This paper investigates the linkages and influences between the open innovation paradigm and e-government research. To this end, an analysis of the e-government literature is carried out to understand how open innovation has been interpreted by e-government scholars, and to identify the key characteristics of open innovation adopted in the public sector. An analysis of open government initiatives in Canada is carried out to understand their compliance with some of the characteristics of open innovation from the management literature. We assess the fitness between management theory and practice.