Social justice, economic uncertainty, and policing reform are some of the subjects covered in the books shortlisted for the 2022 Donner Prize.

The Donner Canadian Foundation announced the shortlist for this year’s prize on April 11.

The annual award recognizes the best book about public policy written by a Canadian. To mark the award’s 25th anniversary, the purse for this year’s Donner Prize has been increased by $10,000 to $60,000. Each of the four finalists will receive $7,500.

The finalists are:

• Cooperation and Social Justice by Joseph Heath (University of Toronto Press)
• Dream States: Smart Cities, Technology, and the Pursuit of Urban Utopias by John Lorinc (Coach House Books)
• Booze, Cigarettes and Constitutional Dust-Ups: Canada’s Quest for Interprovincial Free Trade by Ryan Manucha (McGill-Queen’s University Press)
• The Next Age of Uncertainty: How the World Can Adapt to a Riskier Future by Stephen Poloz (Allen Lane/Penguin Random House Canada)
• Canadian Policing: Why and How It Must Change by Kent Roach (Delve Books)

The books on this year’s shortlist were chosen from more than 75 books submitted by 35 publishers. Jury chair Louise Fréchette said in a press release that the deliberations “covered the importance of the topic, soundness of the argument, relevance of policy recommendations, and, as importantly, readability.”

The winner will be announced at a gala in Toronto on May 18.