'A Justifiable Obsession': Conservative Ontario's Relations with Ottawa, 1943-1985

‘Bryden provides excellent historical context…“A Justifiable Obsession” is a valuable addition to our understanding of postwar Canadian federalism and Ontario political culture.’ Matthew Barrett, Ontario History vol 106:01:2014

‘It is a compelling read, both as reference tool for specific questions and as a general history that helps us understand how and why, imperfect as it is and after nearly 150 years, the Canadian federal experiment has been made to function.’

Robert Talbot, Canadian Historical Review vol 96:04:2015

“‘A Justifiable Obsession’ tackles an important historical subject – the evolution of Ontario’s intergovernmental relations with the federal government – on which there is no comparable work. Based on extensive primary source research, the book bridges the mandates of multiple premiers and analyses what was happening behind the scenes. It makes a major and innovative contribution to the fields of intergovernmental relations, constitutional history, tax policy, and social policy history.”

Matthew Hayday, Department of History, University of Guelph

“‘A Justifiable Obsession’ is engaging, well written, and makes an important contribution to the study of federalism in Ontario-Ottawa relations. Providing a convincing explanation of why Ontario did not oppose a string of federal and shared programs that arguably infringed on its sovereignty, the book also adds an invaluable perspective on Ontario’s position on constitutional repatriation and renewal.”

Stephen Henderson, Department of History and Classics, Acadia University