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.