Is there a crisis in Canadian leadership? In the past decade, certainly, Canadians have become increasingly cynical about their political leaders. Yet most of us pay close attention to those leaders only when we are in the process of changing them. Part of the problem may stem from themystery that surrounds leadership - a mystery that this books seeks to dispel.Unlike party conventions or general elections, leadership is a continual process, and politicians are not the only ones who engage in it; members of the judiciary, senior bureaucrats, and aboriginal chiefs also play important leadership roles. This book examines the functions of decision-makers,both elected and appointed, at the federal, provincial, municipal, and community levels of government. At the same time, it focuses attention on the constraints and challenges associated with each stage of a career in public life: recruitment, or gaining entry to the leadership pool; the actualexercise of a leadership role; and retirement - sometimes voluntary, but often not - to return to private life.Citizens in a democratic society get the leaders they deserve: if we want to improve their quality, we need to comprehend the processes by which they function. The chapters in this book offer the background understanding that is essential if we are either to accept the leadership we giveourselves, or to deserve better.

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Maureen Mancuso, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Guelph. Ronald Wagenberg, both Professors of Political Science, both at University of Windsor.