Eastern toil, western oil on award short list

Canadian finalists for $30,000 National Business Book Award announced Tuesday

TORONTO — Canada’s pipeline politics, information-age banking and economic development in the Maritimes are among the topics covered by the titles shortlisted for National Business Book Award.

The finalists for the $30,000 prize awarded to the most outstanding Canadian businessrelated book in 2017 were announced Tuesday. Authors vying for the award include Chris Turner with “The Patch: The People, Pipelines, and Politics of the Oil Sands,” published by Simon & Schuster, which aims to offer a balanced perspective on an often-polarizing national debate that pits industry interests against concerns about climate change.

Also on the list is “Looking for Bootstraps: Economic Development in the Maritimes” (Nimbus Publishing), in which New Brunswick political economist Donald Savoie examines the forces and policy failures that have contributed to economic underperformance in eastern Canada.

Other contenders include “Stumbling Giants: Transforming Canada’s Banks for the Information Age” (Rotman — UTP Publishing) by Patricia Meredith and James Darroch, and “Creating Great Choices: A Leader’s Guide to Integrative Thinking” (Harvard Business Review Press) by Jennifer Riel and Roger Martin.

Former CBC chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge chairs this year’s jury, which includes Deirdre McMurdy, David Denison, Anna Porter, Pamela Wallin and Leonard Waverman. The winner will be announced Oct. 2.