DONNER PRIZE 10TH ANNIVERSARY!
2007 CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS ANNOUNCED

ANNE MCLELLAN AND PETER HARDER JOIN 2007 JURY

TORONTO, NOVEMBER 12, 2007 -
Allan Gotlieb, Chairman of the Donner Canadian Foundation, announced the official Call for Submissions for the tenth annual Donner Prize, and welcomed new jury members Anne McLellan and Peter Harder. “Books have already started rolling in and, with this being the 10th Anniversary of the Prize, we’re expecting a banner year,” said Mr. Gotlieb. “There’s a buzz in the air already about this year’s prize, and we’re eagerly anticipating a deluge of stimulating and controversial books…one of which will eventually take home the coveted $35,000 Donner Prize.”

Mr. Gotlieb also welcomed new jury members, Anne McLellan and Peter Harder. “We’re honoured to welcome Anne and Peter to this year’s Donner Prize Jury.” said Mr. Gotlieb, “The jury will benefit greatly from their energy, political insight, knowledge and sage counsel.”

The Donner Canadian Foundation, one of Canada’s largest foundations, created the prize to encourage increased research into public policy in Canada and to promote the discussion of policy issues in the public arena. The winner of the Donner Prize, the award for best book on Canadian public policy, will receive $35,000, with $5,000 being awarded to the other shortlisted titles (to a maximum of five titles). In giving this annual award, the Foundation seeks to not only broaden policy debate, but also to increase general awareness of the importance of policy discourse.

Books submitted for the prize should focus on Canadian public policy issues, for example: regulatory and legal reform, public finance, the environment, urban affairs, health care, education reform and social policy. Submissions must be written by Canadian citizens, but they may be published by non-Canadian publishing houses, so long as the books have implications for Canada. For the 2007 prize, books that are written by Canadians in either English or French, between January 1, and December 31, 2007, are eligible (see www.DonnerBookPrize.com for complete rules regarding eligibility and submission procedures).

The $35,000 Donner Prize for 2006 was awarded to TOWARDS NORTH AMERICAN MONETARY UNION? The Politics and History of Canada’s Exchange Rate Regime, by Eric Helleiner (McGill-Queen’s University Press). The $5,000 shortlisted titles were: DREAMLAND: How Canada’s Pretend Foreign Policy Has Undermined Sovereignty by Roy Rempel (Breakout Educational Network) and VISITING GRANDCHILDREN: Economic Development in the Maritimes by Donald J. Savoie (University of Toronto Press).

The jury for the 2007 Donner Prize is an eminent group of Canadian academics, business people and former policy makers. The jury will again be chaired by Grant Reuber, Senior Fellow, C.D. Howe Institute; former Chairman, Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation; former President and Chief Operating Officer and later Deputy Chairman, Bank of Montreal; former Deputy Minister of Finance for Canada; former provost and Vice-President (Academic) of the University of Western Ontario; Officer of the Order of Canada.

Also returning as members of the jury this year are Claude E. Forget, former Minister of Health for the Quebec government; former Chairman of the Commission of Enquiry on Unemployment Insurance; Officer of the Order of Canada, and Denis Stairs, Professor Emeritus in Political Science at Dalhousie University; past-president of the Canadian Political Science Association; founding Director of the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies; Officer of the Order of Canada. And joining the jury this year are Peter Harder and Anne McLellan.

Peter Harder is Senior Policy Advisor to Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP. Harder possesses a wealth of expertise in public policy as a result of his involvement at the centre of government decision making for over thirty years. Harder was the longest serving Deputy Minister in the Government of Canada. First appointed a Deputy Minister in 1991, he served as the most senior public servant in a number of federal departments including Treasury Board, Solicitor General, Citizenship and Immigration, Industry and Foreign Affairs and International Trade. At Foreign Affairs, he assumed the responsibilities of the Personal Representative of the Prime Minister to three G8 Summits (Sea Island, Gleneagles and St. Petersburg). In 2000, the Governor General presented Harder with the Prime Minister’s Outstanding Achievement Award for public service leadership.

The Honourable Anne McLellan joined Bennett Jones LLP after a distinguished career in federal politics, where she served four terms as the Liberal Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre from 1993-2006. During her political career McLellan was Deputy Prime Minister of Canada, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Minister of Health, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and Minister of Natural Resources and Federal Interlocutor for Métis and Non-Status Indians. As Deputy Prime Minister, she chaired two Cabinet committees: the Operations Committee and the Security, Public Health and Emergencies Committee. She was appointed Distinguished Scholar in Residence at the University of Alberta’s Institute for United States Policy Studies in July 2006 and currently is acting director of the Institute.

The deadline for submissions for this year’s prize is November 30. A shortlist will be announced late March 2008, and the winner will be proclaimed at a gala dinner in Toronto in April 2008.

For further information, please contact:
Sherry Naylor, Meisner Publicity (Toronto)
Phone: (416) 368-8253
Fax: (416) 363-1448
E-mail: sherry (at) meisnerpublicity (dot) com
Web: www.donnerbookprize.com

TORONTO, Wednesday, April 25, 2007 -
The winner of the prestigious Donner Prize, the award for best book on Canadian public policy, was announced this evening by Allan Gotlieb, Chairman of the Donner Canadian Foundation, at an awards dinner at the Carlu. This is the ninth year for this acclaimed prize, which is awarded annually.

The $35,000 Donner Prize was awarded to Eric Helleiner for his book TOWARDS NORTH AMERICAN MONETARY UNION? The Politics and History of Canada's Exchange Rate Regime, published by McGill-Queen's University Press. Described by the Donner jury as "a gracefully written and absorbing book", TOWARDS NORTH AMERICAN MONETARY UNION? provides an excellent historical and analytical account of Canada's exchange rate policies since 1850.

"TOWARDS NORTH AMERICAN MONETARY UNION? gives an exceptional examination of how Canada came to have only one currency for domestic use", said jury Chairman Grant Reuber. He went on to say, "Helleiner successfully combines a clear understanding of the issues, with a strong analytical ability that illuminates the political and historical context of the time. He brings to his subject an unusual degree of understanding of both economics and politics."

TOWARDS NORTH AMERICAN MONETARY UNION?, hailed as "a remarkable and compelling work" by this year's jury, explores Canada's unusually strong commitment throughout the twentieth century to a floating exchange rate for its national currency. And while many believe that Canada's deepening economic integration with the United States and the worldwide trend towards currency blocs will eventually lead to a North American monetary union, Helleiner challenges this view and finds little support in the U.S. for the concessions that would be necessary to make a North American monetary union palatable in Canada.

Eric Helleiner is chair of international public policy, Centre for International Governance Innovation in the Department of Political Science at the University of Waterloo. He is the author of several books including States and the Re-emergence of Global Finance and The Making of National Money: Territorial Currencies in Historical Perspective.

The winner was chosen from 65 submissions and a shortlist of three, by a five-member jury: Grant L. Reuber (Chairman), George E. Connell, Ronald J. Daniels, Claude E. Forget and Denis Stairs.

The other nominated titles, which received $5,000 each, were: DREAMLAND: How Canada's Pretend Foreign Policy Has Undermined Sovereignty by Roy Rempel (Breakout Educational Network) and VISITING GRANDCHILDREN: Economic Development in the Maritimes by Donald J. Savoie (University of Toronto Press).

Last year's winner of the $35,000 Donner Prize was Mark Jaccard for his compelling and controversial book SUSTAINABLE FOSSIL FUELS: The Unusual Suspect in the Quest for Clean and Enduring Energy (Cambridge University Press).

The call for submissions for the 2007/2008, 10th Anniversary prize will go out in September 2007.

For further information please contact Sherry Naylor, Meisner Publicity at
Tel: (416) 368-8253
E-mail: sherry (at) meisnerpublicity (dot) com
Web: www.donnerbookprize.com

NINTH ANNUAL DONNER PRIZE SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED
$35,000 winner to be chosen from shortlist of three

TORONTO, MARCH 29, 2007 -
The finalists for the 2006/2007 Donner Prize, the award for best book on Canadian public policy, were announced today by Allan Gotlieb, Chairman of the Donner Canadian Foundation. Mr. Gotlieb said, "Last year, the Toronto Star wrote "Donner-winning books tend to have far-reaching influence on government and industry." This year's first-rate group of finalists all tackle key issues that we hope will have policy makers taking notice."

This year's three shortlisted books were chosen from a field of 65 submissions.  The titles skillfully tackle challenging public policy issues ranging from Canada's foreign policy, to economic development in the Maritimes, to exchange rate politics.  Our three finalists stood head-and-shoulders above the rest for providing stimulating insight into three very diverse topics.  

Jury Chairman Grant Reuber remarked, "As a jury, our intention has always been to find good books that can appeal to a wider audience and thus have a greater impact on public policy and the people who make it. This year's shortlist easily met the criteria and will no doubt contribute to ongoing policy debate on their respective topics."

The Donner Prize was established in 1998 to recognize and reward the best public policy thinking, writing and research in Canada. The winner of this year’s Donner Prize will be announced at an awards ceremony in Toronto on Wednesday, April 25, 2007. The winner will receive $35,000, with $5,000 awarded to each of the other finalists.

This year's finalists are:

Towards North American Monetary Union? The Politics and History of Canada's Exchange Rate Regime
by Eric Helleiner (McGill-Queen's University Press)

Dreamland: How Canada's Pretend Foreign Policy Has Undermined Sovereignty
by Roy Rempel (Breakout Educational Network)

Visiting Grandchildren: Economic Development in the Maritimes
by Donald J. Savoie (University of Toronto Press)

The 2006/2007 Donner Prize Shortlist
Towards North American Monetary Union? The Politics and History of Canada's Exchange Rate Regime
by Eric Helleiner (McGill-Queen’s University Press)

Many believe that Canada's deepening economic integration with the United States and the worldwide trend towards currency blocs will eventually lead to a North American monetary union. In this excellent analysis of Canadian exchange rate politics, Eric Helleiner challenges this view and finds little support in the U.S. for the concessions that would be necessary to make a North American monetary union palatable in Canada. Towards North American Monetary Union? is a fascinating book that explores Canada's unusually strong commitment throughout the twentieth century to a floating exchange rate for its national currency - a commitment that Heilleiner argues is likely to endure.

Eric Helleiner is CIGI Chair in International Governance in the Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo. He is the author of several books, including States and the Re-emergence of Global Finance and The Making of National Money: Territorial Currencies in Historical Perspective.

Dreamland: How Canada's Pretend Foreign Policy Has Undermined Sovereignty
by Roy Rempel (Breakout Educational Network)

In Dreamland, Roy Rempel argues that the past decade has been marked by an ideological and domestically driven foreign policy agenda that has lost sight of the national interest. As a consequence, Canada's policy options are narrowing, national sovereignty is eroding, and the country risks evolving into a protectorate of the United States. Dreamland is a provocative and bracing book that analyzes how Canada's foreign policy has subverted the myths that Canadians believe about themselves and their place in the world. It provides not only a well-aimed barrage of criticism of Canadian foreign policy in recent times, but also a well-reasoned plan for an alternative approach.

Roy Rempel taught international relations for four years at Memorial University in Newfoundland. He was also a foreign and defence policy advisor on Parliament Hill and currently works as a policy advisor in the minister’s office for the Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

Visiting Grandchildren: Economic Development in the Maritimes
by Donald J. Savoie (University of Toronto Press) (Cambridge University Press)

In Visiting Grandchildren, esteemed policy analyst and scholar Donald J. Savoie explores how Canadian economic policies have served to exclude the Maritime provinces from the wealth enjoyed in many other parts of the country, especially southern Ontario, and calls for a radical new approach to how Canadian governments determine policies that affect different regions. Well-written and comprehensive, Visiting Grandchildren looks to history, accidents of geography, and to the workings of national political and administrative institutions to explain the relative underdevelopment of the Maritime provinces. Savoie's work serves as the blueprint for a new way of envisioning the Maritime region.

Donald J. Savoie holds a Canada Research Chair in Public Administration and Governance at l'Université de Moncton.Two of his previous books were shortlisted for the Donner Prize: Governing from the Centre (2000) and Pulling Against Gravity: Economic Development in New Brunswick (2001).

For further information please contact:
Sherry Naylor
Meisner Publicity (Toronto)
Phone: (416) 368-8253
Fax: (416) 363-1448
E-mail: sherry (at) meisnerpublicity (dot) com
Web: www.donnerbookprize.com