D. Michael Jackson

Stephen Harper's Conservative government has reversed the trend of its predecessors by giving the Crown a higher profile through royal tours, publications, and symbolic initiatives. Based on papers given at a Diamond Jubilee conference on the Crown held in Regina in 2012, Canada and the Crown assesses the historical and contemporary importance of constitutional monarchy in Canada. Established and emerging scholars consider the Canadian Crown from a variety of viewpoints, including the ways in which the monarch relates to Quebec, First Nations, the media, education, Parliament, the constitution, and the military. They also consider a republican option for Canada. Editors D. Michael Jackson and Philippe Lagassé provide context for the essays, summarize and expand on the issues discussed by the contributors, and offer a perspective on further study of the Crown in Canada. Contributors include Richard Berthelsen, Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Bolt (Office of the Judge Advocate General), James W. J. Bowden, Stephanie Danyluk (Whitecap-Dakota First Nation), Linda Cardinal (University of Ottawa), Phillip Crawley (CEO, The Globe and Mail), John Fraser (Massey College), Carolyn Harris (University of Toronto), Robert E. Hawkins (University of Regina), Ian Holloway (University of Calgary), Senator Serge Joyal, Nicholas A. MacDonald, Christopher McCreery (Office of Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia), J. R. (Jim) Miller (University of Saskatchewan), Peter H. Russell (University of Toronto), David E. Smith (Toronto Metropolitan University), and John D. Whyte (University of Regina).

The Crown in Canada, the institution of constitutional monarchy, for decades neglected or considered an irrelevant colonial relic, is now the object of sympathetic scholarly attention. Stephen Harper's Conservative government has reversed the trend of its predecessors by giving the Crown a higher profile through royal tours, publications, and symbolic initiatives. The Evolving Canadian Crown assesses the Crown in Canada from a variety of perspectives, including federalism, First Nations, the constitutional role of the governor general, the use of the reserve power, honours and public liturgy, and the "Canadianization" of the Crown. Comparative analyses of the Crown in Australia and New Zealand complete the picture. As Queen Elizabeth II marks her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, The Evolving Canadian Crown provides a stimulating insight into a little-understood yet key component of Canada's governance.