This special workshop will introduce the forthcoming book Canadian Political Economy (Heather Whiteside, ed., University of Toronto Press) and will reflect on the field of Canadian Political Economy (CPE) more broadly. In the book, experts from a number of disciplinary backgrounds come together to explore Canada’s empirical political economy and the field’s contributions to theory and debate. Considering both historical and contemporary approaches to CPE, the contributors pay particular attention to key actors and institutions, as well as developments in Canadian political-economic policies and practices, explored through themes of changes, crises, and conflicts in CPE. Offering up-to-date interpretations, analyses, and descriptions, Canadian Political Economy is accessibly written and suitable for students and scholars. Through 17 chapters, the book’s topics include theory, history, inequality, work, free trade and fair trade, co-operatives, banking and finance, the environment, indigeneity, and the gendered politics of political economy. Linking longstanding debates with current developments, this volume represents both a state-of-the-discipline and a state-of-the-art contribution to scholarship.
The workshop will feature eight of the chapter contributors, focusing on the following themes in CPE:
Angela Carter, Waterloo: resource exploitation and environmental concerns
Bryan Evans, Ryerson: public sector restructuring
Carlo Fanelli, York: urban processes
John Peters, Laurentian: rising inequality
Julie MacArthur, Auckland: social economy and co-operatives
Heather Whiteside, Waterloo: theory and debate
Peter Graefe, McMaster: social policy transformations
Stephen McBride, McMaster: continental integration
The workshop will ask where CPE is going, what’s missing, and what’s needed for future research. We look forward to audience participation and a lively discussion of issues both current and longstanding.
