The direction of public enterprise in Canada

This article contextualises the rise, demise and diversity of the Canadian public enterprise experience in terms of its ideological, historical and ma nagerial dimensions. Developments at both the national and sub-national lev els of government are analysed. Provincial governments have exceptionally e xtensive jurisdictional authority in the Canadian federal system; some have been policy and administrative leaders in public enterprise. Ideological d ispositions such as classical and contemporary conservatism, liberalism and social democracy are related to political parties, the developmental imper atives of state-building, and the choice of organisational and managerial f orms for public enterprise.