Governing from the Centre: The Concentration of Power in Canadian Politics

Agar Adamson is the author of Letters of Agar Adamson, 1914–19 and former chair of the Department of Political Science at Acadia University in Nova Scotia.

In this book, Donald Savoie painstakingly illustrates how the power of
the office of Prime Minister has increased dramatically. The growth of
central agencies like the Privy Council, the Priorities and Planning
secretariat, and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)—all of whom
report to the prime minister and are appointed by the prime
minister—have greatly increased the raw power of the prime minister.
Although there are limits on a prime minister’s power, those limits
are not, as the author illustrates, all that strong.

Canadians are becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of
sufficient constraints on government power, as evidenced by the decline
in voter turnout, the use of the recall in British Columbia, the growth
of the Reform Party, and a general lack of trust in government.
Savoie’s book does not provide a blueprint for reform. What it offers
instead is a well-researched, closely argued, and meticulously
documented account of the current situation. The world of the Ottawa
mandarin is expertly described by an author who is as at home in the
corridors of power as he is in the classroom.

Governing from the Centre is a must-read for students of Canadian
politics, and those with an interest in how we are affected by prime
ministerial government.