The Canadian Founding: John Locke and Parliament (McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Ideas) [Paperback]

Janet Ajzenstat (Author)

Book Description

Series: McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Ideas | Publication Date: May 2007

Convinced that rights are inalienable and that legitimate government requires the consent of the governed, the Fathers of Confederation - whether liberal or conservative - looked to the European enlightenment and John Locke. Janet Ajzenstat analyzes the legislative debates in the colonial parliaments and the Constitution Act (1867) in a provocative reinterpretation of Canadian political history from 1864 to 1873. Ajzenstat contends that the debt to Locke is most evident in the debates on the making of Canada's Parliament: though the anti-confederates maintained that the existing provincial parliaments offered superior protection for individual rights, the confederates insisted that the union's general legislature, the Parliament of Canada, would prove equal to the task and that the promise of "life and liberty" would bring the scattered populations of British North America together as a free nation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Ajzenstat's body of work has shown the absolute necessity of returning to, and taking seriously, the words and deeds of the central figures of the founding period. Unless one does this, one cannot write responsibly about their thought and achievements. And when one does take them seriously, as Ajzenstat has done, the results are often surprising." Rainer Knopff, University of Calgary "This convincing study of the Canadian founding advances understanding of the influence of Locke while restoring understanding of the Canadian rights tradition." Filippo Sabetti, McGill University "Ajzenstat's claim that Canadians' faith in Parliament has been weakened, in part by globalization, is an interesting point ... "--Times Literary Supplement 21 March 2008

About the Author

Janet Ajzenstat is professor emeritus, political science, McMaster University. Her most recent book on the Canadian constitution is The Once and Future Canadian Democracy: An Essay in Political Thought.

Product Details

• Paperback: 199 pages
• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press (May 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0773532242
• ISBN-13: 978-0773532243
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,598,805 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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