Patrice Dutil, The Guardian: Perspectives on the Ministry of Finance of Ontario

Finance departments have often been portrayed as guardians of the public purse. In The Guardian, a multidisciplinary group of contributors examines the Ministry of Finance of Ontario since the Second World War, as it transformed from a relatively small ‘Treasury’ to a sophisticated policy machine. These essays reveal Ontario’s ‘finance’ as a dynamic policy issue shaped by the personalities of premiers and ministers, the energies of public servants at all levels, and a critical dialogue between political and administrative worlds. Drawing on different methodologies, this collection profiles a ministry as policy entrepreneur, spender, revenue generator, capacity builder, budget director, program manager, and intergovernmental agent.