Description
Book SynopsisMichael Wernick, a career public servant with decades of experience in the highest government offices, shares tips, insider knowledge, and essential advice in this first-ever practical handbook on what it takes to govern Canada.
Trade ReviewWernick…does not tell war stories, nor betray confidences, nor attempt to settle old scores. Instead, he offers all of us a front row seat to politics and policy making and he performs an important public service in drafting what is essentially an owner’s manual to official Ottawa. It’s a good, digestible read, which I highly recommend to Ottawa insiders and armchair observers alike.
-- Paul Deegan * Policy Magazine *
This is as inside government as you can get…the writing is clear, concise, and doesn’t rely on confusing jargon
-- Peter Mazereeuw * The Hill Times, The Hot Room Podcast *
Succinct, evocative, blunt and never dull.
-- Ian Bailey * The Globe and Mail *
The lore [Michael has] accumulated…is a valuable contribution to Canadians’ understanding of how they’re governed…[Governing Canada] is nearly devoid of juicy insider gossip—never Wernick’s style—but full of pithy advice to political leaders in general.
-- Paul Wells * MacLean's Magazine *
In Washington, D.C., and other capital cities, former staffers race to publish books after their administrations leave office, frequently to settle scores or enhance their own reputations…Governing Canada takes the high road. It unlocks Wernick’s expertise and serves as a resource for an intended audience of aspiring politicians, policy and decision makers, business and non-profit leaders, diplomats, academics, students and the media, providing a detailed picture of how government works and the secrets to being successful.
-- Dan Rubenstein * Carleton Newsroom *
Governing Canada offers a blueprint on Cabinet-making.
-- Nick Taylor-Vaisey * POLITICO Canada *
This is a must-read book for anyone who wants to understand how government works.
-- David Herle * The Herle Burly Podcast *
…invaluable for anyone studying public administration or seeking to move up the ranks of government.
-- Christopher Adams * Winnipeg Free Press *
Governing Canada is…an account of the real world of government. Wernick believes, insider par excellence that he was, that all governments blend policy and politics. Their leaders must be bifocal, or they will fail…this is a book that accepts the political dimensions of government as indispensable. -- Jeffrey Simpson * Literary Review of Canada *
Table of Contents1 A View from the Desk in the Corner
2 Power in the Capital
3 Advice to a Prime Minister
4 Advice to a Minister
5 Advice to a Deputy Minister
6 Looking to the Future
