After reaching the end of 2020, I could no longer read any more POTUS biographies, we were living it. I went back to my eclectic reading list, but by early 2023 found myself reading two titles by Jesse Thistle: his Master's thesis The Puzzle of the Morrissette-Arcand Clan: A History Of Metis Historic and Intergenerational Trauma, and his own biography From the ashes: my story of being indigenous, homeless, and finding my way. I then had the epiphany to read about the Canadian equivalent of our POTUS.
I knew I was ignorant of Canadian history, but was subsequently shocked to learn so are most of Canadians (according to learned Canadian historians).
Canada, as a member of the British Commonwealth, is a constitutional monarchy. This means that while our POTUS is the Head of State, the Canadian Head of State is (currently) King Charles III, as represented through the Governor General. In a constitutional monarchy, the Crown assumes distinct roles: the executive, as the Crown-in-Council; the legislative, as the Crown-in-Parliament; and the judicial, as the Crown-on-the-Bench. Three institutions - the Privy Council (conventionally, the Cabinet), the Parliament, and the Judiciary, respectively - exercise the powers of the Crown.
Confused? It would take too many more paragraphs to explain this better (especially to Americans). Let us focus on the Canadian position of Prime Minister which is most closely related to the POTUS.
The Canadian federal government's organization and structure was established at Confederation, through the July 1, 1867 British North America Act, wherein the Canadian Crown acts as the core, or "the most basic building block", of its Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarch, King Charles III, is personally represented by a Governor General (presently Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon) who is the head of state. A Prime Minister is the head of government, who is invited by the Crown to form a government after securing the confidence of the House of Commons, which is typically determined through the election of enough members of a single political party in a federal election to provide a majority of seats in Parliament, forming a governing party. Further elements of governance are outlined in the rest of the Canadian constitution, which includes written statutes in addition to court rulings and unwritten conventions developed over centuries.
Canada has mostly a two-party system, but there is not a term limit on the Prime Minister, nor does their term as Prime Minister need to be continuous. Thus, some Prime Ministers served very short terms (69 days, 79 days, 132 days) and others very long single (10 yrs, 15 yrs) and multiple terms (6 and 13 yrs spanning 3 Ministries over 24 yrs; 4 and 4 and 13 yrs spanning 5 Ministries over 27 yrs).
From 1867 - 2023 there have been 23 Canadian Prime Ministers, whereas
in the United States, from George Washington (1789) to Joe Biden (2023), exactly twice as many - 46. But from an equivalent time span (1867 - 2023) there have been 25 POTUS.
These differences make reading each Canadian Prime Minister's biography an interlocking and complex weaving of other Prime Ministers and parties. Yet it also provides excellent insight into the government and governing of Canada. And it also indisputably reinforced the adage about history repeating itself. I found myself reading about the Canadian politics and personalities of 100 years ago and thinking I was reading today's news - it was that similar. Mostly because people and politicians are the same everyplace and all epochs. But also clearly understand, Canada is not a 'junior' United States. The overriding sentiment from the inception of the semi-independent
Dominion of Canada (the country’s formal title, first applied to Canada at Confederation in 1867) was that it would not adopt the politics or culture of the United States.
I did not take that high road with this list. Conversely, I couldn't take the low road either since there is a disappointedly low number of books available, especially in the early years.
Richard Gwyn (author of the two John Macdonald biographies I read) noted in 2009 the paucity of works available, "in Canada, history really is often treated as "bunk"...Canada settles for so few [biographies] - precariously close to none at all." Gwyn hoped his two volume bio would encourage other writers to add to the historical library. Gwyn died in 2020 disappointed. This 2019 article in The Globe and Mail [with a weekly readership of 2 million, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper] exposes these frustrations with
We don’t have the prime minister biographies we deserve – and Canadian history suffers for it.
This is a link to the
PDF version of that article.
As you will see from my biography list below, some Prime Ministers are only a footnote, presumably because of their short time in office. Yet even American President William Harrison, who was in office for just 31 days, has many full bios. Many Canadian PMs are given high school level biographies in educational book series.
There are 9,000 biographies on that website which describe the lives of those whose deaths or whose last-known activities occurred in the years 1000 to 1930. A growing number of biographies of individuals who died between 1930 -2000 is being added (about 400 to date). There are 37 Occupations and Other Identifiers, and it does not include all of the Prime Ministers. It is nevertheless an excellent and exemplary source of information.
James Nicholson, a Toronto businessman, who, at his death in 1952, left the residue and bulk of his estate to the University of Toronto for the purpose of creating a biographical reference work for Canada of truly national importance. The Dictionary commenced in 1959 with the mandate "the object [of a biographical dictionary of Canada] shall be not only to supply an acknowledged want in Canadian literature, but ... it should compete with or even surpass works of a similar character produced elsewhere."
Perhaps not surprisingly, at least for the first half of Canadian PMs, the biographies in print are not available in U.S. city libraries, and sparse even via InterLibrary Loan using WorldCat.
Sometimes it seemed like a conspiracy. For example, during a search for Sir Laurier I tried to locate "Wilfrid Laurier" by Andre Pratte (2011) [part of the "Extraordinary Canadians" series.]
Not surprisingly it was not in the Plano library catalog, but WorldCat did list it in the Texas Group, and, reported that Plano actually had it. But they did not. The Plano library confirmed that in the past they did hold that title, but no longer have it. They now plan to updated the holdings on their WorldCat account (which will take time.), This was not the first time I found errors and omissions between WorldCat and the libraries they database.
Other Internet resources were helpful, and I have purchased some of the books. I obtained one by special dispensation as it was not available to buy from any seller and only 8 copies existed in all of North America. The most interesting side stories about how I got my hands on a particular book will be hyperlinked in the List section.
The British Booker Prize is awarded to the best sustained work of fiction written in English and published in the UK and Ireland. No Canadian PM biographies.
The Michener Award is a prestigious award dedicated to "meritorious public service journalism" - Canada’s own Pulitzer Prize. No Canadian PM biographies.
The Canada Council for the Arts supervises the Governor General's Literary Awards, presented to English-language and French-language books in each of the following seven categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Poetry, Drama, Young People’s Literature – Text, Young People’s Literature – Illustrated Books and Translation (from French to English and vice versa).
Finally we have some winners:
"John A. Macdonald, The Young Politician" Vol 1 by Donald G. Creighton. Macmillan Co. of Canada 1952.
"John A. Macdonald, The Old Chieftain" Vol 2 by Donald G. Creighton. Macmillan Co. of Canada 1955.
"Trudeau and Our Times" Vol 1 by Stephen Clarkson, Christina McCall. McClelland & Stewart 1990.
Related but not a biography, "The Private Capital: Ambition and Love in the Age of Macdonald and Laurier" by Sandra Gwyn McClelland & Stewart 2008.
The John W. Dafoe Book Prize is awarded to the best book on Canada, Canadians, and/or Canada’s place in the world published in the previous calendar year. The Prize memorializes John Wesley Dafoe, one of the most significant Canadian editors of the 20th century. With regards to Prime Ministers:
Awarded 1993. John English. Lester B. Pearson: The Worldly Years. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf.
Awarded 1995. Christina McCall and Stephen Clarkson. Trudeau and Our Times, Volume 2. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.
Awarded 2007. John English. Citizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1919-1968, Volume One. Toronto: Alfred A. Knopf
Awarded 2012. Richard J. Gwyn, Nation Maker: Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times. Toronto: Random House.
Awarded 2016. David Mulroney. Middle Kingdom, Middle Power: What Canadians Need to Know About China in the 21st Century. Toronto: Allen Lane Canada/Penguin Random House Canada.
It was not my intention to read as many biographies on each Prime Minister as I could access and then create a ranking of them for each PM. That would take me a decade as a slow reader and having other activities I wished to engage in. Thus I tried to identify the best one or two volumes per Prime Minister based on reading other reviews, but especially the foreword of the author and the author's credentials to ascertain scholarship and objectivity. I also wanted as much distance in years to help put in the historical perspective. Occasionally, hagiography was permitted but was balanced by reading an objective work. Since each successive bio partially recapitulated previous Prime Minister(s) political life, reading them sequentially added a parallel discussion by allies and opponents and certainly balanced my overall knowledge on an individual PM.
The listing will sometimes list those books which I specifically did not read. There will be links to my expanded explanations on a particular book. Autobiographies & memoirs were not considered biographies as they inherently lack objectivity and balance.
A considerable amount of demographic, honorary titles, and political information is associated with each Prime Minister, and I chose to list only a few items. The most complex is their Political Affiliation. A single PM may have belonged to more than one Party, and over the decades, even the same Party name (e.g. Conservative versus Progressive Conservative Party) would represent different
philosophies.
The Right Hon. Sir John Alexander Macdonald
P.C., Q.C., G.C.B., K.C.B., M.P.
(born 11 Jan, 1815 - died 6 Jun, 1891)
Political Party: Liberal-Conservative
|
|
Gwyn, Richard (2008) John A: The Man Who Made Us Vol 1.
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Rating Very Good
reviewed Mar 2023
|
|
Gwyn, Richard (2011) Nation Maker Sir John A. MacDonald: His Life, Our Times Vol 2.
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed Apr 2023
|
Not read
•
Donald G. Creighton (1952) John A. Macdonald, The Young Politician Vol 1.*
•
Donald G. Creighton (1955) John A. Macdonald, The Old Chieftain Vol 2.*
*
Received The Canada Council for the Arts Governor General's Literary Award
|
The Hon. Alexander Mackenzie
P.C., M.P.
(born 28 Jan, 1822 - died 17 Apr, 1892)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
|
|
Thomson, Dale C. (1960) Alexander Mackenzie: Clear Grit
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed Apr 2023
|
Not read as it received outside scathing reviews.
Read here.
•
Buckingham, William* (1892) The Hon. Alexander Mackenzie : his life and times.
*(b.1832-d.1915)
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The Hon. Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott
P.C., Q.C., K.C.M.G., M.P., Senator
(born 12 Mar, 1821 - died 30 Oct, 1893)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
|
|
Hill, Michael (2022) The Lost Prime Ministers: Macdonald's Successors Abbott, Thompson, Bowell, and Tupper
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Rating Good
reviewed Jun 2023
|
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Sir John Joseph Caldwell Abbott
by Miller, Carman
Chairman & Associate Professor of History, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. Professor Emeritus
(4,000 words, 10 pages)
|
Rating Good
reviewed Apr 2023
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Abbott, Elizabeth L. (1997) The Reluctant P.M.: Notes on the Life of Sir John Abbott, Canada's Third Prime Minister
See nota bene
|
Rating Poor
reviewed May 2023
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Nota bene There is no dedicated, full biography on the 3rd Prime Minister (as of 2023).
Ms. Abbott (a distant relative of the Prime Minister) compiled "notes" related to him.
This work is a curious collection of facts and speculation.
How I obtained this rare, and unsatisfactory, treatise is noteworthy.
Read here.
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The Right Hon. Sir John Sparrow David Thompson
P.C., Q.C., K.C.M.G., M.P.
(born 10 Nov, 1845 - died 12 Dec, 1894)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
|
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Hill, Michael (2022) The Lost Prime Ministers: Macdonald's Successors Abbott, Thompson, Bowell, and Tupper
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Rating Good
reviewed Jun 2023
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Hopkins, J. Castell (1895) Life and Work of the Rt. Hon. Sir John Thompson
A hagiography but comprehensive. *
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Rating Very Good
reviewed May 2023
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Waite, Peter Busby (1985) The Man from Halifax: Sir John Thompson, Prime Minister
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed May 2023
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*
John Castell Hopkins
(b.1864-d.1923) was a bank clerk, author, and imperialist.
Like most imperialists, Hopkins was suspicious of possible aggression by the United States and he loathed what he saw as its excessive democracy and materialism. He provided hagiographical depictions of groups who championed the British connection, such as chosen individuals such as Prime Minister Sir John Sparrow David Thompson who were squeezed into an imperial mould, regardless of their true sentiments.
Not read, but contained recommendations to the 2nd and 3rd biographies rated above.
•Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Sir John Sparrow David Thompson
by Waite, P. B. Professor emeritus of history, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
There are two biographies of Thompson. One is J. C. Hopkins, "Life and work of the Rt. Hon. Sir John Thompson" (Toronto, 1895), published within two months of Thompson’s death, and with a preface by Lord Aberdeen. It can be described as hagiography. The other is P. B. Waite, "The Man from Halifax", on which this article [in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography] is largely based.
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The Hon. Sir Mackenzie Bowell
P.C., K.C.M.G., M.P., Senator
(born 27 Dec, 1823 - died 10 Dec, 1917)
Political Party: Conservative (1867-1942)
|
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Hill, Michael (2022) The Lost Prime Ministers: Macdonald's Successors Abbott, Thompson, Bowell, and Tupper
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Rating Good
reviewed Jun 2023
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Not read, not a biography.
•Glenn, Ted (2022) A Very Canadian Coup: The Rise and Demise of Prime Minister Mackenzie Bowell, 1894–1896
Not read.
•Boyce, Betsy Dewar (2001) The accidental Prime Minister: The biography of Sir Mackenzie Bowell
A local historian from the Bay of Quinte region in Ontario, this was her second major work, published posthumously in 2017 (she died in 2007). She had completed the work in 2007, but could not find a publisher.
A small house, Kirby Books, eventually issued her book in 2017 in a limited run of just a few hundred copies to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Bowell's death. It is no longer for sale but can be found in a few Canadian libraries.
It was the first major biography of Sir Mackenzie Bowell.
Not read, but an excellent review in
Literary Review of Canada
•Wilson, Barry K. (2021) Sir Mackenzie Bowell: A Canadian Prime Minister Forgotten by History
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The Right Hon. Sir Charles Tupper
MD, P.C., K.C.M.G., G.C.M.G., C.B., M.P
(born 2 Jul, 1821 - died 30 Oct, 1915)
Political Party: Conservative (1867-1942)
|
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Hill, Michael (2022) The Lost Prime Ministers: Macdonald's Successors Abbott, Thompson, Bowell, and Tupper
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Rating Good
reviewed Jun 2023
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Murray, Joc (1999) Sir Charles Tupper : fighting doctor to Father of Confederation
A perspective from his Medical profession
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Rating Very Good
reviewed Jun 2023
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Not read.
•Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Sir Charles Tupper
by Buckner, Phillip
Professor of history, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick (8,000 words, 20 pages).
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The Right Hon. Sir Wilfrid Laurier
P.C., K.C., G.C.M.G., M.P.
(born 20 Nov, 1841 - died 17 Feb, 1919)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
|
|
Schull, Joseph (1965) Laurier. The First Canadian
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Rating Excellent
reviewed Jun 2023
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Not read.
• McArthur, Peter (1919) Sir Wilfrid Laurier
This biography was too recent (same year as his death) to put his life and career in perspective.
• LaPierre, Laurier L. (1996) Sir Wilfrid Laurier and the romance of Canada
The author LaPierre (b.1929-d.2012) was a Canadian Senator, professor, broadcaster, journalist and author; member of the Liberal Party of Canada. The book received poor outside review and did not contain enough politics for a biography of Sir Laurier.
• Stewart, Roderick (2002) Wilfrid Laurier: a pledge for Canada
The author has written for high school history textbooks and edited books for major Canadian publishers.
• Pratte, Andre (2011) Wilfrid Laurier
One of the "Extraordinary Canadians" series, John Ralston Saul - series Editor.
Pratte was a journalist for 35 years and was editor-in-chief of the Montreal newspaper La Presse and former senator who represented the De Salaberry division in Quebec.
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The Right Hon. Sir Robert Laird Borden
P.C., K.C., G.C.M.G., M.P.
(born 26 Jun, 1854 - died 10 Jun, 1937)
Political Parties:
Conservative (1867-1942)
(1896-06-23 - 1917-12-16)
Unionist (1917-12-17 - 1921-12-05)
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Brown, Robert Craig (1975) Robert Laird Borden: A Biography Vol I 1854-1914
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Rating Very Good
reviewed Jun 2023
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Brown, Robert Craig (1980) Robert Laird Borden: A Biography Vol II 1914-1937
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Rating Very Good
reviewed Jun 2023
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Not read.
•
English, John (1977) Borden: his life and world
Not read, not a biography.
•
Macquarrie, Heath (1959) Robert Borden and the Election of 1911. Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science, 1959, Vol. 25 Issue 3, pp 271–286
•
Dutil, Patrice and MacKenzie, David (2011) Canada 1911: The Decisive Election that Shaped the Country
•
Dutil, Patrice and MacKenzie, David (2017) Embattled Nation: Canada's Wartime Election of 1917
•
English, John (1977) The decline of politics: the Conservatives and the party system, 1901–20
•
Cook, Tim (2012) Warlords: Borden, Mackenzie King, and Canada's World Wars
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The Right Hon. Arthur Meighen
P.C., Q.C., M.P., Senator
(born 16 Jun, 1874 - died 5 Aug 1960)
Political Parties:
Unionist (1917-12-17 - 1921-12-05)
Conservative (1867-1942)
(1921-12-06 - 1942-01-16)
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Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Arthur Meighen
by Glassford, Larry A.
Professor of education, University of Windsor, Ontario. (9,000 words, 21 pages)
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Rating Fair
reviewed Jun 2023
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Graham, Roger (1968) Arthur Meighen. The Canadian Historical Association Booklets No. 16
(20 pages)
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Rating Excellent
reviewed Jun 2023
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Graham, Roger (1960) Arthur Meighen: A biography. Vol I. The Doors of Opportunity
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Rating Very Good
reviewed Jul 2023
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Graham, Roger (1963) Arthur Meighen: A biography. Vol II And Fortune Fled
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Rating Very Good
reviewed Jul 2023
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Graham, Roger (1965) Arthur Meighen: A biography. Vol III. No Surrender*
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Rating Very Good
reviewed Jul 2023
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*
The story how I got Google Books to let me read
Vol III. No Surrender
Not read, not a biography.
•
Meighen, Arthur. Unrevised and Unrepented II: Debating Speeches and Others by the Right Honourable Arthur Meighen (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2011), Edited by Arthur Milnes.
This is an expanded version of Arthur Meighen, Unrevised and Unrepented: Debating Speeches and Others by the Right Honourable Arthur Meighen (1949).
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The Right Hon. William Lyon Mackenzie King
Ph.D, P.C., O.M., C.M.G., M.P.
(born 17 Dec, 1874 - died 22 Jul, 1950)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
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Granatstein, J.L. (1977) Mackenzie King: His Life and World (pp.202)
Paul Russell, Picture Editor (122 pictures & illustrations)
See Nota Bene
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Rating Good
reviewed Jul 2023
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Dawson, R.M. (1958) William Lyon Mackenzie King. Vol. 1: A Political Biography 1874–1923
*
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Rating Very Good
reviewed Aug 2023
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Neatby, H. Blair. (1963) William Lyon Mackenzie King. Vol. 2: The Lonely Heights 1924–1932
**
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Rating Excellent
reviewed Aug 2023
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Neatby, H. Blair. (1976) William Lyon Mackenzie King. Vol. 3: The Prism of Unity 1932–1939
***
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Rating Good
reviewed Aug 2023
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*
Robert MacGregor Dawson FRSC (b.1895-d.1958)
was a Professor of Political Economy at the Univ. of Toronto and co-author of the classic 1947 textbook,
The Government of Canada. He finished the first volume of King's biography before his death in Bridgewater Nova Scotia, CA, in 1958. In 1975, he was named a
Person of National Historic Significance. (A person is eligible to be listed 25 years after death, but Prime Ministers may be designated any time after death.)
Most authors of non-fiction reserve making any direct humorous comments about their subject. However, I must reproduce a section in this book which is the most excellent use of
Irony and Pun.
**
Preface from Volume 2.
"Professor Dawson died shortly after writing the first volume. He had completed a later section of Mr. King's life which has since been published under the title
The Conscription Crisis of 1944.
Professor Dawson had also done some work on what was to have been his second volume. He left a manuscript for the period 1923 to the election of 1925 and a preliminary draft of the controversy with Lord Byng in 1926. ... I [Neatby] did not hesitate to incorporate some of his ideas and even some of his phrases in my study of this period. I only regret that he had not completed a preliminary outline for the rest of the book.
"
***
King was PM over three Ministries - 12th (1921-26), 14th (1926-30), 16th (1935-40) and died 1950. Thus this third volume comes up short on his term of service and life. However, Neatby was explicitly under contract by King's Literary Executors to cover only the interwar years. Readers will be served to read Granatstein which does cover 1939-50.
N.B. J. L. Granatstein OC FRSC (b.1939)
is a Canadian historian who specializes in Canadian political and military history.
He published
Who Killed Canadian History? (1998)
which argues that Canadians lack national unity because of their failure to teach their country's history.
Not read.
• Rogers, Norman McLeod (1935) MacKenzie King
Rogers (1894-1940) was private secretary to King from 1927-1929, cabinet minister in the government of PM King (1935-1940).
Rogers biography was written at King's request, and personally edited and revised by Mackenzie King. Thus its failings as a true or useful biography are obvious.
Not read, not a biography.
• Ferns, Henry, Bernard Ostry, and John Meisel (1976) The Age of Mackenzie King
Scholarly biography only to 1919
• Levine, Allan (2011) King: William Lyon Mackenzie King: a life guided by the hand of destiny
An interpretative work based on King's diary. From the introduction
"The window into King's turbulent personality and his tortured soul is the diary he kept almost religiously from the time he was eighteen in 1893 to his death in 1950."
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The Right Hon. Richard Bedford Bennett
P.C., K.C., K.G.St.J., M.P
1st Viscount Bennett of Mickleham, Calgary and Hopewell
(House of Lords, UK Parliament)
(born 3 Jul 1870 - died 26 Jun, 1947)
Political Party: Conservative (1867-1942)
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Waite, Peter Busby (2012) In Search of R.B. Bennett
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Rating Good
reviewed Sept 2023
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Boyko, John (2012) Bennett: The Rebel Who Challenged And Changed A Nation
* 2nd printing, revised
|
Rating Good
reviewed Oct 2023
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*Noteworthy
Lawrence Martin of The Globe and Mail said "Not much has been known about R.B. Bennett. Amazingly, no full-scale biography was written about him until now, 75 years on. John Boyko has finally done the deed and indeed he had done it well."
Martin is a Canadian journalist and the author of ten books on politics and sport. Although Martin failed to acknowledge Peter Waite's 2012 biography, it can be excused as it came out two years after the 1st Boyko edition.
Boyko says "Franklin Roosevelt was America's R.B. Bennett." He was referring that FDR instituted similar policies for the U.S. that Bennett had done for Canada. Although true, the analogy fails in an important respect, FDR was hailed a hero and success, whereas Bennett was voted out of office as a failure and lost to history. Bennett was America's Herbert Hoover.
Boyko's biography is uneven, sometimes superficial, often hagiographic. A few new untold stories but more frequently commentary using the author's present (2012) as a reference point to compare Bennett with recent Canadian Prime Ministers without adding true insight into the biography. In terms of priority and authority, Boyko yields to Waite - on page 418 Boyko says "As noted by Bennett biographer Peter Waite" and follows with a quote from "In Search of R.B. Bennett" (2012) P.B. Waite p.19 (2012).
Bennett was Prime Minister from 1930-1935, the years of the Great Depression. His policies and tribulations mirror that of Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945). Yet the Canadian and American leaders have been placed in vastly different historical perspectives.
POTUS and PM rankings.
Not read.
•
Maclean, Andrew Dyas (1935) R. B. Bennett, Prime Minister of Canada
Maclean served as Secretary to Prime Minister Bennett between 1932 - 1934, and published his reminiscences a year later. Thus written to soon after Bennett's term (1930-35). Bennett died in 1947 so this book could not have included his whole life or establish his place in history.
•
Aitken, Max (1st Baron Beaverbrook) (1959). Friends: Sixty years of Intimate personal relations with Richard Bedford Bennett.
Aitkens truly was Bennett's closest friend over his entire life. However, the book is not a scholarly nor comprehensive biography, and is riddled with serious omissions, unverified opinions and fabrications.
•
Watkins, Ernest (1963) R. B. Bennett: A Biography.
Reviewed December 1964 by J. R. H. Wilbur in
The Canadian Historical Review.
Rated FAIR as Watkins did not make much use of primary sources.
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The Right Hon. Louis Stephen
St-Laurent
P.C., Q.C., C.C., M.P.
(born 1 Feb, 1882 - died 25 Jul, 1973)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
|
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Louis-Stephen St-Laurent
by Bothwell, Robert 2005*
Gluskin Professor of Canadian history and Director, International Relations Program, Univ of Toronto, Ont. (9,400 words, 22 pages)
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Rating Fair
reviewed Oct 2023
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Pickersgill, J. W. (2001) Louis St Laurent: Revised (The Canadians)
Part of 'The Canadians: A continuing Series'. Fitzhenry and Whiteside Publisher (pp.68, 49 pictures)
Pickersgill died in 1997. This is a revised version of his memoirs book on St Laurent.
|
Rating Good
reviewed Oct 2023
|
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Thomson, Dale C. (1967) Louis St. Laurent: Canadian
**
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Rating Very Good
reviewed Nov 2023
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*An abbreviated biography. Bothwell writes "The bibliography of Louis St-Laurent is lamentably brief."
**This is the very best we have on St. Laurent. Although purported to only cover his time as PM, it begins with his genealogy back to Nicolas Huot Saint-Laurent who had arrived in New France around 1660 and continued for 252 pages to detail his early life and career to 1948 when he became the PM. It then provides his time as PM in detail and concludes in 1966 (since it was published in 1967). St. Laurent died in 1973 and the other two bios cover these last years sparingly.
It is common that most biographers respect and admire their subject, but the best biography also requires adequate criticism and balance which this lacked. Additionally, since it was published only a decade after he concluded his political career, not enough time had lapse to place it into historical perspective.
Dale Thomson was also the author of the 1960 bio Alexander Mackenzie: Clear Grit
Not read, not a biography.
•
Patrice Dutil (ed.); The Unexpected Louis St-Laurent: Politics and Policies for a Modern Canada, University of British Columbia Press, 2020 (The C.D. Howe Series in Canadian Political History).
The 22 chapters in this edited collection by leading historians span a wide range of issues surrounding St-Laurent's time as prime minister. Thomson's study, over half a century old, still stands as the sole single volume work on this important figure.
•
My years with Louis St-Laurent: a political memoir by Pickersgill, J. W.
University of Toronto Press; Canadian First edition (1975)
A memoir, not a true biography.
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The Right Hon. John George Diefenbaker
P.C., Q.C., F.R.S.C., F.R.S.A., M.P.
(born 18 Sep, 1895 - died 16 Aug, 1979)
Political Party: Progressive Conservative Party
|
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
John George Diefenbaker
by Denis Smith
This abbreviated (10,400 words, 25 pages) bio is based on the author’s Rogue Tory: the life and legend of John G. Diefenbaker reviewed below. Unless your time is very limited, the reader should read the full biography.
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Rating Fair
reviewed Nov 2023
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Slade, Arthur (2001) John Diefenbaker. An appointment with destiny.
A "young adult" biography of Canada's 13th Prime Minister.
*
|
Rating Good
reviewed Nov 2023
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Van Dusen, Thomas (1968) The Chief
Not a biography but a must read for its coverage of the Munsinger affair which brought down Diefenbaker.
|
Rating - not rated†
reviewed Nov 2023
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Smith, Denis (1995) Rogue Tory: The Life and Legend of John Diefenbaker
**
Denis Smith (1932- ) is a political scientist. He was Vice President of Trent Univ, Peterborough, Ont. (1964–67);
Professor of Political Science (1982–96) and Dean of Social Science (1982–88) Univ. of Western Ontario, London.
AWARDS: Univ British Columbia's Medal in Canadian Biography in 1973 and 1995; J.W. Dafoe Book Prize for historical writing in 1988 and 1995.
|
Rating Excellent
reviewed Nov 2023
|
*
This is the author's only non-fiction, but he did adequately research the topic in composing it. However,
the defining adjective for this 180 page biography is young adult. It fits this definition by glossing over the true politics, ignoring opposing viewpoints, and simplifying real world issues.
†
According to the 1968 Intro for this 290 page account: "The definitive biography of John Diefenbaker remains to be written. This book is a series of impressions gathered in eight years’ observation as a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery and a ministerial assistant in the Diefenbaker government; and a further four years as executive assistant to the leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition." As such, it is not a biography, but provides biased personal and behind the scenes descriptions of Diefenbaker that are missing from other bios (a useful supplement to the other biographies). Van Dusen passed September 10, 2011 at age 90.
**
This 700 page book (published in 1995) is the definitive biography. It is extremely well researched, and references Van Dusen's The Chief, Diefenbaker's Memoirs, plus 140 books, dozens of newspapers, government documents, interviews, and Archives in Canada and the United States. Importantly it is unbiased and surgically cuts through myth and apocryphal stories told in other books and by Diefenbaker himself.
The book was awarded the Univ British Columbia's Medal in Canadian Biography, the J.W. Dafoe Book Prize for historical writing, nominated for the Trillium Book Award (English), and considered THE best Canadian PM biography by J.D.M. STEWART (Globe & Mail Mar 19, 2019). Steward was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his contributions to history in Canada.
Not read, not biographies.
•
Diefenbaker, John (1975), One Canada, Memoirs of the Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker: The Crusading Years 1895 to 1956, Macmillan of Canada
•
Diefenbaker, John (1976), One Canada, Memoirs of the Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker: The Years of Achievement 1956 to 1962, Macmillan of Canada
•
Diefenbaker, John (1977), One Canada, Memoirs of the Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker: The Tumultuous Years 1962 to 1967, Macmillan of Canada
Of note, on page 136 in
J. L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer's Prime ministers: ranking Canada’s leaders (1999)
"His [Diefenbaker] three volumes of memoirs, arguably the most mendacious ever written by a Canadian politician, burnished his own image and refought all the old battles with only one victor....Yet the record remained, one of deliberate divisiveness, scandalmongering, and mistrust."
|
The Right Hon. Lester Bowles Pearson
P.C., C.C., O.M., O.B.E., M.P.
(born 23 Apr, 1897 - died 27 Dec, 1972)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
|
Bothwell, Robert (1978) Pearson: His Life and World (pp.223, 20 color and 100 B&W pictures)
General Editor W. Kaye Lamb for the series "His life and World" which covers Canadian PM's MacDonald, Laurier, Borden, King and Pearson
|
Rating Good
reviewed Nov 2023
|
Thordarson, Bruce (1974), Lester Pearson, diplomat and politician
From the preface:
"This biography does not profess to be definitive. Insufficient time has passed.."
|
Rating Fair
reviewed Nov 2023
|
English, John (1989). The life of Lester Pearson. Vol I: Shadow of Heaven, 1897–1948
*
English also wrote the Dictionary of Canadian Biography entry on Pearson (25 pages, 10,400 words)
|
Rating Excellent
reviewed Dec 2023
|
|
English, John (1993). The life of Lester Pearson. Vol II: The Worldly Years, 1949–1972
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed Jan 2024
|
*
The definitive biography.
From the Preface: "Material on his early years is sparse. Some letters to his parents exist, but exchanges with his brothers and friends before 1928, when he entered public service, are missing. Even afterwards, there is little family correspondence. Because of their frequent long separations, correspondence between Maryon Elspeth Pearson and her husband would probably have been abundant, but she apparently destroyed nearly all of it."
Lester Pearson wrote inciteful articles home to the Methodist journal, The Christian Guardian, while he was at Oxford University which supplied important biographic information.
Nota bene
Pearson is the only Canadian PM to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (1957). His
Nobel Lecture
is as pertinent today as it was 70 years ago.
American Presidents Theodore Roosevelt (1906), Woodrow Wilson (1919), Jimmy Carter (2002), Barack H. Obama (2009) and Vice President Al Gore (2007) also received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Not read, not biographies.
•
Beal,J.R. (1964) The Pearson phenomenon
•
Beal,J.R. (1964) Pearson of Canada, the Making of a Statesman
•
Stursberg, Peter (1978) Lester Pearson and the Dream of Unity
1st of two volumes, covers (1958-68) oral history of 60 close associates
†
Not a biography but oral and living history, transcribed from tapes.
•
Stursberg, Peter (1980) Lester Pearson and the American Dilemma
2nd of two volumes, covers him as diplomat and statesman, used interviews of politicians
†
Not a biography but oral and living history, transcribed from tapes.
|
The Right Hon. Pierre Elliott Trudeau
P.C., Q.C., C.C., F.R.S.C., M.P.
(born 18 Oct, 1919 - died 28 Sep, 2000)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
|
English, John (2006) Citizen of the world: the life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Vol 1: 1919–1968
A two-volume biography based significantly upon access to Trudeau’s private papers
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed Mar 2024
|
|
English, John (2009) Just watch me: the life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Vol 2: 1968–2000
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed Mar 2024
|
Not Bibiographies but notable. Rating based on biographic quality.
|
Clarkson, Stephen & McCall, Christina (1990) Trudeau and Our Times. Vol 1: The Magnificent Obsession
*
According to the authors, this award-winning study was based upon extensive interviews of friends, enemies, and colleagues but Trudeau himself was not enlightening, and archives were not yet available.
The book reads like a magazine article. It is an excellent review of Canadian history (economic and political) where Trudeau is a player but not the focus of the narrative. A good read but not a good biography.
*
Received The Canada Council for the Arts Governor General's Literary Award
|
Rating Good
reviewed Mar 2024
|
Clarkson, Stephen & McCall, Christina (1994) Trudeau and Our Times. Vol 2: The Heroic Delusion
**
According to the authors, this 2nd award-winning volume is designed to re-examine Trudeau's liberalism, and for each volume to be able to stand alone. However, it becomes a tedious rehash for the first third of the book. As with the first volume, it is not a biography. The fact that both books got awards is a reflection of the paucity of good Canadian political biographies.
**
Awarded the John W. Dafoe Book Prize
|
Rating Poor
reviewed Mar 2024
|
Biography but not read.
•
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Trudeau, Pierre Elliott
by John English
This abbreviated (14,000 words, 32 pages) bio is by the same author of the two volume "The life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau". Unless your time is very limited, the reader should read the full biographies.
•
Gwyn, Richard (1980) The Northern Magus: Pierre Trudeau and Canadians.
Published in 1980 just as Trudeau had regained the prime ministership from the short lived leadership of Joe Clark.
Although Gwyn has written excellent biographies of John Macdonald, this Trudeau bio doesn't cover his last 20 years.
|
The Right Hon. Charles Joseph Clark
P.C., C.C., A.O.E., M.P.
(born 5 Jun, 1939)
Political Party: Progressive Conservative Party
|
There is no scholarly bibiography for Charles Clark.
No entry yet exists for him in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography (the subject must be departed).
His time in office (21th Ministry, 1979-80, 273 days) was short and he is still alive as of 2024.
Political information about Clark accompanies biographies of Pierre Trudeau and Brian Mulroney.
Not standard biographies. Rating based on biographic quality.
|
Troyer, Warner (1980). 200 days: Joe Clark in power: the anatomy of the rise and fall of the 21st government.
Warner Troyer (1932 – 1991) was a Canadian broadcast journalist and writer.
The book is a contemporaneous account of the short time Clark spent as PM.
According to the Foreword, sources included
Hansard and newspaper, radio, T.V., and periodical coverage...press release and speech text issued by every dept administered by the Clark government, conversations with Clark-watchers, civil servants, Clark colleagues, journalists, paper-shredders, and cleaning staff.
|
Rating Good
reviewed Mar 2024
|
Lotz, Jim (1987). Prime Ministers of Canada.
Only three pages (of 159) are about Joe Clark. Since Clark is still alive in 2024 and politically active, an immense gap after his 1979-80 term as PM is missing. This book, and chapter should be ignored.
|
Rating Poor
reviewed Mar 2024
|
Wikipedia - Joe Clark
Wikipedia is constantly edited and fact checked. The article has expanded over the last two decades:
when it was first created in March 2004 - 1,000 words, presently March 2024 - 9,000 words.
|
Rating Fair
reviewed Mar 2024
|
The Canadian Encyclopedia
A short 1,400 word review of his entire life and political career (up to 2017).
|
Rating Poor
reviewed Mar 2024
|
Humphreys, David L. (1978). Joe Clark: A Portrait.
David L. Humphreys (born 1939 in Kingston, Ontario) is a Canadian journalist, writer, lobbyist, and consultant.
Humphreys wrote this 1978 biography as a run up to the 1979 election to improve the candidate's image as "Joe Who?".
Humphreys grew up with Joe Clark and this book provides the only detailed information on his early life and will undoubtably be a source for a future full biography.
Nota bene
It covers Clarks first 40 years of life, but he presently 85 y.o., so only half his life.
Clark entered politics at age 28 but was unsuccessful as candidate for the provincial Progressive Conservatives in the 1967 provincial election, so the book only covers his 1st 12 yrs of his political life. But he continued in the Mulronney admistration until 1993 (another 14 yrs) and he returned to Parliament in 2000-2004 (4 yrs) and still active in/out of politics, e.g. in 2020 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Clark special envoy for Canada's bid for a UN Security Council seat. So missing ⅔ of his career.
|
Rating Good
reviewed Apr 2024
|
Post Biography.
•
Excerpt from
National Post article
about Canadian PMs that are still alive as of 2024.
Clark later served in Mulroney’s cabinet as the Secretary of State for External Affairs from 1984 to 1991 and as the minister responsible for constitutional affairs. He sat as an independent Progressive Conservative until his retirement from Parliament at the end of the 2003 session. Since then, Clark has worked for a number of non-profits, including The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Centre for North American Studies, the Jimmy Carter Center, the Global Leadership Foundation and the Centre for International Governance Innovation.
|
The Right Hon. John Napier Turner
P.C., C.C., Q.C., M.P.
(born 7 Jun, 1929 - died 19 Sep, 2020)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
|
Litt, Paul (2011). Elusive Destiny:The Political Vocation of John Napier Turner.
Covers Turner's life from childhood to when he became PM in 1984, lost the 1988 election, retired from politics in 1990, and his public and private life up to 2006. Turner died 2020. Although written ten years before Paikin's book, it covers the politics better and provides footnotes and references.
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed Aug 2024
|
Paikin, Steve (2022). John Turner. An Intimate Biography of Canada's 17th Prime Minister.
Paikin has written an intimate and personal biography with extensive access to Turner's family and his friends. He is the first author to be able to review the government Archives. Conversely it lacks a scholarly approach (no footnotes or itemized references to material cited) and is sometomes thin on political details and accuracy.
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed Apr 2024
|
Turner assumed the post of Prime Minister in 1984 for 79 days but was never elected by popular vote to the position. He died in 2020.
Nota bene
Correspondence from the Dictionary of Canadian Biography on April 17, 2024:
"I am pleased to let you know that the Turner biography has been assigned to an author, and will, in due course, see the publishing light of day. We have a very rigourous and lengthy editorial process, and require authors to do indepth research using primary sources, so it will take some time. For the sake of comparison, our biography of Pierre Trudeau was published in 2007, after his death in 2000."
Not read...
These were either published too early and therefore provided incomplete coverage,
or were not biographies although included information on Turner.
•
Cahill, Jack (1984). John Turner: The Long Run.
•
Weston, Greg (1988). Reign of Error: the Inside Story of John Turner's Troubled Leadership.
•
Granatstein, J.L. and Norman Hillmer (1999). Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders.
•
Turner, John (2008) Politics With Purpose, 40th anniversary edition.
•
Snider, Norman (1985) The Changing of the Guard: How the Liberals Fell From Grace.
|
The Right Hon. Martin Brian Mulroney
P.C., C.C., G.O.Q., M.P.
(born 20 Mar, 1939 - died 29 Feb 2024)
Political Party: Progressive Conservative Party
|
The biographies of recent Prime Ministers are incomplete since the subjects are often still living
and insufficient years have passed to put their lives and accomplishments into historical perspective.
Examples: No entry yet exists for Mulroney in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography
(it generally takes seven years after ones death; he died Feb 2024),
however there is an uptodate, 3,100 word entry in
The Canadian Encyclopedia.
The Canadian Postal Service usually needs a year before issuing a stamp.
Individually these books are incomplete biographies and all stop at the end of his Ministry in 1993,
leaving significant gaps in covering Mulroney, especially the last four decades of his life.
I have annotated their deficiencies.
|
Sawatsky, John (1991). Mulroney: The Politics of Ambition.
This covers the life of his parents and his childhood through to his election as Prime Minister in 1984.
It is very well researched and an enjoyable read.
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed Apr 2024
|
Cameron, Stevie (1994). On the Take: Crime, Corruption and Greed in the Mulroney Years.
Stephanie "Stevie" Graham Dahl Cameron is an investigative journalist. She sufferred political retributions
* for writing this book which picks up where Sawatsky left off and covers the years 1984-1993 while Mulroney was Prime Minister. In the preface "This book is not about policy; it is about corruption. Someday other writers will analyze the impact on Canada of the Conservative Party's legislation between 1983 and 1993." (but see Raymond Blake's book below)
*
Story of the
political retributions
and ultimate clearing of her name.
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed Apr 2024
|
Hampson, Fen Osler (2018). Master of Persuasion: Brian Mulroney's Global Legacy.
This reviews the foreign policy during Mulroney's time as Prime Minister (and beyond).
Considering the importance of the subject it is superficial (lacks archival sosurces) and hagiographic.
It incidentally reinforces the important role played by former PM Joe Clark (who is mentioned 60 times).
|
Rating Fair
reviewed May 2024
|
Blake, Raymond B. ed. (2007). Transforming the Nation: Canada and Brian Mulroney.
From the introduction "Each essay [18] in this book was written to stand alone as well as contribute to our collective understanding of the complex world of Canadian public policy during the Mulroney era. The [23] contributors were selected either because of their expertise on aspects of Canadian politics, society, public policy, and history or because they participated directly in key events of the Mulroney era. Together, they present a variety of views and offer different interpretations of the legacy of Prime Minister Mulroney." Unfortunately the essays are uneven, pre-supposes the reader already knows much about the topic, and at an average of 23 pages, too short to adequately discuss some of the topics.
|
Rating Fair
reviewed May 2024
|
|
The Right Hon. A. Kim Campbell
P.C., Q.C., M.P.
(born 10 Mar, 1947)
Political Party: Progressive Conservative Party
|
There is no scholarly bibiography for Kim Campbell.
Her time in office (25th Ministry, June 25 - Nov. 4, 1993, 132 days) was even shorter than Joe Clark,
and like him, she became Prime Minister by winning the position for Party Leadership but
lost in the general Federal Election.
Campbell never faced a Parliament as her brief tenure was filled by the summer break and the election campaign.
Incomplete biographies. Rating based on biographic quality.
|
Dobbin, Murray (1993). The Politics of Kim Campbell: From School Trustee to Prime Minister.
A brief review of her childhood and her time as trustee on the Vancouver School Board. Greater attention to her provincial and Federal political roles, with depth into the backroom politics. The book ends with her winning the Progressive Conservative leadership convention June 13, 1993. She was appointment prime minister June 25 but lost the Federal election in Nov 1993.
|
Rating Good
reviewed May 2024
|
Robert Fife (1993) Kim Campbell: the making of a politician.
Another 'unauthorized' biography which ends with her winning the leadership convention in June 1993. This book is often cited as source material for other biographies.
|
Rating Good
reviewed June 2024
|
Dennis Bueckert (1993) Kim Campbell. Above the Shoulders.
Another 'unauthorized' biography which ends a few months after she won the Progressive Conservative leadership convention and became the Prime Minister. This book is completely inadequate as a stand alone narrative. However, although all the others books (Kim's autobio included) document the inconsistencies, lies and schemes involved in Campbell's life and politics, they leave it to the reader to connect the dots (which requires a critical and thoughtful analysis that may escape the average reader), whereas Bueckert's book explicitly points out these failing.
|
Rating Poor
reviewed June 2024
|
Campbell, Kim. (1996). Time and Chance: The Political Memoirs of Canada's First Woman Prime Minister.
Nota bene
The author notes in the prologue that the book is not a definite autobiography but rather a political memoir.
The prologue also states the book is a rebuttal to the explosion of magazines, newspapers, and no fewer than five books published in 1993 which impugned her character. These include Dobbins' and one she characterized as "a leap of psychobiography focussing on the absence of my mother".
A line from William Shakespeare's Hamlet applies to the Right Honorable Kim Campbell
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
Although this autobiography is not overtly hagiographic, it is disengenious, superficial, and glosses over important areas of her life and her politics. It is vintage Kim Campbell. Still, it provides much information about her career since almost no other literature exists.
|
Rating Fair
reviewed June 2024
|
Post Biography
•
Excerpt from
National Post article
about Canadian PMs that are still alive as of 2024.
•
Excerpt from
Wikipedia article
•
Excerpt from
Canadian Encyclopedia article
|
The Right Hon. Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien
P.C., Q.C., C.C., O.M., M.P.
(born 11 Jan, 1934)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
|
The biographies of recent Prime Ministers are incomplete since the subjects are still living
and insufficient years have passed to put their lives and accomplishments into historical perspective.
No entry yet exists for Chrétien in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
|
Martin, Lawrence (1995). Chrétien: The Will to Win. Vol. One
The author is a graduate of McMaster and Harvard, served as The Globe and Mail's (Canada's leading newspaper) bureau chief in Washington, Montreal and Moscow.
Primarily interview based, spanning from his birth to the beginning of his second run for the Liberal Party leadership in 1990.
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed June 2024
|
Martin, Lawrence (2003). Iron Man: The Defiant Reign of Jean Chrétien. Vol. Two
Primarily interview based, begins with the Liberal Party leadership race, follows his 3 years as Opposition leader, and charts his ten years as prime minister. Written in 2003 it still leaves the last 20 years undocumented
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed June 2024
|
Plamondon, Bob (2017). The Shawinigan Fox: How Jean Chrétien Defied the Elites and Reshaped Canada.
This should not be read in isolation from a proper biography as it assumes the reader knows much of the politics and history covered and does not discuss his early life. Plamondon adds to our understanding of the Chrétien years in office by going into depth on multiple topics. Written fourteen years after Chrétien left office it does allow historical perspective. Plamondon claims this analysis is based on new evidence, exclusive interviews with former cabinet ministers, provincial premiers, political staff, strategists, and high-ranking bureaucrats - many of them speaking publicly for the first time. He suggests that Chrétien’s fable is not one of a sneaky snake, but rather of a crafty fox who used his down-to-earth personality to charm Canadians for more than a decade while steering Canada through many defining moments of history.
|
Rating Good
reviewed Aug 2024
|
Not read, not biographies.
•
Harder, Lois; Patten, Steve Editors (2006). The Chrétien Legacy: Public Policy in Canada.
Post Biography
•
Excerpt from
National Post article
about Canadian PMs that are still alive as of 2024.
•
Excerpt from
Wikipedia article
•
Excerpt from
Canadian Encyclopedia article
|
The Right Hon. Paul Edgar Philippe Martin
P.C., C.C., M.P
(born 28 Aug, 1938)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
|
The biographies of recent Prime Ministers are incomplete since the subjects are still living
and insufficient years have passed to put their lives and accomplishments into historical perspective.
No entry exists for Martin in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, nor has there been published a decent biography.
|
Gray, John (2003). Paul Martin: The Power of Ambition.
It starts with a biography of Paul Martin, Sr., famous politician and father of Paul Martin, Jr. Then moves to Paul's wife and spans the time he was a boy until just before assuming leadership of the Liberal Party.
Perhaps the best half biography (since it doesn't cover his PM tenure or the following 2 decades). It doesn't go into depth of his 8+ years as Finance minister and although not strictly hagiographic, criticism is suger-coated.
|
Rating Good
reviewed Aug 2024
|
Wells, Paul (2007). Right Side Up: The Fall of Paul Martin and the Rise of Stephen Harper's New Conservatism.
Wells is a political journalist in Ottawa who wrote for the right-wing Maclean’s magazine for 19 years (winning three gold National Magazine Awards), plus a regular commentator on TV and radio, in English et en français. He provides a journalist's view of the overlapping political careers of Liberal Paul Martin and the Conservative Stephen Harper. He is often tongue-in-cheek and sarcastic. The narrative is not cohesive and is a not a substitute for a biography of either Martin or Harper.
|
Rating Poor
reviewed Aug 2024
|
Plamondon, Bob (2017). The Shawinigan Fox: How Jean Chrétien Defied the Elites and Reshaped Canada.
This book does double duty for being in both lists for Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin.
Martin played a key role in the Chrétien government, and was the politician responsible for forcing Chrétien out of office. Martin's history and role are covered in this book.
|
Rating Good
reviewed Aug 2024
|
Not read, not biographies.
• Dobbin, Murray (2003). Paul Martin : CEO for Canada?
• Chodos,Robert; Murphy,Rae; Hamovitch,Eric (1998). Paul Martin : a political biography.
• Martin, Paul (2009). Hell or High Water: My Life in and out of Politics.
Not read, autobiography.
• Wilson-Smith, Anthony; Greenspon, Edward (1996). Double Vision: The Inside Story of the Liberals in Power.
Covers only the first three years of the Chrétien government.
Post Biography
•
Excerpt from
National Post article
about Canadian PMs that are still alive as of 2024.
•
Excerpt from
Wikipedia article
•
Excerpt from
Canadian Encyclopedia article
|
The Right Hon. Stephen Harper
P.C., C.C., M.P.
(born 30 Apr, 1959)
Political Party: Conservative Party of Canada
|
The biographies of recent Prime Ministers are incomplete since the subjects are still living
and insufficient years have passed to put their lives and accomplishments into historical perspective.
No entry exists for Martin in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
|
Johnson, William (2005). Stephen Harper & the Future of Canada. (1st ed.)
This was the earliest biography of Stephen Harper but stops in 2005 (thus the asterisk on the rating).
It begins with his famous relative, Christopher Harper who emigrated from England in 1774 and played an important part in the building of Canada. It describes his life and policitcal maturation and development of the various Conservation parties.
Paul Martin (Liberal Party) was re-elected in the general election of June, 2004.
In Montreal, March 2005, the newly created Conservative Party of Canada held its founding policy convention amid the scandals being publicized about the Liberal Party. The biography ends here. Subsequently, Stephen Harper won the election scheduled for January 2006 and went on to serve for 9 years.
|
Rating Excellent*
reviewed Sep 2024
|
Ibbitson, John (2015). Stephen Harper.
Ibbitson writes as a newsman and not as a historian. He appropriates William Johnson's biography to create the first half of his book. It is derivative bordering on plagarism. I recommend reading Johnson's book, then the second half (Book 2, Chp 12) of Ibbitson's where Johnson leaves off. Ibbitson takes us to the 2015 election where Harper loses to Trudeau. The coverage is spotty but at present as much as we can hope for a recent PM.
|
Rating Good
reviewed Aug 2024
|
Harris, Michael (2014). Party of One: Stephen Harper And Canada's Radical Makeover.
Indepth investigative reporting of the numerous and deeply serious scandals, legislative acts reversing democratic freedoms, economic blunders, scientific infringements, criminal activity and degradation of Canadian's personal, social and political values. All purposely brought on by Harper. Although not a biography, it is insightful into Harper's modus operandi and makes an excellent companion to William Johnson's bio.
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed Sept 2024
|
Not read.
• Johnson, William (2006). Stephen Harper & the Future of Canada (2nd ed)
This paperback edition was published a year after the hardcopy when Harper won the 2006 election. Four chapters were added but it still does not cover his Prime Ministership.
Not read, not biographies.
• Wells, Paul (2013). The Longer I’m Prime Minister: Stephen Harper and Canada 2006.
Already read a Wells book "Right Side Up" and gave it a Poor rating.
• Mackey, Lloyd (2005). The pilgrimage of Stephen Harper.
• Plamondon, Bob (2006). Full Circle: Death and Resurrection in Canadian Conservative Politics.
• Gutstein, Donald (2014). Harperism: How Stephen Harper and his Think Tank Colleagues Have Transformed Canada.
Not read, autobiography.
•Harper, Stephen (2018). Right Here, Right Now: Politics and Leadership in the Age of Disruption.
Post Biography
•
Excerpt from
National Post article
about Canadian PMs that are still alive as of 2024.
•
Excerpt from
Wikipedia article
•
Excerpt from
Canadian Encyclopedia article
|
The Right Hon. Justin Trudeau
P.C., M.P.
(born 25 Dec, 1971)
Political Party: Liberal Party of Canada
|
The biographies of recent (and present) Prime Ministers are incomplete since the subjects are still living
and insufficient years have passed to put their lives and accomplishments into historical perspective.
|
Lukacs, Martin (2019). The Trudeau Formula: Seduction and Betrayal in an Age of Discontent.
Not a biography but an exposé An important work and required read. Lukacs bounces around with his topics, and does not follow a chronological order, a less than optimal writing style. But his research and excellent insight and critique would seem to have been sufficient to have brought down the Trudeau government for the 2019 general election (but he was re-elected for a 2nd time, and a 3rd in 2021).
|
Rating Very Good
reviewed Oct 2024
|
Maher, Stephen (2024). The Prince: The Turbulent Reign of Justin Trudeau.
It was foreboding that the book starts with a quote from "The Prince" by Nicolò Machiavelli, and another at the start of Part One, and Two and Three. Of course Maher's book is titled "The Prince", so we are directed to embrace the similarities.
The book came out in 2024 and covers the previous 12 years of Justin's political career. Thus not a biography, but as good as we can expect for a PM still in office. But the book does not support the supposition. Machiavelli dedicated his book to Lorenzo de' Medici, (then ruler of Florence, Italy) on how to stay in power by imitating the violent and ruthless Cesare Borgia. Justin Trudeau is neither Medici nor Borgia, but an average Canadian Prime Minister. He was ranked 10th of 23 (his father is ranked 4th) in 2016 by historians, economists and political scientists. Later ranking are not out (disregarding "opinion polls").
|
Rating Good
reviewed Nov 2024
|
Not read, not biographies.
• Ivison, John (2019). Trudeau: The Education of a Prime Minister.
Reads like an opinion piece, not a biography.
• Wells, Paul (2024). Justin Trudeau on the Ropes: Governing in Troubled Times. (only 80pages)
• Wherry, Aaron (2019). Promise and Peril: Justin Trudeau in Power.
This book covers Trudeau's first term as PM. It was released right before the 2019 election.
Not read, autobiography.
• Trudeau, Justin (2014). Common Ground.
Biography - Supplemental
•
Excerpt from
Wikipedia article
•
Excerpt from
Canadian Encyclopedia article
Post Biography
•
Excerpt from
National Post article
about Canadian PMs that are still alive as of 2024.
|
The Right Hon.
(born )
Political Party:
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A
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here for Biography review.
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