Book about Canada’s immigration system, ‘Borderline Chaos,’ wins Donner Prize

A book about Canada’s immigration system has won the Donner Prize for public policy writing.

“Borderline Chaos: How Canada Got Immigration Right, and Then Wrong” was awarded the $60,000 literary prize at a gala dinner in Toronto late Thursday.

Author Tony Keller, a columnist with the Globe and Mail newspaper, was praised for outlining how Canada’s immigration system can be rebuilt, with judges calling it “compelling” and “essential” for any policy-maker grappling with immigration.

The other shortlisted titles each received $7,500.

They include “Breaking Point: The New Big Shifts Putting Canada at Risk” by Darrell Bricker and John Ibbitson, and “21 Things You Need to Know About Indigenous Self-Government: A Conversation About Dismantling the Indian Act” by Bob Joseph.

Also shortlisted were “A New Blueprint for Government: Reshaping Power, The PMO, and the Public Service” by Kevin G. Lynch and James R. Mitchell, and “The Age of Extraction: How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Future Prosperity” by Tim Wu.

“‘Borderline Chaos’ is a perfect example of excellent policy writing — detailing how government took an excellent system, broke it and describing for policy-makers how it can be fixed,” said jury chair André Beaulieu in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2026.

Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press