Western Law professor Wade Wright is assuming authorship of Peter Hogg’s Constitutional Law of Canada, the leading treatise about constitutional law in Canada.
Hogg, a renowned constitutional law scholar, released the first edition of Constitutional Law of Canada in 1977. Since then, the book has been published in five editions and has become the most cited academic work in the Supreme Court of Canada, and an essential “go-to” resource for judges, academics, lawyers and law students about the constitutional law of Canada.
Constitutional law expert and Western Law professor, Wade Wright. Western News file photo by Geoff Robins
After Hogg’s death in February 2020, Wright was approached – with the blessing of Hogg’s family and close colleagues – by Thomson Reuters, the publisher of Constitutional Law of Canada, to assume its authorship.
“It was a tremendous honour to be asked to take on this role,” says Wright, who first met Hogg while a law student at Osgoode Hall Law School, where Hogg was then the dean. “Constitutional Law of Canada has had a huge impact on Canadian law. The task is a big one – the book is vast in scope and depth – but I’m excited and committed to ensure it remains the useful resource that it has been to so many.”
In his new role, Wright will be responsible for annually updating Constitutional Law of Canada, which is published as both a two-volume, loose-leaf book (comprising 60 chapters) and as an abridged annual student edition.
Peter Hogg a law ‘rock star’
Peter W. Hogg
Constitutional Law of Canada, by Peter W. Hogg
Hogg was an important mentor to Wright over the years, and they collaborated on several academic articles and co-authored (with Patrick Monahan) another book, the fourth edition of Liability of the Crown, published in 2011.
“Peter was a legal giant, the academic equivalent of a rock star. Equally important though, he was also kind, gracious and humble,” says Wright. “He embodied the best qualities of a legal academic.”
Dean Erika Chamberlain expressed pride that Wright was chosen to take on the mantle of Constitutional Law of Canada.
“It speaks volumes about professor Wright’s scholarly reputation in the field,” she says. “And it provides him the opportunity to influence both legal education and judicial decision-making going forward.”
Wright has received funding from the Canadian Foundation for Legal Research for his second yearly update to Constitutional Law of Canada, and he plans to get Western Law students involved in each update.
“I’m very excited to engage the students with my yearly updates to the book,” Wright says. “It’s a way for me to pay forward the opportunities and mentorship that Peter provided to me over the years.”
Wright’s first update to Constitutional Law of Canada was submitted this March and will be published later this year.
