Books on troubling hockey culture, forest fires vie for Balsillie Prize for Public Policy
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on brandonsun.com
- Read the Brandon Sun E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
*Your next Free Press subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
TORONTO – Authors of books on hockey’s troubling culture, forest fires and the rise of big tech platforms are among the five finalists for the Writers’ Trust Balsillie Prize for Public Policy.
The annual $70,000 award recognizes non-fiction books that advance policy discussions on social, political, economic and cultural topics. Runners-up receive $7,500.
The finalists include veteran Toronto sports journalist Rick Westhead for “We Breed Lions: Confronting Canada’s Troubled Hockey Culture,” which looks at the sport’s reckoning with allegations of sexual assault, hazing and abuse.
Also in the running is Toronto-raised tech policy expert Tim Wu for “The Age of Extraction: How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Future Prosperity,” which examines how tech platforms continue to consolidate power and the links between technology and income inequality.
Vancouver writer and photographer Jesse Winter is nominated for “Wild Fire: Dispatches from a Country Ablaze,” which explores the pressing issue of forest fires in Canada.
Other contenders include national security expert Dennis Molinaro for “Under Assault: Interference and Espionage in China’s Secret War Against Canada,” which details Beijing’s five-decades-long effort to influence and interfere in Canadian political life, and Toronto Star reporter Moira Welsh for “The Astonishing Lives of Older Women: How to Create Pleasure Over Peril in Peak Longevity” which explores growing older as a woman today.
A three-person jury selected the five books from 36 titles by 24 publishing imprints.
The winner will be announced Nov. 24 in Toronto.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2026.