McGill-Queen’s/Brian Mulroney Institute of Government Studies in Leadership, Public Policy, and Governance / 5, 61, 63, 64

reannouncing Trump, Trudeau, Tweets, Truth

A Conversation

bill fox

The story of a pivot in technology, politics, and power in Western liberal democracies.

Media has long been considered a primary site for political discourse in Western liberal democracies, but now, with the advent of social media, giant multinational digital platforms such as Google, and online journalism, the way we do politics, talk politics, and cover politics has completely transformed.

Trump, Trudeau, Tweets, Truth considers the ways that technology has led to an irreversible transition in power distribution, political journalism, and public discourse. Discussing how the military-industrial complex of the 1950s gave way to today’s celebrity-distribution complex, Bill Fox examines the amount of power accorded to people well-known for being well-known, from Donald Trump to Justin Trudeau. Taking on a Canadian perspective, Fox addresses the disturbing cries of “fake” news in the post-truth age and demonstrates how journalism, no longer the domain of a select few political reporters and editors, has become decentralized and disaggregated.

In a world that now plays out on mobile devices, Trump, Trudeau, Tweets, Truth seeks a path through the debris left behind by recent seismic shifts in political media and technology.

Bill Fox, a senior fellow at Massey College at the University of Toronto, is a former Ottawa and Washington bureau chief of the Toronto Star and served as director of communications for Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Since the election of Pierre Trudeau in 1968, Canada has had nine prime ministers, a series of minority governments, as many as sixteen leaders of the opposition, and a turnover of party leaders in provincial governments. This rotation shows the vibrant nature of the Canadian political system, which combines a measure of continuity and stability with change and policy innovation.

The Age of Consequence provides an insider’s account of Canada’s political environment over the last fifty years. Focusing on the key personalities, leaders, and political parties of the era, Charles McMillan reveals the reality of policy change in a world in flux, bound by institutional constraints and propelled by personalities that advance or derail policy initiatives. Choosing four policy themes – economic competitiveness, social justice, national reconciliation, and constructive internationalism – the book traces Canada’s policy evolution. As a federation, Canada’s political system is shaped by policy initiatives, leadership campaigns, national elections, the planning and machinery of governance, and the strengths of its various leaders, from John Diefenbaker and Lester B. Pearson to Justin Trudeau.

Based on McMillan’s personal experience as senior policy advisor to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, as well as on interviews, policy papers, and memos, The Age of Consequence sheds light on how public policy is made, the conflicts facing senior members of the government, and the unique burdens placed on prime ministers.

The Age of Consequence

The Ordeals of Public Policy in Canada

charles j. m cmillan

Charles J. McMillan is professor in the Schulich School of Business at York University.

SPECIFICATIONS March 2022 978-0-2280-0111-9 $39.95T, £30.50 cloth 6 × 9 616pp eBook available SPECIFICATIONS McGill-Queen’s/Brian Mulroney Institute of Government Studies in Leadership, Public Policy, and Governance April 2022 978-0-2280-1093-7 $39.95T, £28.99 cloth 6 × 9 464pp 24 diagrams, 16 photos, 12 tables eBook available