General background information

• What is policy? classic 2005 report defining policy
• Inside bureaucracy [print] - even more classic 1967 research study on bureaucratic decision-making
• A practical guide for policy analysis: the eightfold path to more effective problem solving [online and print] Probably the most useful public policy book you will read
• Beyond policy analysis: public issue management in turbulent times [print] Author Leslie A. Pal is one of the editors of:
• The Atlas of Public Management "concepts, topics, and courses taught in leading MPP and MPA programs" (Example:Concepts for "How Government Works in Canada")
• Find Public Policy Documents (University of Calgary) Listing two dozen types of document possibilities, "finding a public policy is often a very difficult process." Start with the guide Canadian federal, provincial, and local resources

Dictionaries

• Bilingual vocabulary for governance, public policy & administration [print]
• Dictionary of public policy and administration 
• International dictionary of public management and governance 

Encyclopedias

• Canadian Encyclopedia
• Defining public administration: selections from the international encyclopedia  of public policy and administration
• Encyclopedia of governance 
• Encyclopedia of government and politics 
• Encyclopedia of public administration and public policy
• Wiley-Blackwell encyclopedia of globalization 

Handbooks

• The handbook of Canadian public administration [print]
• Handbook of family policies across the globe 
• Handbook of public administration
• Handbook of public policy analysis
• Language of Canadian politics: a guide to important terms and concepts 
• The Oxford handbook of Canadian politics 
• Routledge handbook of public policy 
• Sage handbook of governance 

Topic-specific background information

Economic policy

• Handbook of public finance 
• International handbook of public financial management
• International tax handbook [print]
• New Palgrave dictionary of economics 
• Routledge dictionary of economics 

Environmental policy

• Dictionary of environmental economics, science and policy 
• Handbook of environmental policy evaluation 
• Handbook of global climate and environment policy
• Handbook of globalisation and environmental policy: national government interventions in a global arena
• Oxford handbook of U.S. environmental policy [print]

Health policy

• Canadian health law and policy [print]
• Encyclopedia of health economics
• Handbook of culturally responsive school mental health: advancing research, training, practice, and policy
• Handbook of globalization, governance, and public administration 
• Handbook of long-term care administration and policy 
• Oxford handbook of public health practice 
• Oxford handbook of health economics 
• Palgrave international handbook of healthcare policy and governance

Labour policy

• The law of work [print]
• Research handbook on the economics of labor and employment law
• Women and Gender Equality Canada (GoC) including research