The evolving Canadian crown / edited by Jennifer Smith and D. Michael Jackson.

Based on papers presented at the conference: The Crown in Canada : Present Realities and Future Options, held in Ottawa, Ont., from June 9-10, 2010.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 239-248).

Includes chapter abstracts in French.

Introduction / Jennifer Smith -- The Crown in the provinces : Canada's compound monarchy / D. Michael Jackson and Lynda M. Haverstock -- Myth and misunderstanding : the origins and meaning of the letters patent constituting the office of the Governor General, 1947 / Christopher McCreery -- The Crown and the constitution : sustaining democracy? / David E. Smith -- The constitutional role of the Governor General / Patrick J. Monahan -- The reserve powers of the Crown : The 2008 prorogation in hindsight / Andrew Heard -- Written reasons and codified conventions in matters of prorogation and dissolution / Robert E. Hawkins -- State ceremonial : the constitutional Monarch's liturgical authority / Paul Benoit -- The Crown and Honours : Getting it Right / Christopher McCreery -- The honour of the first nations -the honour of the Crown : the unique relationship of First Nations with the Crown / David Arnot -- The Australian monarchy in the twenty-first century / Peter Boyce -- "The Crown down under": issues and trends in Australia and New Zealand / Noel Cox -- Reflections on the "Canadianization" of the Crown: a modest proposal / Jacques Monet -- Royal assent : a time for clarity / Hugh Segal -- The Crown and prime ministerial government or the slow withering of the monarchical institution / Serge Joyal.

"The Crown in Canada, the institution of constitutional monarchy, for decades neglected or considered an irrelevant colonial relic, is now the object of sympathetic scholarly attention. Stephen Harper's Conservative government has reversed the trend of its predecessors by giving the Crown a higher profile through royal tours, publications, and symbolic initiatives.

The Evolving Canadian Crown assesses the Crown in Canada from a variety of perspectives, including federalism, First Nations, the constitutional role of the governor general, the use of the reserve power, honours and public liturgy, and the "Canadianization" of the Crown. Comparative analyses of the Crown in Australia and New Zealand complete the picture. As Queen Elizabeth II marks her Diamond Jubilee in 2012, The Evolving Canadian Crown provides a stimulating insight into a little-understood yet key component of Canada's governance."--Pub. desc.