In our ongoing series of interviews regarding new book releases, I (Adam Coombs) talked with Richard Gwyn regarding his new biography of John A. Macdonald, entitled John A: The Man Who Made Us. This is the first volume of a projected two volume biography on Macdonald. The interview first aired in October and is available at the end of this post.
In the 1840s Britain began to move toward complete free trade. Combined with a worldwide economic downturn, manufacturers and farmers in the United Provinces of Canada began to rightly fear economic ruin. Over a three year period, property values in Montreal had fallen by over 50% while Canada’s exports had fallen by over 40%. In response, over 1000 Montreal businessmen, including two Molsons and two Redpaths, supported annexation into the United States. During this period John A. made no speeches nor did he write letters to a sympathetic newspaper. Rather, in typical fashion, he quietly helped to organize the British America League which argued for unrestricted reciprocity, or free trade, with the United States. By the time the group disbanded in 1850 the same Montreal businessmen had embraced the idea of reciprocity. Macdonald had never made any definitive statement regarding his own beliefs yet the current crisis was averted.
The entire annexation crisis and Macdonald’s reaction exemplify both his leadership style and the political culture of pre-confederation Canada. Macdonald was, by supporters and enemies alike, called “old tomorrow” for his strategy of avoiding taking positions on issues and delaying decisions until a suitable result was achieved. Fiery speeches and declarations caused division and in the multi-religious, multi-lingual patchwork of 1850s Canada and a successful politician could never afford to be divisive. Furthermore, Canada as such didn’t exist yet and was constantly threatened by both internal tensions and the ever preset specter of the United States. It is both the personal style of Macdonald and the challenges threatening our early country which Gwyn focuses on.
In popular culture and Canadian historiography, John A is portrayed either as the loveable drunk who was utterly corrupt or as a the mythic figure that created our nation with his own bare hands. Gwyn seeks to deal with both these perceptions and create a new version of Macdonald. Unlike other biographies of Macdonald, Gwyn focuses on the man’s personal life beyond simply his drinking. There are engaging accounts of his attempts to care for his sick wife Isabella and of his attempts to re-connect with his estranged son Hugh John. These snippets of his personal life serve to add much needed depth to a man who is too often portrayed as someone devoid of true human characteristics. Gwyn doesn’t minimize Macdonald’s accomplishments but rather seeks to allow the reader to understand the man behind the Canadian myth.
The largest complaint about the book is it is pop academia. While it is extremely well written and engaging, the lack of footnotes, for a history geek like myself, occasionally got annoying. As well anyone well versed in Canadian history will find many of the sections which provide context as dull. Gwyn even warns readers with a basic knowledge of early Canadian politics to skip certain sections. If you are expecting a scholarly, in depth biography then you will be disappointed. However if you want an entertaining and engaging read then this book is certainly highly recommended.
This is the interview I did with John English regarding Citizen of the World. It is a bit old -a little more than a year- but is worth posting nonetheless. I suspect that under many christmas trees will be some of the latest crop of political autobiographies, while biography of a dead figure is different, this book really sets the standard for what political writing should do.
When you read it, and you should, it’s important to remember that as much as the book looks at the rise of a young Trudeau, it is also a good primer in the changing intellectual and cultural climate in Quebec from the 30s through to the late 60s, at least for someone like me that is not very well versed in Quebec historiography. In that sense the book is a double success: a thorough and interesting biography, that in a very accessible way offers real insight into a political figure, but also into the times in which he inhabited. English’s book is as good as any at reminding that even the most powerful figures come from somewhere and someplace, and if that were to change, so to would the person as we know them.
As always, if the sound is accelerated, be sure to download the file or subscribe via itunes. Those reading through blogawa.ca should come directly to the page for the file.
As part of what has become an occasional series looking at various community and not-for-profit organizations in and around Ottawa, this morning I spoke with Kate Van Slyck of the Amethyst Women’s Addiction Centre.
Amethyst, based in Sandy Hill, is as the name implies an addiction counseling centre for women. As is usual with not-for-profits, they work to balance demand for their (I can only assume) top-notch services with the confines of a budget built on government grants and donations.
Amethyst also suffers, I think, from something that troubles all sorts of mid-sized operations: they do excellent work, but sit at the back of most people’s minds when they think about their charitable donations. This isn’t to say that the larger charities are more or less worthy, just that awareness for smaller organizations is always going to be difficult as compared to the CHEOs and Canadian Cancer Foundations of the World.
In any case, Amethyst, like the other people that we’ve spoken with, is the sort of organization that makes communities better: dedicated people working very hard with limited budgets to make the city, and people’s lives, that much better.
Coming later in the week: Me vs. Warren Kinsella and Me vs Janet Stein and Eugene Lang.
That means that next week is Christmas day. For those that would like to include Adam and I (and Josh Prowse and Giacomo Panico) in your Christmas mornings, we will be broadcasting our annual “Top 5 Least Important News Stories” of the year. These are the sorts of things that we all ended up talking about a lot, but in the end we probably all are poorer for doing so. In any case, that will take place at the usual time next week, and will be put up on the website sometime shortly thereafter. For real.
But what is the usual time? Tuesday Morning, 7-9am on 93.1fm for those in Ottawa, the CKCU website for all the rest.
As for tomorrow:
At 8:30, we’ll be joined over the phone by Kate Van Slyck of the Amethyst Women’s Addiction Centre as part of our ongoing series on Ottawa community organizations.
As usual we air on CKCU 93.1fm from 7 to 9:00am. For those outside of Ottawa you can listen live on the web at the CKCU website.
At 7:30 I will be speaking with Dave Bidini, former member of Canadian indie-rock institution The Rheostatics and the author of the new book Around the World in 57 and a Half Gigs.
Fellow Travellers 
