Auditing Canadian Democracy

The nine-volume award-winning Canadian Democratic Audit represents one of the most ambitious examinations of Canadian democracy in recent political scholarship. Authored by a team of Canada's leading political scientists, and published by UBC Press over a five-year period, the Audit evaluates the performance of our central democratic institutions, including elections, parliament, the executive, federalism, political parties, and interest groups. This tenth volume, Auditing Canadian Democracy, marks the culmination of this landmark project. Using the Audit's uniquely Canadian benchmarks of participation, responsiveness, and inclusiveness, the contributors synthesize and update their findings from the original volumes. A concluding chapter presents a synopsis of the various reform proposals put forth in the series. The original Audit was conceived as a response to perceived voter discontent in the Canadian population. Unfortunately, voter participation continues to decline today, reminding us of the ongoing need to critically examine how well our democracy serves contemporary society. Lively and accessible, this volume offers a succinct and thoughtful examination of existing practices and reforms and should be of interest to all Canadians concerned with the health of their democracy.

William Cross is the Hon. Dick and Ruth Bell Chair for the Study of Canadian Parliamentary Democracy at Carleton University in Ottawa. Contribubutors include Darin Barney, Andre Blais, R. Kenneth Carty, John Courtney, William Cross, David Docherty, Joanna Everitt, Elisabeth Gidengil, Richard Nadeau, Neil Nevitt, Jennifer Smith, Graham White, and Lisa Young.