2024 Donner Prize Shortlist Announced

TORONTO, April 15, 2025 – Gregory Belton, Chair of the Donner Canadian Foundation, today announced the shortlist for the 2024 Donner Prize, the award recognizing the best public policy book by a Canadian.

“The aim of the Donner Prize is to spotlight books advancing a thoughtful perspective on policy issues facing our society and governments today, and to be a catalyst for debate on these matters among policymakers and the public.  It’s been very interesting in recent days, seeing Ryan Manucha in the media, as the topic and recommendations of his 2022 Donner Prize winning books Booze, Cigarettes and Constitutional Dustups, on interprovincial free trade, is currently a hot topic of debate.

Belton continued, “The Donner jurors have reviewed a field of over 80 books submitted by a record 47 publishers, in English and French, and have brought forward a shortlist of five books. Not surprisingly, several books are examining Canada’s response to the COVID pandemic – the jury has selected two aspects to highlight. Another is an examination of the relationship between Supreme Court decisions and the governments that must implement them. The fourth provides an important and timely look at best practices for corporate governance.  The last book selected offers a sobering and profound discussion on intimate partner violence. These books all contribute to the national debate of headline issues. We thank the jury for bringing these books to our attention.”

Jury Chair André Beaulieu commented that “this has been my first year on the jury and I was pleasantly surprised by the amazing breadth and quality of the books we were reviewing.  We debated books that deal with critical policy concerns, along with the books’ ability to outline the challenges and to deliver concrete policy recommendations, while remaining accessible to an interested reader.”

The prestigious Donner Prize, founded in 1998, annually rewards excellence and innovation in public policy writing by Canadians. In bestowing this award, the Donner Canadian Foundation seeks to broaden policy debates, and to make an original and meaningful contribution to policy discourse, all of which will contribute to an even stronger and more inclusive Canadian democracy.

This year’s Donner Prize shortlist titles were selected from books published during the calendar year 2024. The winning title will be awarded $60,000, while each of the four other nominated titles will receive $7,500.

The 2024 Donner Prize finalists are:

Fiscal Choices: Canada After the Pandemic; Michael M. Atkinson and Haizhen Mou (University of Toronto Press)

And Sometimes They Kill You: Confronting the Epidemic of Intimate Partner Violence; Pamela Cross (Between The Lines)

Constraining the Court: Judicial Power and Policy Implementation in the Charter Era; James B. Kelly (UBC Press)

Seized by Uncertainty: The Markets, Media and Special Interests that Shaped Canada’s Response to COVID-19; Kevin Quigley, Kaitlynne Lowe, Sarah Moore, and Brianna Wolfe; (McGill-Queen’s University Press)

Hard Lessons in Corporate Governance; Bryce C. Tingle (Cambridge University Press)

The 2024 Donner Prize will be presented at a gala dinner in Toronto on May 15, 2025.

The shortlisted authors are available for interviews.