Investigates how Canada crafted a national narrative after World War II.
Since Confederation, Canadian prime ministers have consciously constructed the national story. Each created shared narratives, formulating and reformulating a series of unifying national ideas that served to keep this geographically large, ethnically diverse, and regionalized nation together. This book is about those narratives and stories.
Focusing on the postSecond World War period, Raymond B. Blake shows how, regardless of political stripe, prime ministers worked to build national unity, forge a citizenship based on inclusion, and define a place for Canada in the world. They created for citizens an ideal image of what the nation stood for and the path it should follow. They told a national story of Canada as a modern, progressive, liberal state with a strong commitment to inclusion, a deep respect for diversity and difference, and a fundamental belief in universal rights and freedoms. Ultimately, this innovative history provides readers with a new way to see and understand what Canada is and what holds it together as a nation.
Recenzijos
"Raymond B. Blake presents a new way to understand the role of Canada's leaders in shaping how Canadians think of themselves, creating a shared sense of belonging, and presenting the country to the global community."
- Tim Cook (Canada's History)
Daugiau informacijos
Short-listed for Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing, Writers' Trust of Canada 2025 (Canada).
Foreword / John English
Preface
Introduction: Building the National Narrative Words Matter, Leaders Matter
1 Postwar Beginnings: W.L. Mackenzie King, 194348
2 No Ordinary Nation: Louis St-Laurent, 194857
3 "My Fellow Canadians": John Diefenbaker, 195763
4 Unity through Cooperation: Lester B. Pearson, 196368
5 Toward a Multicultural Just Society: Pierre Trudeau, 196884
6 Weaving the Last Threads: Brian Mulroney, 198493
7 The Canada We Want: Jean Chrétien, 19932005
8 National Values: Stephen Harper, 200615
Conclusion: Stories and Narratives Build a Nation
Notes; Bibliography; Index
Raymond B. Blake is a professor of history at the University of Regina and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He has held visiting professorships at Philipps-Universität Marburg and University College Dublin, where he has twice held the Craig Dobbin Chair in Canadian Studies. He was formerly the director of the Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy and the director of the Centre for Canadian Studies at Mount Allison University. He has written and edited more than twenty books, most recently Where Once They Stood: Newfoundland's Rocky Road towards Confederation (with Melvin Baker), which won several awards, including the Pierre Savard Award from the International Council for Canadian Studies.
