A man of his time, and ours

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/10/2011 (5469 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This biography would make for great TV. Veteran Toronto political writer Richard Gwyn knows how to tell a good story and here he brings his two-volume life of Canada’s best loved political figure to a satisfactory conclusion.

Sellar and Yeatman had it right in 1066 and All That. Dates are deadly in any history presentation, and Gwyn moves from triumph to tragedy with as few as possible and a tease at the end of each section to encourage further page turning.

And what a range of events: from the finesse and guile that brought Canada into existence in 1867, to the labours of Hercules that was the building of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, to the disaster that was the North-West Rebellion and the damnation of Canada’s aboriginal population.

Of particular interest to Manitobans is the creation of the postage-stamp province and the revelation of how Macdonald saw that funds were advanced to Louis Riel to send him out of harm’s way as well as out of arm’s reach of the law.

Macdonald’s son, Hugh John, appears as a very different man from his father. Although he served briefly as Manitoba’s premier and as a federal politician, he found politics “distasteful” and John A. visited him only once at Dalnavert, the 1895 state-of-the-art Victorian home that now serves as a living museum here in Winnipeg.

This is John A., warts and all. Would a prime minister be able to stay in office today if he had to be carried from the chamber to sleep off his excess?

Hardly likely today when any peccadillo, be it romantic, verbal or otherwise, draws horror-stricken responses from an ever-watchful and Puritan press.

Patronage paved the way in Macdonald’s day, and the scale and incessant self-interest is breathtaking.

That includes John A., who was sent packing after the CPR scandal, a clear-cut conflict of interest between business and politics.

Sir John was a man of his time, but Gwyn clearly admires him and makes a case for weighing his accomplishments and intent against his scurrilous behaviour and finds him worthy.

Gwyn draws on established sources and authors, as well as dissertations and theses. This even includes the work of Alberta Reform party bigwig Thomas Flanagan, indicating Gwyn’s openness to a wide range of views — not unlike Macdonald.

Gwyn makes a convincing case that Macdonald still speaks to today’s voters — hence the “our times” in the title — and a case can be made for more politicians who, like Sir John, believe “a public man should have no resentments.”

 

Winnipeg broadcaster, bibliophile and actor Ron Robinson will appear as Hugh John Macdonald this afternoon at Dalnavert for a Winnipeg Walkabout.

Book review

Nation Maker: Sir John A. Macdonald: His Life, Our Times

Volume Two: 1867-1891