Skip to main content

Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

Opening the Government of Canada

The Federal Bureaucracy in the Digital Age

Opening the Government of Canada presents a compelling case for a more open model of governance in the digital age – but a model that also continues to uphold democratic principles at the heart of the Westminster system. Amanda Clarke details the untold story of the federal bureaucracy’s efforts to adapt to digital-age pressures from the mid-2000s onward. This book reveals the mismatch between the bureaucracy’s closed government traditions and evolving citizen expectations and digital tools. Striking a balance between reform and tradition, lays out a roadmap for building a democratically robust, digital-era federal government.

Table of Contents

1 Opening Government in the Digital Age

2 Canada’s Closed Government

3 #Fail: Adopting Social Media in the Government of Canada

4 Stephen Harper’s Open(ish) Government Initiative

5 Internal Openings in the Federal Bureaucracy

6 The Digital Skills Gap in the Federal Bureaucracy

7 The Future of Digital Government

Appendix A: Interview Index

Notes; References; Index

Be the first to know

Get the latest updates on new releases, special offers, and media highlights when you subscribe to our email lists!

Sign up here for updates about the Press