How Ottawa Spends, 2003-2004: Regime Change and Policy Shift analyses the political in-fighting of the federal Liberal pary and how it has affected public policy development, implementation, and evaluation in Canada.

The 2003-2004 edition of How Ottawa Spends covers a unique period in the Canadian politics, in which Jean Chrétien -barely halfway through his third straight term as prime minister- was urged by many in his party (especially supporters of heir apparent Paul Martin) to take early retirement. Chretien's refusal to participate in the US-led war in Iraq did nothing to improve his standing with his critics, even though is position was shared by a slim majority of the Canadian public. In this turbulent context of regime change and policy shift, both sides of the House of Commons have shown unusual assertiveness in debates on a wide range of important policy issues.

G.Bruce Doern edits an informed collection of many of those issues: the new national security agenda, North American integration, Kyoto and climate change, health care in the wake of the Kirby and Romanow reports, higher education, the innovation agenda, government policy on science and technology research, pensions, and student financial aid.