The introduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982 was accompanied by much fanfare and public debate, and the Charter remains the subject of controversy twenty-five years later. Contested Constitutionalism does not celebrate the Charter; rather it offers a critique by distinguished scholars of law and political science of its effect on democracy, judicial power, and the place of Quebec and Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Employing a diversity of methodological approaches, contributors explore three themes: governance and institutions, policy making and the courts, and citizenship and identity politics. The influence of the Charter has been profound, they conclude, but has it been beneficial?

This thoughtful volume shifts the focus of debate from the Charter’s appropriateness to its impact – for better or worse – on political institutions, public policy, and conceptions of citizenship.