Despite a vast literature on specific Canadian public policies and policy sectors, no one until now has sought to understand where the ideas for policy change-especially fundamental change-originate in the Canadian political system. Professor Neil Bradford's incisive and highly readable Commissioning Ideas makes a major contribution to our understanding of Canadian public policy by clearly demonstrating the dynamics of idea generation and national policy innovation at times of economic crisis and popular discontent.

In addition to examining Canadian policy innovation from the Great Depression to the present, Professor Bradford provides a comparative perspective by surveying developments in Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States, where social interests, political parties, and the executive, respectively, have been central to policy change. The book concludes with a call for a 'Fourth National Policy', with sustainable full employment as its central feature and increased research funding for political parties and proportional electoral representation as important factors for its realization.

'A fool couldn't ride the Vincent Black Shadow more than once, but a fool can ride a Ducati 900 many times, and it will always be a bloodcurdling kind of fun. That is the Curse of Speed which has plagued me all my life. I am a slave to it. On my tombstone they will carve, IT NEVER GOT FAST ENOUGH FOR ME.' - Hunter S. Thompson Sons of Thunder, Neil Bradford's exhilaratingly high-octane collection of motorcycle writing, makes a persuasive case for the unique excitement and emotional experience offered by one of mankind's greatest inventions. Featuring full-throttle tales by T.E. Lawrence, Roald Dahl, Melissa Holbrook Pierson, Robert Hughes and many others, and ranging from Hunter S. Thompson's rip-roaring prose to lyrical contributions from Ted Hughes, Thom Gunn and Robert Pirsig, the groundbreaking Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance author, Sons of Thunder is a thrilling tribute to the pleasures and perils of riding this awesome machine.

Today more than ever, cities matter to the economic and social well-being of the vast majority of Canadians. Canada's urban centers are simultaneously the engines of the national economy and the places where the risks of social exclusion are most concentrated, making innovative and inclusive urban governance an urgent national priority. Governing Urban Economies is the first detailed scholarly examination of relations among governmental and community-based actors in Canadian city-regions. Comparing patterns of municipal-community relations and federal-provincial interactions across city-regions, this volume tracks the ways in which urban coalitions tackle complex economic and social challenges. Featuring an inter-disciplinary group of established and up-and-coming scholars, this collection breaks new ground in the Canadian urban politics literature and will appeal to urbanists working in a range of national contexts.

Today more than ever, cities matter to the economic and social well-being of the vast majority of Canadians. Canada's urban centers are simultaneously the engines of the national economy and the places where the risks of social exclusion are most concentrated, making innovative and inclusive urban governance an urgent national priority. Governing Urban Economies is the first detailed scholarly examination of relations among governmental and community-based actors in Canadian city-regions. Comparing patterns of municipal-community relations and federal-provincial interactions across city-regions, this volume tracks the ways in which urban coalitions tackle complex economic and social challenges. Featuring an inter-disciplinary group of established and up-and-coming scholars, this collection breaks new ground in the Canadian urban politics literature and will appeal to urbanists working in a range of national contexts.