Search results

During the federal election campaign of 1930 an eleven-year-old boy attended a campaign meeting in his native Prince Edward Island. The meeting was fascinating; the boy was booked. In the six decades since, politics has been a ruling passion in the life of Health Macquarrie. In this memoir he looks back on his years with the Progressive Conservative party, as an organizer, Member of Parliament, and senator. He first ran for office in 1956 leaving behind a career as a professor of political science. He ran (and won) eight times in the PEI constituency of Queens, before being appointed to the Senate in 1979. All the Tory brass are here, from R.B. Bennett to Brian Mulroney. Macquarrie reflects on their respective strengths and foibles, and vividly recalls some of the fractious and factious days in the PC party. The foreign policies of Conservative governments are a recurring theme. Both his academic and parliamentary careers have reflected Macquarrie 's keen interest in international affairs. He recalls his years at the UN General Assembly, his involvement in the Biafra crisis, and his longtime advocacy of Canadian membership in the Organization of the American States. Always deeply interested in the Middle East, he has visited the area thirteen times; he discusses his sensitivity to the situation of the Palestinians, and reflects also on the Gulf War. But at the heart of the book are Tory politicians. Tory politicians, and a deep love of his Island province and his country, Macquarrie deplores some of the characteristics of the Conservative party of today, including what he sees as a less vigorous nationalism than that of some of its predecessors. Wholly supportive of the opening of his party to Quebec and the spirit of Meech Lake, he reveals anxiety about a right-wing trend in the contemporary Conservative party, and worries that as a Red Tory he may be the last of his kind. In his memories, as in his political career, Heath Macquarrie is outspoken, provocative, fiercely patriotic, and passionately engaged in global issues. Red Tory Blues offers a unique view of Canadian politics, as insightful as it is entertaining

The general election of 1911 was one of the most significant in Canadian history. Not only did it bring crushing defeat to the long-triumphant forces of Laurier Liberalism but it was also a decisive expression of Canadian sentiment on the subject of commercial relations with the United States. Success in this, his third electoral contest, saved Robert Borden from political oblivion and opened for him new vistas of opportunity and new avenues of achievement. The true measure of his ability as a party chieftain was revealed in the great struggle over reciprocity which shook the usually apathetic Canadian electorate during the summer of 1911. It is one of the ironies of history that the issue which brought down the Liberals in this election was one of their own choosing. The Conservatives who had at first feared the reciprocity issue eventually found it to contain potent emotional ingredients making for their own triumph. In his handling of reciprocity, the one decisive issue, Borden showed a masterly finesse which had not been apparent in his earlier attempts to win the support of his fellow Canadians.

The return of the Conservatives to power in 1911 was the signal for a mad scramble for place and position by the men who had weathered fifteen lean and hungry years of political adversity. In forming his cabinet, Borden was subjected to all the usual pressures exerted on such occasions and, in addition, he had to take cognizance of certain special factors arising from the election campaign just concluded. But in the cabinet-making process much more is involved than an awareness of constitutional conventions and an appreciation of the political realities of the moment. The selection of the personnel of his government is a most difficult task for a prime minister and one which involves a host of considerations, administrative, political, and personal. In the discharge of this important duty, much may be revealed of the qualities of leadership of the party chieftain. This was certainly true of Robert Borden, and a study of his first essay at cabinet-making is instructive and rewarding.