, and the Sustainable Development of Space [47]
Abdi Aidid, Benjamin Alarie The Legal Singularity: How Artificial Intelligence Can Make Law Radically Better
Joanna Baron, Christine Van GeynPandemic Panic: How Canadian Government Responses to COVID-19 Changed Civil Liberties Forever
Ignacio CofoneThe Privacy Fallacy: Harm and Power in the Information Economy
Kent Roach Wrongfully Convicted: Guilty Pleas, Imagined Crimes, and What Canada Must Do to Safeguard Justice
2024Kevin Quigley, Kaitlynne Lowe, Sarah Moore, Brianna WolfeSeized by Uncertainty: The Markets, Media and Special Interests that Shaped Canada’s Response to COVID-19 [48]
Michael M. Atkinson, Haizhen MouFiscal Choices: Canada After the Pandemic [49]
Pamela CrossAnd Sometimes They Kill You: Confronting the Epidemic of Intimate Partner Violence
James B. KellyConstraining the Court: Judicial Power and Policy Implementation in the Charter Era
Bryce C. TingleHard Lessons in Corporate Governance

See also

References

  1. George Jonas, "Donner Prize likely to remain private initiative but Walk of Fame may not". Cornwall Standard-Freeholder , May 20, 1999.
  2. Martin Levin, "Prizes and plans". The Globe and Mail , October 17, 1998.
  3. "Donner Prize purse increased to $50,000". The Globe and Mail , November 8, 2011.
  4. "Courchene wins first Donner prize". St. Catharines Standard , May 14, 1999.
  5. "Policy books shortlisted". The Globe and Mail , April 20, 1999.
  6. "Student wins Donner prize for best book on public policy". Moose Jaw Times-Herald , May 4, 2000.
  7. "Politician Dion on Donner Prize shortlist". St. Catharines Standard , April 1, 2000.
  8. "Calgary professor wins $25,000 Donner Prize". Prince Albert Daily Herald , May 10, 2001.
  9. "Aboriginal theme dominates books shortlisted for Donner Prize". Trail Times, March 30, 2001.
  10. "Marie McAndrew wins Donner Prize". Orillia Packet and Times, May 11, 2002.
  11. "Globe writer Simpson up for Donner Prize". The Globe and Mail , April 11, 2002.
  12. "UBC professor wins Donner Prize". National Post , May 9, 2003.
  13. "Seven books shortlisted for Donner Prize". North Bay Nugget , April 11, 2003.
  14. "Donner Prize goes to book on Canada, U.S. values". Halifax Daily News , May 1, 2004.
  15. "Shortlist chosen for Donner Prize". Orillia Packet and Times, March 31, 2004.
  16. Judy Stoffman, "Fiscal analysis earns Donner prize; Public policy prize worth $35,000 Book called 'clear and enticing'". Toronto Star , April 29, 2005.
  17. "Shortlist unveiled for public-policy book prize". The Globe and Mail , March 31, 2005.
  18. "SFU prof wins national award for his book". Burnaby News Leader , April 28, 2006.
  19. "Donner prize finalists". National Post , March 30, 2006.
  20. "Helleiner wins Donner Prize". Prince George Citizen , May 4, 2007.
  21. "Three books named as Donner Prize finalists". The Globe and Mail , March 29, 2007.
  22. "Saskatchewan professor earns best book prize". Ottawa Citizen , April 17, 2008.
  23. "Books about gun culture, Afghanistan make Donner Prize short list". Waterloo Region Record , March 26, 2008.
  24. "Arctic book wins $35,000 Donner Prize". The Daily Gleaner , May 2, 2009.
  25. "Books on the Arctic, Islam, city politics among Donner Prize finalists". Canadian Press, March 31, 2009.
  26. Peter Scowen, "Brian Bow wins Donner Prize". The Globe and Mail , April 29, 2010.
  27. "Saunders' Arrival City captures Donner Prize". Edmonton Journal , May 1, 2011.
  28. "Donner Prize winner examines power of PMO". CBC News . May 1, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  29. "Donner Prize writers look at obesity, immigration". CBC News . April 3, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  30. "Simpson book Chronic Condition wins Donner Prize". Ottawa Citizen , April 27, 2013.
  31. "Simpson book up for Donner Prize". Edmonton Journal , April 4, 2013.
  32. "UBC's Michael Byers wins $50,000 Donner Prize for book about Arctic". Canadian Press, April 30, 2014.
  33. "Donner Prize names winner". Windsor Star , May 1, 2015.
  34. "Four finalists announced for $50,000 Donner Prize for best public policy book". Canadian Press, April 8, 2015.
  35. Mark Medley, "Donald J. Savoie wins non-fiction Donner Prize". The Globe and Mail , April 27, 2016.
  36. "Finalists announced for Donner Prize". Regina Leader-Post , April 1, 2016.
  37. Mark Medley, "Alex Marland Wins $50,000 Donner Prize". The Globe and Mail , May 20, 2017.
  38. Geoff Zochodne, "Donner Prize-winning book a must-read for big banks; Authors says info tech transformation ignored by financial establishment". Windsor Star , May 17, 2018.
  39. Becky Toyne, "Books on Donner Prize short list will fuel public-policy discussions". The Globe and Mail , May 10, 2018.
  40. Neil Moss and Samantha Wright Allen, "Tom Courchene wins Donner Prize, best public policy book of the year". The Hill Times , May 6, 2019.
  41. "Dalhousie administrator's controversial book shortlisted for $50K Donner Prize". National Post , April 2, 2019.
  42. "Book about Canadian pipelines wins $50K Donner Prize for best book on public policy". CBC.ca . September 16, 2020. Retrieved November 13, 2020.
  43. "Joseph Heath wins $50,000 Donner Prize for public policy book". The Globe and Mail . May 19, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  44. "Munk professor Dan Breznitz wins Donner Prize for 'Innovation in Real Places'". CityNews, May 31, 2022.
  45. Cassandra Drudi, "Ryan Manucha wins 2022 Donner Prize". Quill & Quire , May 19, 2023.
  46. Cassandra Drudi, "2022 Donner Prize shortlist announced". Quill & Quire , April 11, 2023.
  47. "Book about the ownership of space wins the $60K Donner Prize for best Canadian public policy book". CBC Books, May 15, 2024.
  48. Brad Wheeler, "Donner Prize goes to Seized By Uncertainty, about Canada’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic". The Globe and Mail , May 15, 2025.
  49. Cassandra Drudi, "Shortlist announced for $60K 2024 Donner Prize". Quill & Quire , April 16, 2025.